* * *

Damn it," Chloe hissed.

She just managed to grab her portfolio out of the way before her orange juice spilled all over the breakfast table.

Some of the juice splashed on to the plastic cover but thankfully didn't go inside to ruin her designs. She didn't know what she would have done if it had. The damn thing had taken her weeks to compile. Hours of planning, day in day out with hardly any sleep.

She placed the folder on the far end of the kitchen worktop and rushed over to the cupboard to grab the paper towels. Kelly and Taylor would have a fit if the juice reached the lacquered Oakwood floor. They were super clean freaks and always kept the house spotless. As quickly as she could manage, she covered the table with a big wad of the towels and soaked up all the juice. She then followed that with some lemon cleaning spray to truly be rid of the evidence of her clumsiness.

What was the matter with her? She shouldn't be so nervous.

There was no reason to be, but sadly she was. How long had she been in the fashion business? More than ten years. And she had even more years of knowledge on her. A simple job application should have been nothing to her, especially since she was already technically doing the job. It was just that she wanted this job so badly.

Chloe had always wanted to be a creative director. When she was little, she didn't know what the job title was, but she knew she wanted to work for a prestigious fashion magazine and be responsible for the planning that went on behind the scenes with their designers, marketing, and fashion shows. She had a creative, imaginative mind that loved the chance to be used and offer originality. The minute she knew what a creative director did she shaped her life around getting all the qualifications and experience she needed for it.

But, now it seemed like nerves would get in her way.

Her nervous state began last night when she'd done what she thought was the final run through of her portfolio. It consisted of two sections. One displaying a collective assortment that spanned across her work experience. The other with a prospective plan and design for any of the upcoming fashion shows. She'd chosen the spring show because she loved spring and everything about it.

It was as she was going over those designs that it occurred to her that maybe the deep red color scheme she'd chosen in her layout was too bold for spring. She wondered if maybe she should have gone with yellow. Yellow signified happiness and freshness; it was light and had that placidity about it. Yellow was daffodils and honeysuckle, tulips and roses. It was a good color for spring.

Blue was a good color too. Chloe had always thought blue had the ability to have the same effect as red, but with more subtlety and tact.

Chloe had been up since two a.m. contemplating the color scheme, and now she was so exhausted she couldn't control her erratic thoughts.

She let out an anguished sigh and rested her head on the kitchen counter.

What was she going to do? There was no way she could change anything now. Today was the deadline. Today at twelve o'clock the panel at Runway Magazine would receive her application and decide her fate amongst a hundred others who coveted the highly esteemed position. Then it would be the month-long wait to find out if she'd been successful. That alone would frazzle her mind and make her go psychotic.

Honestly, this was one time when she wished her association with Regina, the proud owner of Runway, would help her out. Chloe wasn't the type to accept a handout. She loved the sense of achievement that came from working hard, but today she would gladly accept the job if it was handed to her.

Her parents had been friends with Regina and Benjamin Vanderville for a number of years. Chloe had known them since birth. She'd been friends with Taylor, their daughter, from then too. They were the same age and had gone through life together. Chloe was practically related and had grown up in LA with the rest of the family.

Apart from the fact that Chloe had always idolized Regina, she considered herself her protégé, so she would have been ecstatic if Regina just came up to her and said, "Here, Chloe, have the position; you worked hard and earned it."

Regina would never do something like that though. She'd never been lenient when Chloe started working at Runway, and she wouldn't go soft on her now.

Chloe started at Runway as an entry-level fashion assistant, the same as everyone else in her team. It didn't matter that she was overqualified for that position, having worked with the creative team at Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and GQ. But since she'd only worked at those magazines to get her foot in the door at Runway, Chloe was glad for the opportunity no matter the job. In another company, a fashion assistant could expect to move up the ranks in a few years. At Runway, you could be there for ten years and still have the same job until Regina decided that she trusted you enough to move you along.

