Chapter 3

3.

The plane touched down.

Joseph Delgado was there to meet me.

He was another one of those family kids the Delgados had tossed out to earn his stripes.

Not so different from me, really—except I'd finished my apprenticeship and just didn't want to go home.

He'd washed out halfway through, and didn't dare go home.

If he hadn't run into me before all this, he'd probably have been fleeced down to his last dime.

"Miss Prescott, welcome to America. You'll have my full backing. All you have to do is show them what you can do."

I'd barely settled into the town car when another message came in from Cary.

【Summer, Josh got into a car accident on his way to drop me at the office. That's the only reason he's asking you to step in and handle some company business for him.】

【You've always had a knack for that kind of thing anyway.】

I glanced at Lesley's line in the group chat.

【If Josh asking won't do it, let Cary give it a try. He is about to be her fiancé, after all.】

I smiled. I had most of the code in that notebook memorized by now.

I pulled a few phrases and sent them back.

【If that's the case, I'll find a way to manage it.】

Translated, though, it meant something else entirely.

【Not my problem.】

Lesley smiled as she wrapped a scarf around her neck, looking off toward the snow peaks in the distance.

"Come on, the hike's about to start."

"It's high up here and cold, and phones drain fast. Let's silence them and power them off, then stay close to the group."

I finished my onboarding paperwork and went into the office that same day to get a basic feel for the operation.

The more I looked, the more my head throbbed.

Joseph really didn't seem like a true Delgado.

He wasn't dim, exactly, but he had zero grasp of the most basic business instincts.

Nine out of ten of his hires were all ambition and no ability.

The handful with any talent were pinned flat by the useless ones, who held their spots through connections.

"If you actually want to turn this company around, step one: get rid of the nepotism hires. Now."

Joseph nodded, again and again.

"Just tell me who to cut, and I'll cut them."

We cleaned house, and the complaints rolled in.

I placed a call back home.

Straight to the classmates I'd once brought into Cary's company.

"New job. Company-paid relocation. You in?"

Seven or eight of them, almost no hesitation.

"Stick with Summer, we eat well."

"Honestly, we've been done at Mr. Gomez's company for a long time."

Turned out that while I was gone, Cary had pulled Lesley in.

She didn't actually do any work—just threw her weight around off her connections and poached a good chunk of their numbers.

Truly a death wish.

Wanting the sheep to run, but not letting them graze.

"I'll book your flights and push your resignations through. Wrap up the handover and you leave tomorrow."

"You're a lifesaver, Summer."

"I'm crying. I'm following Summer for the rest of my life."

I logged into the back end of Cary's company talent system.

Finance got the message, zeroed out those people's pay, ran it through the fast track, and processed their exits clean.

Only after all of it was done did she still feel a little on edge.

Finance called Cary without letup.

The first several rang out with no answer. Someone finally picked up on the last one—but it was Lesley's voice.

"What do you want with Cary?"

Finance didn't dare hesitate, and quickly said,

"Miss Prescott, she……"

Cut off before she could finish.

"That's enough, stop. Wait until we're back, then tell Cary yourself."

"Don't ruin the mood for us."

The call ended. Cary had just come back with an armful of firewood, and looked at her, puzzled.

"Who called?"

Lesley smiled and switched off her phone.

"Spam call. I hung up."

He thought nothing of it.