Page 7 of The Prices We Pay
Raising my brows, I ask, “Finally hired one?”
“Yeah. Her name is Josephine Jenkins. I think she’ll beperfect.”
I notice the change in inflection on that last word but choose not to question it. There’s already enough tension floating in the air for one morning.
“I’ll double-check, but I should be free at some point in the afternoon.”
“Good. I think you’ll really like her,” he says with a suspicious grin. I’m not sure what could be so special about a broker, but as long as I don’t have to hear Luca bitch about customs forms every night when he gets home, I’ll be a happy camper.
“I’m sure I will.”
“All right.” Luca hits a button underneath his desk, and the sound of the door locking sounds through his large office. You can’t hear or see it, but a security system blocking any outside reconnaissance equipment casts a cloak over the room—a type of beyond-complex software that Seb was able to create and install in a matter of an hour. He looks over at Dante in question. “You ready?”
Dante nods. “Sure am, boss.”
5
Josephine
I’m standing outside the Vittori Enterprises building, staring at the doors as a mill of people pass by me on the busy New York City street. I know that the moment I walk through those doors, my entire life is about to change.
Today is not only the first day of a job I never could have dreamed of in a million years, but it’s the first day of the rest of my life.
And I’ll be damned if I make that life anything but exceptional.
Tightening my hand around the handle of my bag, I make my way into the building and through the lobby toward the elevators while simultaneouslyscanning my surroundings, both nervous and hopeful about the prospect of seeing Lorenzo again.
A small wave of disappointment rolls through me when I don’t see him by the time the elevator doors open. It’s a rarity, but I’m the only one in line for the elevator, so when the doors close in front of me, I take a few minutes to gather my bearings before it reaches the top floor, where I’m supposed to meet Clara and the Human Resources representative, per the email I received after I left here yesterday.
As the elevator rides up, I stare at my reflection in the metal doors, doing one last check to make sure everything is just right. Similar to the pants I wore yesterday, I’m wearing a pair of black, high-waisted trousers with a matching black bodysuit. I paired it with a black oversized blazer that I have rolled at the sleeves and the black Gucci belt with gold hardware that I bought myself after I got my first job when I moved to New York a little over a year ago.
Not the smartest purchase, but I deserved it.
After many late nights and grueling year-round classes, I graduated in three years with a bachelor’s degree in business management from Palm University in Pensacola, Florida. I quickly realized that I needed to find a path, and I needed to find it fast. Not only did I have student loans to pay off, but I was determined to never return to Billings again. I worked too hard to get out of that place, and I didn’t want to go back with my tail between my legs and be financially supported by my super-successful younger brother because I couldn’t find a job.
I mean, how embarrassing.
I was already behind, considering I couldn’t enroll in college until I was twenty, and I didn’t want to delay my future any more than it already had been. Luck was on my side, though, because a week after graduating, I applied for an internship in Miami at Aldrich Real Estate, a super successful Fortune 500 real estate company. Having no real connections to Pensacola, I moved south to Miami after getting the job and worked there for a little over a year, absorbing and learning as much as possible.
One night, at a company event, I excused myself to the restroom, where I heard CEO Charles Aldrich verbally berating his wife in the hallway to the point that she was in tears.
I quit the next day.
I refuse to work for a company where a man like that is in charge. I’ve seen how those types of relationships can play out firsthand, and I won’t put myself in that space ever again.
I realized I didn’t want to risk putting my future in the hands of anyone else, so I got my customs broker license, a job I knew had a high probability of making decent money and something that my type-A Virgo personality would excel at, and started my own business. I worked my ass off for two years, taking on as many clients as I possibly could, and quickly became one of the most sought-after customs brokers in Miami, regardless of only being twenty-four years old. Yet, something about Florida didn’t feel quite…right.So, I packed up everything I owned and moved up to New York. After wheeling and dealing with just the right clients, Iwas able to make enough money to buy my own apartment in just six months.
Me, Josephine Jenkins, a nobody from Billings, Montana, now owns a luxury apartment in New York City. Two years later, I’m twenty-six years old and a customs broker so successful that companies are fighting to secure contracts with me. And now I’ve secured a contract so lucrative that it could set me up for the rest of my life.
I’ve made a success out of myself. I’m in a city I love. I have an apartment that, for the first time in my life, feels like a home. I have a career that I built from nothing. I finally feel like I’m who I was meant to be. Yet somehow, the small twinge of pain lingers in my stomach from memories I’ve tried to bury deep down but are never far from the surface.
Not the time,Joe.
The elevator opens on the top floor, pulling me out of my trance. I take a deep breath and step out onto the luxurious marble floor, fully prepared to run into Clara or even the human resources rep. Instead, I am greeted by a man as big as theChrysler building with hazel eyes that feel like they see straight through me.
Craning my neck up at him, I smile. “Dante.”
His face softens slightly, but he doesn’t smile. “Ms. Jenkins.” Reaching out, he hands me a coffee and a wrapped breakfast sandwich. “When I’m nervous, I don’t eat. I wanted to make sure you did. Need all the energy you can get for your first day.”