Regina liked to keep tight control and didn't trust many people outside of the family to step up to seniority. She did everything herself because Runway was her baby, and she was like a formidable queen of the fashion realm. Chloe had been lucky to join the creative team four years ago, but she craved more. She wanted the title of creative director.

This was the first time in years that a chance to apply had come about, and only because Runway had been chosen to host LA Fashion Week this year. Should this year's event go well they'd get the contract to host it for the next five years.

It would be a massive achievement for Runway and an even bigger achievement for Regina. As such, that's where she wanted her focus, thus opening the chance for Chloe to apply for her dream job.

"Good morning, sunshine," Kelly beamed floating into the kitchen. Her radiant brown hair bounced with life across her silky beige halter neck as she moved. Chloe didn't know how Kelly could look so vibrant at this time of morning. And did she have to be so chirpy?

Chloe wasn't like that at all. Normally it took her a good hour or so to wake up, after waking up. Today she'd had several hours of prep, but her nerves had drained her of what little chance she might have at brightness. She lifted her head and regarded her friend.

Kelly wrinkled her nose when she saw Chloe's face and frowned. Her large brown eyes widened too and looked Chloe over with disdain.

"You look terrible, what happened to you?"

Chloe always appreciated Kelly's honesty, but she was in no mood for it today.

"I know I look bad. I barely slept." Chloe winced, bringing her hands up to her cheeks, which now felt hot. "I was thinking of the color scheme I chose for my portfolio. I don't know if it's right."

"Chloe, you think of this now on D-day, and an hour before we have to leave for work?"

Shit. She hadn't been keeping tabs on the time. At this rate, she'd have a nervous breakdown.

"What am I going to do?" she shrieked. A shiver of panic raced down her spine and fear knotted inside her.

"Calm down. How about just leaving it all alone?" Kelly grimaced at her. "You should go sort out your hair. Remember your date tonight."

Oh no. She'd completely forgotten. She'd have to cancel. There was no way she'd be able to go out with anyone tonight and present her best self. She didn't even know if she'd make it through the day.

Aside from working as an editor at Runway, Kelly had dabbled in many unique and interesting business ideas. The latest was a dating site that focused on the Malibu area. She was having Chloe play guinea pig to date the guys who signed up and assess if they were decent.

"I can't do it today. I'm too tired."

"Well, whose fault is that, missy? I set you up with a total hunk. You have to go. This guy teaches water polo at East Beverley High. He's got muscles on muscles." She wiggled her fingers with excitement.

He definitely sounded like Chloe's kind of guy. She loved muscles on muscles and loved a guy who was athletic. They were always the ones who took care of themselves and had that confidence about them that could make a girl weak kneed. Great as he sounded, she'd still have to decline. She couldn't gear herself up for a date, and she didn't think she'd be able to fix the mess she was.

Flicking her head to the side, she caught the ends of her blonde hair and frowned when she saw how dry and straggly the strands were. She'd have to get a super-deep conditioning mask at the salon tomorrow. That was the only thing that could bring her hair back to life.

"Can we reschedule for tomorrow? I need sorting out." Her hair, herself, and her mood all needed to be fixed. She needed to get through the day at work and get back here to chill her mind out.

Kelly grabbed the pineapple juice from the fridge and shook her head. "No. I'm not rescheduling." A smile then suddenly lifted her face. "I know. How about you have some dried paw-paw and fishtail tea. That'll do the trick."

"No!" Chloe held up her hands in protest and shook her head with complete distaste.

This was another business idea of Kelly's. She was into all the natural and organic foods from the earth stuff. She'd come up with her own brand of natural remedies to sell. It sounded like a neat idea and would have been quite appealing, too, if only everything didn't taste like hell.

As like with all of Kelly's business ideas she made Chloe play guinea pig. At first, Chloe was up for the idea. She loved her vegetables and eating right, but Kelly's blend of whatever it was she'd mixed up tasted like it could kill you. It was torture food. Forget electric shocks, being held in freezing water, or any other torturous activity you may see in movies. Kelly's blend would do the trick.

