LITMIR.BIZ

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were separated by either demolished buildings or cleared, but overgrown, lots.

      The storm had happened two years ago, yet the devastation was still evident. Rose knew about it firsthand.

      David moved, catching her attention. He went around his car, shrugged out of his suit jacket, folded it carefully and placed it in the back seat of the luxury car. He opened the driver’s door, then looked up. Their eyes connected and Rose jumped back as if she’d been burned.

      A moment later, she heard the car door close. The engine purred to life and when she glanced down again, the car accelerated away. Letting out a long, slow breath, she turned away from the windows.

      The business card he’d left lay on the table, a small white beacon in a sea of dark wood. She lifted it between two fingers. It bore his New York office address. His cell-phone number had a red circle around it, a signal that he was reachable at any time.

      Rose dropped it next to the slip of paper with an address she recognized. It was the building next to the store. While working at Bach’s, she’d been in and out of it thousands of times.

      Twenty-four hours he’d given her. What would the Bachs think? Should she return? She felt disloyal, even though she knew it was irrational. The final meeting the Bachs held with their employees told them the sale meant Thorn’s would keep as many of them as possible. Rose didn’t expect to be one of them. She was management and experience told her that new management meant out with the old.

      She was the old.

      Go back... She heard the words in her head. Go work for the people who had capitalized on someone else’s misfortune? It was unconscionable. Rose turned around in a full circle. Every inch of her small apartment could be seen from any place she stood. She’d once been part of the mighty and her fall had been long and hard. David Thorn was offering her a chance to restore some of her former life—if that was possible.

      For a moment, the crisis she’d withstood for three days came back to her. She pushed it away, refusing to allow the thoughts to blossom in her mind.

      She needed something more challenging than working nights as a cage cashier in a local casino. But Thorn’s!

      Could she really go back there, back to the place she’d called home for so many years—a place that was only a shell of what it used to be?

      * * *

      The Jersey coastline stretched for a hundred and thirty miles, from the arm of New York to the tip of Cape May. Logan Beach comprised only twenty of those miles, including five miles of natural preserve.

      Rose walked along the water’s edge. Holding her loose skirt above her knees, she played footsie with the soft lapping of water.

      “Rose.” Amber Waverly sang her name and waved as she headed for her. Amber was her best friend. They’d met two years ago under dire circumstances. Together they had saved each other’s lives.

      Rose waved back and waited for Amber to reach her. Carrying their shoes, Rose and Amber walked slowly. The water was cold, but refreshing.

      “Glad to see you out of that apartment. What got you out?” Amber asked.

      “David Thorn,” she said, emphasizing his name.

      “Of the House of Thorn,” Amber stated.

      “None other.” She glanced at her friend.

      “How did this happen?”

      Rose heard the admiration in her friend’s voice. It irritated her, but Amber never worked at Bach’s, so her allegiance lacked.

      “He came by my apartment about an hour ago and offered me a job.”

      Amber hooted. “That’s wonderful. You are going to accept it.” She stated it as fact without even asking what position he’d offered her. “That night job you have is going nowhere and you know it. You want a future, someplace where you can use your experience and leave your mark.”

      Amber was a positive person. She had gotten Rose through the storm and she continued to try and push her to return to the retail business.

      “I’m having a hard time with it. It’s Bach’s. The store will have a new name and a new look. Every time I go through the doors, I’ll be reminded of how my life changed.”

      Amber jumped in front of her, took her shoulders and shook her. “Rosanna Turner, what is our motto?”

      “Survive, don’t let the bad guys win.”

      “Right.”

      “The Thorns are the bad guys,” Rose said, shaking herself loose and continuing to walk.

      “You don’t know that,” Amber responded. “And even if they are, wouldn’t it be better to fight the battle from the inside than trying to overcome it from a distance?”

      “I’m not sure. I was so looking forward to taking over the store when the Bachs retired. Now I’m relegated back to following orders from a family group with little connection to Logan Beach.”

      “What did he offer you?”

      “Assistant manager.”

      “That’s what you were before. Look at it as an opportunity,” Amber said.

      “How?”

      “Since this is a new store, you can guide it to the place you want it to be. I’m sure David Thorn isn’t unreasonable.”

      “He’s a lawyer.”

      “Lawyer?” Amber repeated.

      “I looked him up on the internet. He’s a corporate attorney.”

      “That’s perfect.” Amber’s arm went up to the sky in salute. “If he’s into the law and not the retail end of the business, you’re sitting in the right seat to get done what you want.”

      Rose hadn’t looked at it like that. Leave it to Amber to see the big picture. Rose disliked her current job. It provided her with a means to eat and pay rent, but did nothing for her ego. She loved retail. David Thorn had offered her an opportunity to return and thoughts of getting back into retail would solve a lot of her problems, but could she let that happen? It was up to her to decide if she wanted to take the leap and turn her life toward a beginning point again, or do something else.

      One thing David Thorn’s visit forced her to see was that she had to make a move. Her decision had to be whether she’d make it with the House of Thorn or somewhere else.

       Chapter 2

      The elevator doors slid open silently. Rose raised a foot, but stopped it in midair, allowing it to hang there before her balance tipped her sideways. As the doors began to close, she stepped out. Behind her the elevator closed, cutting off any escape she might want.

      Uncomfortable in the heels she’d bought the day before, Rose paused and straightened her new suit jacket. She had only a few things left of her old life. Most were lost in the storm. Her current job didn’t require business attire. This was a new Rose. David Thorn’s office was at the end of the hall. Already his name was on the door. Rose’s stomach clenched. She moved slowly toward it. Without knocking, she opened the carved wooden portal and took in the room.

      There were two offices, a reception area and a conference room. No one sat in reception. Nothing lay on the receptionists’ desk, indicating no one worked there. A clock on the wall was the only thing in the room that showed any life. The offices sat perpendicular to each other and the doors were open, allowing sunlight from the windows to spill out. To her eyes, the light was blinding.

      Hearing the squeak of a chair, she looked toward the sound. David Thorn appeared in the doorway. It was all Rose could do to keep from gasping. She’d forgotten how good-looking he was. Six feet tall, brown eyes with a hint of amusement in them. He was

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