Hazel and Liz were sweating to death on the patio of a touristy restaurant at the edge of the main square in Pisa. The food was horrible, and the prices were worse, but neither of them noticed. Hazel stirred her tepid ravioli around her plate and tried not to embarrass herself by crying in public.

“I couldn’t tell you all of this over the phone, Hay! Everyone was there, and I was too pissed to keep my voice down. Not like I give a crap if they hate me at this point, because I swear to God I’m quitting. I tell you, I’m spitting bullets.”

“But I don’t get it Liz.” Hazel reached for her napkin and pressed it hard into her left eye socket, then her right. “You told them about the emails, right? I mean, they can’t deny the emails?”

“Apparently, they can. Samuel’s jerk hacker friend, Michael Blackwell, the guy who hacked your presentation in the first place? He’s made all the emails disappear. The board knows they were there. They know it!” Liz slammed her glass down on the table and the water jumped like a jack-in-the-box and went straight back into the glass. She didn’t spill a drop. “I should’ve known. When it came right down to it I'm working in a boys’ club. I'm a second-class citizen. I’ve had my suspicions over the years but now it’s confirmed. They circled the wagons around William Blackwell and his spoiled nephew and put Samuel up on a pedestal. The client loves him anyway, so now they love him too.”

“But they all know me too, Liz. I’ve worked for the company for years. Don't they trust me? Do they think I'm just making it all up?”

“Oh, Hazel! I love you, sweetie, but that's a bit naïve. They’ve chosen to ignore the evidence and cast you in the role of a sour grapes loser. This is the easy way out for them. No feathers get ruffled, no secrets get spilled.”

“So I’ve got no chance for the partnership then?” It was a dumb question. She knew it was a dumb question, she just needed to get everything out there.

Liz gave Hazel a doe-eyed look of sympathy and got up from her seat. She leaned over Hazel’s chair and pulled her into a deep hug. It felt good, and she gripped her friend back, hard. She was so lucky to have Liz on her side. Even if they couldn't do anything about it.

“You’ve worked so hard for this, and I'm gutted for you, Hay, I truly am. It’s not fair!" Liz stepped back to her chair, sat down and took a big swig of wine. "But there's another reason I wanted to talk face to face. Hear me out. I want to fight this! You said you had printouts of the emails. I want to get a lawyer and fight this for you. And then, like I said, I'm quitting."

Her heart swelled at her friend's loyalty, but there was no way she would sue. The moment Liz had said the word she'd seen her life stretch out before her. She imagined years of lawyer's offices, judges and stress. Lots and lots of stress. “You can’t quit, Liz,” Hazel said, giving her best-friend's hand a squeeze. “That’s your company. You're one of the original partners. That job is your life.”

Now Liz looked like she would cry. “But how can I go on working with these people knowing them for what they are? I mean Samuel’s behavior is not just some silly fraternity prank that his Daddy has to bail him out of. This is criminal behavior. Criminal. Plus, how can I feel safe in my job knowing what they're capable of? No, I’m quitting, but not while your lawsuit is running. I’m sticking around as a spy until it’s over.”

Hazel gave up on her ravioli and dropped her fork, it clattered into the bowl. “I can’t sue, Liz. I love you for wanting to fight with me but that would be a nightmare."

"It would be tough, but we could handle it. You need your job." Now Hazel's tears slipped over her lids, because Liz didn't know the half of it. Liz's face dropped. "Don't cry, Hay. We can do this. We can fight this together!"

"There’s so much more to this. Everything’s a mess. I just found out that somehow, someway, Indigo has lost all the money for the renovations. That means I don’t have the cash to fix up and flip the house, let alone pay for some fancy lawyer. And Dean’s gone all funny on me and I think it’s my fault. I was awful to him when I was struggling with Indigo's news. I don’t know what to expect from him and it’s killing me. Is this a summer fling? Is he going back to LA next week? I’m all messed up.” She pushed the napkin back into her eye sockets again but the wet kept leaking out the sides.

Liz glanced at her watch, “Crap!” She gathered up her bags. “Oh God, I'm sorry! I’m like the worst friend ever, but I’m not supposed to be here. If I’m late for this meeting tonight, I'll get fired which will totally destroy our leverage. We'll deal with the movie star issue later, on the phone, and together we’ll find a way to get money for a lawyer. I’ll empty out my savings account if I need to. We can’t let these guys get away with this. I can’t stand the thought that I’ve given them all my blood, sweat and tears, and this is the kind of people they are. I love you, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

And with that Liz threw some Euros on the table, kissed her cheek and was off down the sidewalk.

Hazel sat at the table for another half an hour trying to decide what to do next. She dreaded going back to the house because what she wanted most was Dean. She wanted to tell him what happened and for him to hug her while she cried her eyes out over how unfair everything was. She wasn't a wimp. There had been tough times in her past and she'd always made it through. But right now she couldn't see a way forward or a way out. She reached over for Liz's napkin so she could wipe her eyes again; hers was soaked through.

"Excuse me?" A guy in an Izod polo, a camera round his neck and a family hovering behind him, was standing over her table.

"Yes?" She gave him a trembling smile, but he wasn't fooled. He'd clearly seen her crying.

"I hope you don't mind me interrupting your lunch. It's just that Chloe doesn't want to go up the tower."

She frowned in confusion. Who was Chloe and why would she care? "Sorry?"

He held out a small strip of paper. "So we have an extra ticket. To climb the tower. I thought maybe you could use it. I lined up for two hours this morning to get it. I wouldn't like for it to go to waste."

Well, at least it would get her out of this chair. And it was something she'd always wanted to do. "Thank you." She reached out for the ticket. "I'd love to use it."