Chloe would rather shave her head than have that nasty tea.

"Tea would be good to calm you down and chill you right out. Plus it would bring back the luster in your cheeks." Kelly smiled, batting her long black lashes as she poured herself a glass of juice and sipped on it.

"Kelly if I have that tea I won't be able to go anywhere today. That thing is a despicable abomination." That was the best way she could describe it.

"It's good for you, and will give you vitality to deal with all the men chasing you."

Chloe pressed her lips together and scowled. "That is your fault."

Sure, she always got asked out, but since the inception of this flaming dating site she had daily requests. It was because she was the only decent-looking woman on the site.

Chloe wasn't the kind of girl to criticize others or think herself above anyone because she looked better, but good grief Kelly had let in the circus. And, that was saying something considering this was Malibu. At least ninety percent of the residents took the utmost care of themselves. Most days she felt like she was walking around in a magazine. Kelly had, however, attracted a majority of the remaining ten percent and hadn't exactly vetted anyone, male or female, before they signed up. Chloe supposed, though, that that was the whole point of enlisting yourself on a dating site. It jumped over the first hurdle of presenting yourself so that you'd attract someone. If your picture was what you really looked like, then that part was done for you.

"You should be thanking me," Kelly smiled. "And they’re all hunks."

Hunks with an ego, who weren't interested in going on a date and getting to know her first before they tried to jump in her pants.

"Kelly, I'm seriously stressing out here," Chloe winced.

"Okay, talk to me. What is bothering you about the color scheme?"

Chloe pulled in a breath and eased herself onto the kitchen stool. "I'm not sure red was the best color for the spring show designs. I was thinking yellow or blue may be a better choice."

Kelly smirked. "Why on earth would you think that?"

"Those are springy colors. Right? Think flowers, blue skies, and the warm sun."

As she spoke, she became more convinced that she should change the color scheme. But it was indeed too late. There was no way she could change something that took her weeks to compile in less than an hour. Even if she went to work late, it was just too little time.

"Chloe, the average person applying for the job will most likely pick yellow or blue too. In case you didn't notice, we work at Runway. We pride ourselves on being different, not average, and it's that difference that made you choose red in the first place."

Chloe released a breath and looked at Kelly, grateful for the encouragement.

Kelly was right. Everyone at Runway was there because they had the ability to be unique and push the barriers of average. They kept people wanting more and brought style and originality to the real world.

"I just want this job so much. The opportunity won't come around again." Maybe she sounded like she was overreacting, but she knew Regina. Once she picked who she wanted, another position wouldn't come around until that person either died or resigned.

It would be sad if she didn't get the job, but what was even sadder was that she'd have to leave.

Chloe loved working at Runway, absolutely loved it. She was great at her job, loved working with Regina, and adored her friends. But she was too comfortable there. Leaving would be a personal decision she'd have to make if she wanted a career. She feared another ten years would pass and she'd be the same. At thirty-three years old she was already significantly behind most of the people she'd graduated college with. They'd chosen other magazines that recognized their talents and moved right up the ranks. A friend of hers had even managed to secure a position as editor in chief at Style Magazine in Australia, and here Chloe was, just a little better than a fashion assistant still trying to get to the top.

Clothes were just clothes if you couldn't bring some life into them and make people want them. She had the ability to do that and breathe life into designs.

Until word of the position had been announced, she'd planned to leave in the fall, after Fashion Week. She thought she might go to France and stay with her parents for a while. From there she'd decide what to do. Whether that was to stay in Europe or venture back to LA.

Getting this job signified a lot for her. While she was very happy, she also had to make it her duty to think of her future. Her talents would be wasted if she didn't.

"My friend, believe me when I say you totally got this. Even Taylor thinks her mom just did the whole application thing to dot the I's and cross her Ts. Regina wants it to be legit so when she picks you no one can say that they didn't have the chance to apply."

