Page 2 of Only Fate

“No!” I say, smacking his chest, like I can somehow bring him back to life.

I stop when a sharp burning smell fills my nostrils. Glancing in the mirror, I see fire blazing up the Jeep’s tires. As sparks hit my door, I back away on the seat.

It takes only seconds for the sparks to turn into flames.

Ethan’s door is caved in, and it’ll take too long to crawl over him.

“Oh my God!” I yell, my adrenaline kicking into overdrive.

The door is lodged shut, so I kick it.

It doesn’t budge.

I kickover and over and overuntil it finally opens.

Taking a deep breath, I throw myself out of the burning Jeep.

An intense heat sears my skin, and I scream out in pain.

Then, everything fades to black.

1

Ten Years Later

“We’re sorry, Essie,” Laurence says with no apology in his tone. “Adrian was the better candidate.”

“Better candidate?” I throw out my arms. “He’s been here fortwo months. I’ve busted my ass for this firm forthree years. One of those without pay.”

For six months, my bosses at Adaway and Williams at Law led me to believe I’d score the junior partner position at their law firm. Today, they told me they’d chosen someone else.

Who did they choose?

A man who completely obliterated my heart.

First my heart.

Now my promotion.

What else does he want?

A freaking kidney?

Charles, his partner, fakes a smile. “Another position will open next year.”

I force back tears and follow my bosses out of the boardroom. They don’t say another word as they move to their shiny offices, and I head back to my sorry excuse for a cubicle.

Angel, my cubicle neighbor, pokes his head over my partition. “Did you get it?”

I shake my head.

“Sorry, girl. I bet Adrian did. You didn’t stand a chance after he gave them World Series tickets.”

I stop myself from sitting. “I’m sorry? World Series tickets?”

He nods. “They were box seats too.”

Oh, hell no.

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