Page 63 of My Office Rival

“You need to lean in.”

“Thisisme leaning in. I can’t believe the word ‘livestock’ just came out of my mouth,” she grumbled.

“You’re practically a local already. Yee-haw.” I put some twang into my voice and she giggled.

The smells and sounds of the festival assaulted us soon enough. Fried foods, animal dung, and hordes and hordes of people. I steeled myself.

“Stay close, okay? I don’t want to lose you.” I couldn’t help my paranoia.

“Okay,” she agreed softly.

We headed for the large animal enclosures, which were tucked behind the concert venue and past the food stalls.

Cynthia paused at a neon yellow food truck. “Ooh. Remind me to come back for some of those deep-fried Oreos later.”

“You have impeccable taste.”

“I know. I’m sure I’ll feel sick later. There was a restaurant I used to frequent that would deep fry anything you brought to them. Deep-fried malted chocolate balls are to die for.”

“I’m beginning to suspect our impossibly high salaries might be wasted on you,” I teased.

“Wait until you see my shoe collection,” she retorted.

The large animal enclosures were an oasis of calm in a whirlwind of chaos. Inside was the musk of animals, the buzz of flies, and the sounds of tails swishing.

We started with the dairy cows, with their liquid eyes and soft hides. Cynthia stopped by a particularly delicate looking cow, reading her name card.

“This one is called Daisy. She’s too cute to eat.” Cynthia made a face.

“No one is eating these cows. Most cows you eat are male cows. The female cows are too valuable.”

“The cows have it right,” she grumbled, and I grinned at her annoyance. She kept her eyes on Daisy, watching her placidly eat. “How do you know so much about this?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “I don’t. But my first foster home was in a small, ranching town. Not so different from Booth, I suppose, but slightly bigger.”

She was quiet, and I steeled myself for her pity. “I’m picturing you as a rancher. That’s hot.” She winked, and the breath left my chest.

“It also couldn’t be further from the truth.” I leaned on the enclosure next to her, keeping my eyes on Daisy, who seemed to be enjoying our company. “I was only there until I was ten, then I was with another family until I became a problem, then another until I was eighteen.”

“You? A problem? I’m shocked.”

Her quiet teasing made me smile. “I was a shithead of a kid. That foster family wasn’t perfect, but they were okay. But I was a young teen, and I was trouble with a capital T. Always getting in fights with boys twice my size, hanging out with the wrong crowd. Well, at least until I got my act together at sixteen or so. You know that show about the guy who teaches himself law and then gets a job at a big fancy firm?”

She nodded, not looking at me, which made it easier to tell her all this.

“I realized what hard work and money could do for me, and I was determined to change my life. Ace high school, go to college, go tolaw school or business school, get a big fancy job. But mostly get the fuck out of there.”

“Therewas Tennessee? Your third foster family?”

I nodded, wishing I had something to do with my hands, feeling restless. I turned away from her and pulled a piece of straw from a bale of hay sitting by the stall door.

“Correct. That family was…bad.” I left it at that. I didn’t mention the fights I didn’t start, that had always ended with me getting bloodied and bruised, the days I hadn’t eaten except at school, where they had served free lunch. “It’s why I’ll never go back to somewhere like this.” I waved my hand. “Small towns give me the creeps. I like being anonymous. And I like being rich.” I shrugged and twisted the straw around my finger.

She was quiet for a second and oddly, I felt comfortable with it. Not waiting for judgment or pity. Cynthia glanced at me, her brown eyes serious.

“I understand that. This career is like a forge. You can go in one thing, and with enough heat and pressure, you can become something totally different. You can be reborn. From a country boy to a big city lawyer. I’m just a girl from Queens, but at the office I’m a shark, someone to be feared, a voice of authority. I’m not just a face in a crowd, but someone who matters, someone people look up to.”

“You love it.”

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