Chloe wished she could believe that, but she wasn't sure if she could be so relaxed. Someone like Lisa, for example, could knock her off her perch. Lisa was really good. She'd been part of the creative team a year or so longer than Chloe.

The way it worked at the moment was each person in the creative team would have a chance to be in charge of a show and a magazine issue. Lisa did the Christmas show and the accompanying magazine. She'd come up with this whole ice theme that blew everyone away and definitely caught Regina's eye. Regina still talked about it now, and Christmas was two months ago. Regina didn't tend to remember anything unless it was truly memorable.

And, while Regina often gave Chloe compliments, Lisa's work had made a lasting impression.

"I hope so."

"Good. Now that's sorted, you have to consider going out with this guy later. His name is Chase, and he looks exactly like Brad Pitt."

Chloe started to laugh. She knew well enough to be wary when Kelly said things like that. The last time was supposedly a Val Kilmer lookalike. Kelly swore blindly, hand on heart, that Chloe would be getting a dupe of the perfect masterpiece Val Kilmer was as Iceman in Top Gun, but what Chloe got was more like a Fonzie from Happy Days wannabe. The guy even tried to talk like him. Chloe had to hide her laughter through the whole date and when he caught her laughing she had to make up excuses.

"Does he really, Kelly?" Chloe narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side.

"Yes, he even does lookalike shows."

Chloe blinked several times.

"Here is a picture." Kelly took her phone out from her back pocket, flicked through her photos and handed the phone to Chloe when she found the picture.

Chloe widened her eyes. It was actually true. Chase definitely looked like a young Brad Pitt. As in Legends of the Fall, Thelma and Louise, Meet Joe Black Brad Pitt.

"So, will you go?" Kelly smiled mischievously, seeing the look of appreciation Chloe gave the picture.

"Yes, I will." Chloe nodded vigorously. She'd be stupid not to go. She'd have to prep her hair with some leave-in mist and to see if Francois could fit her in for a conditioning treatment after work.

"That's the spirit," Kelly laughed.

Maybe a break from the stress and a date with a super-hot guy was the very thing she needed.

"Do you want to hear about the guy I'm going to see tomorrow night?" Kelly's eyes beamed with wildness.

Chloe laughed again. Kelly's men had to be butch with triple the amount of muscle on a normal person, and they had to be covered in tattoos. She loved military men that looked like they'd been lifting weights since birth. They were all hot—hot, but a little too vain for Chloe.

"Don't we have to leave soon?" Any talk of men with Kelly was guaranteed to take up the little time they had left, and Chloe wasn't even dressed yet.

She was about to answer when Taylor burst through the door in a cloud of excitement.

"Girls!" she shrieked. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh." She was wiggling her hands and jumping up and down, bright green eyes beaming as the excitement rippled off her.

"What? What's happened?" Kelly urged.

"Yes, what is it?" Chloe said with insistence. She couldn't deal with suspense right now.

"Richard's going to ask me to marry him," Taylor cried, jumping up and down so much her white blonde hair loosened from her high bun and tumbled down her shoulders.

While Kelly screamed with delight and equal excitement, hugging Taylor to share in the joy, Chloe did her very best to put on a happy face.

She tried her extreme best to look happy and was glad that Taylor didn't see her disdain. Chloe would have felt bad for not being happy for her best friend. It was supposed to be fantastic news, beautiful even, but she couldn't feel it.

Put simply, Chloe didn't like Richard.

He was an okay guy to be around, but there was something off-key about him. Something Chloe couldn't put her finger on and could only describe as off. She'd seen it from the first time she met him when he offered his insincere smile and fake compliments. Chloe knew when people were fake, and Richard was definitely that.

She couldn't help the need she felt to be protective of her friends. Especially Taylor. She was a Vanderville, and everyone everywhere knew that name. Her mother owned Runway, and her father was the state’s attorney. To add to all that, the Vandervilles were incredibly wealthy billionaires. That could make you a target, and an easy one if you were Taylor who fell in love at the drop of a hat.

