Chapter One - Fiona

Ugh. If I could go back to sleep and call in sick . I would. Alexandra is giving me more than grief. Our exchange earlier was death by editorial.

"This story has no meat on its bones, and you failed to pick up the crucial edits. I need you to do an article rewrite. Oh, and I need it on my desk before five, today. If it's not up to par, then I'm putting you back on bullet point how-to guides."

"But… but."

"No buts, Fiona. It's either that or you're out the door. You're a junior editor with senior editor privileges; I expected better from you."

Double ugh. My shoulders slump in heaviness as I drag my feet, pushing the door open to Urban Grind Coffee Bar in Chicago, feeling like all parts of the abject failure my boss, Alexandra, pegged me to be. I wish she would give me a fucking break.

I'm a junior editor at a lifestyle magazine. And the thing is, I can't always salvage every article. I must have reread that article so many times, I thought my eyes would pop out. It wasn't as bad as she made it out to be, but Alexandra likes target practice, and now, I'm her target of choice. But now, it's going to be even worse given how it turned out.

My friends wave from their seats, and for a moment, I feel as if my world has a sense of normality to it. Sophia and Rachael are my saving graces.

Without them I would be tearing my hair out on the daily. Tossing my long, brown hair over my shoulder, I do my best to shake off the disappointing day and sail past the other patrons.

Rachael jumps up from her seat enthusiastically waving her hands. "Hey, over here!"

Smiling, I drop my purse on the empty seat and let out a woeful sigh. " My God. What a horrible day," I moan.

"Tell me about it," Sophia mutters sourly, her ginger mane making her a standout. She's currently enduring practical work experience at Howard and Peterson Associates as a second year law student. Howard and Peterson is one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, so it's bound to be tough.

"Oh, you too? What is it? Boys club at the law firm again?" I ask before gulping down the water in front of me.

"Yep, you guessed right. Preparation for the bullshit I'm going to put up with, but someone has to come in and balance the scales with these little cocky law boys. I don't mind screwing them right back," Sophia vents with a diabolical smirk, handing me the menu. I take a deep breath still trying to recover from my own dropped ball.

"What's going on with you?" Rachael asks with a concerned look on her face, her short blonde bob tucked behind her ears.

"It's totally bad. I'm hoping I don't get fired. I've got a meeting in the morning with Alex the dragon," I whine, crinkling up my nose.

"Oh no, that can't be good. Do we all need wine for this?" Sophia asks.

I smirk at her with a hitched eyebrow. "We always need wine if we're going to discuss work matters. Give me the nitty-gritty details. I've had a shit day, but let's concentrate on yours, it will make me feel better," Sophia says, smiling, her freckles highlighted by the last of the sun's light streaming in through the window.

"Gee thanks," I remark dryly as Rachael throws me a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, trust me, I'm giving you a breather from all my shit-house stories in the office, be thankful," she offers chirpily.

"You're right, I should be," I quip. "They sound brutal at the law office, but knowing you, I'm sure you can hold your own."

"She does for sure, because we are the epitome of girl power," Rachael proclaims sassily. "Look at us in our twenties, absolutely slaying." Rachael snaps her fingers a few times, prompting giggles from Sophia and me.

Sophia might be super serious when it comes to being a law student, but once she's among close friends, she changes completely. She's the life of the party, and it's me who's the uptight one. Ah well, we all balance one another out.

" You might be slaying, Rachael, having your art show in the next two months. I'm not slaying, though," I remind her, taking a quick glimpse around our favorite haunt.

"You are too! Alex doesn't recognize talent when she sees it. She's going to loosen up over time. Take it as a compliment if she's riding you hard; then you might end up being her superstar senior editor in due time," Racheal says in a bubbly tone.

Shaking my head, I shudder, recalling my blank computer screen freezing in front of me and closing down. "No, I can assure you, I'm number one on her hit list."

"Alex really has it out for you. There must be something going on with her behind the scenes," Sophia speculates.

"Trust me, there's more to the story," I say quickly as the server appears at our table, taking our wine and food orders.

"And?" Sophia gestures with her hands impatiently.

"My boss, Alex, didn't like the article I already rewrote for the lifestyle interview with Angeles Masters."

Rachael gasps, clapping a hand over her mouth. "No! Shut up right now. Is that the lifestyle influencer with her new perfume brand? You're editing that article?"

Nodding my head proudly, I sip my white wine when it lands on our table. "Yep, that's the one. It's not too bad either, but it needed a little bit of work, and Alex didn't like the way I shaped it."

"So, you rewrote it, right?" Sophia chimes in.

"I did, and I liked what I did to it, but I was on my laptop, instead of my computer, and I thought I would just finish it quickly, but my computer crashed, and I'm going to have to pull an all-nighter to get it back to Alex before the deadline in the morning. It's crazy."

"Oh shit, that sucks, babe, but there's a reason for everything. Maybe you're going to do an even better article rewrite," Rachael offers prompting Sophia to roll her eyes.

