Ten more steps, that's all it would take. Carly latched the clasp on her leather bag. She tugged at the pencil skirt and let her chin drop to her chest to make sure her black stilettos were gleaming. She heard them click on the tile floor as she completed the last steps to the office door. It would all be worth it, she told herself. She was glad she let her long black hair hang down her shoulders. It reminded her that she was only twenty-eight and there were a lot more opportunities waiting for her if she just decided to turn around and disappear down the corridor.
She could still taste the buttery walnut on the back of her throat. It wasn't like her to drink first thing in the morning, but this was going to take bravado she did not possess. The double doors opened automatically and she felt herself moving effortlessly into the panoramic office. She could see Chicago's dramatic sunrise.
She stuck her hand out and was greeted by the man she met two days ago in a crowded elevator and now he was going to change her life. World travel, the finest hotels, money she never even dreamed about all for the price of one small piece of her. She could live without one toe and it was all in the name of science. It was noble of her, she reprimanded herself for the shaking in her calves. It was the last time for her favorite sling back pumps, but it was going to be over in one afternoon.
"Have you had anything to drink this morning?"
The lie stayed on her tongue like wet tissue, it was her last chance, if she told him about the rum, it would delay the surgery, give her more time to think. She wondered if she hadn't done it with purpose. Just then, the sun rose like a copper penny behind him. The halo was blinding and filled her eyes with tears.
"No, I haven't had a thing."