"Did he say when he was going to propose?" Chloe asked when Kelly and Taylor stopped jumping. She wanted to know how much time she had to prep her to say no.

"No, I found this this morning. I just had to come and show you guys." Taylor giggled. Chloe held back a cringe at the thought that Taylor must have spent the night at Richard's again. That was happening a little too often for her liking.

She watched Taylor retrieve a small piece of paper from the back pockets of her jeans. It had Tiffany's written on it in gold ink. As she unfolded it Chloe could see it was an insurance certificate for a ring. Taylor's eyes sparkled even more as she held it out. Chloe didn't think she'd ever seen her look happier.

Damn. This was so hard, and Chloe felt bad for her negative thoughts towards Richard. It was something Chloe would talk to her about, just not today. Today Chloe had to worry about herself. She had to hand in her application and gear herself up for the next few weeks so she wouldn't be too stressed out with worry.

They traveled to work together in Kelly's car. Taylor talked their ears off right up until they got to the glorious revolving doors of Runway, and she continued to do so when they entered the main hall. She'd been talking about her prospective ring, and now she was trying to decide if Vera Wang made better wedding dresses than Elizabeth Gayle.

"How about a new designer?" Kelly suggested.

Chloe pulled in a steady breath. The girls were both giving her a headache. This was the part where they'd branch off and go to their separate departments.

"What do you think, Chloe? I'd love a new designer." Taylor gave her a penetrative stare and inclined her head to enhance the look. It was because Chloe had hardly said anything.

"Why don't you let Richard propose first. Then maybe you could see if he wants a big or small wedding. That way you'll know what kind of dress to get."

There, that was a good answer, one that hid her awareness of Richard quite well.

But Taylor couldn't be fooled that easily, she'd known Chloe for far too long to accept a flimsy answer like that.

"Oh please. You know the size of the wedding won't affect the type of dress I buy. Come on, girl, we're hopeless romantics. You haven't said much since we left the house." She pursed her lips together and narrowed her gaze.

"No, you haven't," Kelly noted, too, giving her the same sort of look. Kelly knew Chloe wasn't too keen on Richard, but she'd tell her off for not being happy for Taylor.

"I'm just worried about the whole creative director application." That was very true. She was worried, and it was making her very edgy.

"Why are you thinking about that?" Taylor looked at her as if the thought of her not getting the position was absurd.

"It's important to me." She hadn't shared her plans about leaving if she didn't get the job. She was hoping she wouldn't have to.

"I understand, but Chloe, there isn't anyone here who deserves the job more than you." Taylor giggled and gave her a quick hug. "Aside from the fact that you're you, you're you."

Chloe laughed and rolled her eyes.

"My mom knows you, and she trusts you. And you work as hard as she does," Taylor clarified. She spread her arms wide, opening her mouth as if she were about to burst into song, but froze as she lifted her head.

Something caught her attention in a big way.

"Wade," she whispered.

At the mention of that name Chloe whipped her head around and followed Taylor's intense stare. Chloe froze too. Just like always when she saw him.

From as far back as she could remember she'd always had the same reaction to him. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how old she got. It was the same reaction.

Her knees would turn to jelly, her heart would still and skip several beats. Her skin would flush as warmth spread through her, and her nerves would scatter.

Wade Vanderville always did that to her, and it infuriated her to no end. Chloe was a woman in control. She didn't like this weakness he'd created within her. Especially after what happened when they were younger.

She watched him standing by the second-floor balcony, talking on his phone. He looked as handsome as ever with his spiky blonde hair, dark jeans, and a fitted white cotton shirt that showed off his incredible physique.

Chase, Mr. Brad Pitt lookalike, and Brad Pitt himself for that matter, had nothing on Wade. They were small fry in comparison to him. Add that to his massive ego, bad-boy attitude, and sinful mind, and you'd have a deadly combination.

He'd been gone for five years.

Seems like he was back.