"Okay, Mrs. Brightside. You know what? I'll tell you what she really needs to do," Sophia says, waggling her eyebrows as I purse my lips together. I know exactly what the ladies are hinting at as well.

Ignoring them for a second, I feel my stomach rumble when our burgers arrive. "Hey, both of you, can you just feel sorry for me for a minute?" I tell them, the aroma already making me feel better.

"I do feel sorry for you, but I know you're going to get it done. So, your computer's on the fritz. Was it a glitch or you need a new laptop?" Sophia asks.

"No, I don't need a new laptop. The IT department is going to give me a new one, but I've got a special meeting marked in my calendar with Alex before our usual morning meeting. She's for sure going to fire me." I groan, taking a sip of my wine and feeling pity for myself.

"No, she's not going to fire you. Calm down. Nail the article, and you'll be fine." Sophia smiles. We've been friends for over two years now, and it just kind of happened. I kept bumping into her at The Urban Grind, small talking for a while, and then one day I noticed she had our magazine rolled up in her handbag. We became fast friends after that. Rachael was a little different. We met through work, when I attended one of her amazing art shows and we've been friends ever since.

"Speaking of nailed. I think we should head to Destiny Bar on Friday night. We can shake off all our worries, and just have fun," Rachael suggests, Sophia nodding in agreement.

"That's a great plan, but we have to find some great outfits. Any excuse to go shopping will work for me," Sophia pipes up.

Suddenly, misery begins to make way for excitement. Destiny Bar is one of our other favorite places to go to dance, flirt, and drink too much, and the DJs are always playing amazing beats.

Rachael shimmies in her seat with a glimmer in her eyes. "Oh yes! Shopping, shopping, shopping. Next time, Sophia, let's not pick a skirt that splits all the way up to your ass cheeks."

We all burst out laughing, remembering Sophia's infamous split debacle. It was the funniest thing ever. She fit into the skirt perfectly until it decided to rip when she performed an ambitious dance move. We all heard the rip, but she was already so drunk, she didn't realize how bad it was.

"Hey, that was my finest moment. I ended up getting laid that night. Speaking of which," Sophia says, turning her attention to me, "maybe you can find yourself a nice man for once, and then you can finally lose your V card." Sophia winks.

Biting into my burger, I contemplate it. I don't know what to make of losing my virginity at this point, but both my friends are looking at me for an answer. The problem is, I don't have one for them.

Shrugging, I roll my eyes. "I mean, I would have liked to have lost my virginity to someone I actually care about. Not some random sweaty dude on a dancefloor, but it's not happening for me, is it?"

"It will, but yeah, maybe you're being a little fussy on this one. It's just virginity. That's a fairy tale—finding some perfect man for it. Hell, mine was in the back of a Mercedes with a third-year law graduate. It gets better after the first time, though," Sophia points out casually and Rachael nods along with her.

"Mine was with an art director." Rachael claps a hand over her mouth. "Oops!"

"Oopsie," Sophia parrots as we all fall into laughter. "See? Do it if you want to!"

Maybe I should just lose it to a stranger at this point. What's it matter to hold out for it? Better I get it over with, right?

It's not as if I have some father figure in my life to tell me what's right from wrong with men. I've never even known the guy, and if I were to speak to my mother back in Ohio about losing my virginity, she would tell me to keep it.

We chat some more and as the conversation wears on, the stress and frustration of the day wears away, and I feel like myself again. When we shop after work the next day and I still have my job, I feel as if I've won at life.

I pull out a fuchsia-colored dress that's likely to hug tight to my curves, admiring it. "What about this one?"

"Ooo, that's going to drive the boys wild, especially with all your curves. I wish I had them," Racheal says, sighing and selecting a short cream skirt. Sophia snatches it, sliding it back on the rack.

"Ah no. You're going to spill stuff on that, not a chance," Sophia says.

"You're right. You can't go wrong with a little black dress. Maybe I should go for that?" Racheal laments as we giggle, getting excited about the boys at the club.

"Too boring. Live a little," I tell her. "I think I'm going to wear red. This red bandage dress is the winner." I pull out the racy red number as the girls give me the thumbs-up.

"Yep. Now that is hot, hot. You're going to have them all over you," Sophia praises.

"Agreed. Hot. Now you just need the perfect shoestring strap shoe to go with, and you're going to knock them dead."

A sparkle comes to my eyes as I hold the dress up in the change room mirror. "Yep, I hope I'm going to be going home with someone by the end of the night."

"For sure you will. You could have already, but you've just been so fussy. Heads turn as soon as you walk in the nightclub, Fi; you just don't realize it," Sophia discloses, performing a catwalk routine in front of the mirror.

"You're probably right," I reply with a weighty sigh, grappling with my wardrobe choices. "Let's see what Friday night brings, huh?"

"Oh, it's going to bring all the boys to the yard. Trust me. We—" Sophia points back and forth with her finger to Rachael. "—are going to make sure of it."

Now the threat's not so scary.