Chapter 1

My marketing job in Charlotte was boring.

I, Chloe Kessler, heiress to a hotel empire, sorted spreadsheets.

My resume was fake, just enough for entry-level.

Dad' s idea. "Learn the real world, Chloe," he' d said.

So here I was, in a city I barely knew, trying to make it on my own.

My ideas for projects? Ignored.

My boss, Mr. Henderson, barely looked at them.

My co-worker, Jessica "Jess" Bellweather, was my "friend."

She wasn't.

"Chloe, you're so quiet," Jess would say, loud enough for the office to hear.

"You should be more like me, get your voice out there."

She' d just landed a small client, a local bakery.

She boasted about it for a week.

And she always talked about her boyfriend, Marky Jenkins.

"Marky's taking me to that new rooftop bar tonight," she' d announce.

"He's so successful, you know? Luxury cars."

I knew Marky. He was my boyfriend.

Or, he was supposed to be.

He' d been distant lately.

My phone buzzed. A text from Marky.

Hey, babe. Dinner tonight? That new place, 'The Gilded Spoon.' My treat.

Jess leaned over my cubicle wall.

"Ooh, someone got a text. Is it a secret admirer, Chloe?"

Her smile was too wide, too fake.

"Just Marky," I said, keeping my voice flat.

"Oh! The Gilded Spoon? That' s super expensive. Marky must be doing really well."

Her eyes had a glint I didn't like. Envy.

I just nodded.

The Gilded Spoon. I' d read about it. Definitely not Marky' s usual style, or budget.

I had my Amex Centurion Card in my wallet.

A little piece of my real life, hidden away.

Sometimes, just knowing it was there helped.

It reminded me this Charlotte life wasn't forever.

I wanted to prove myself, yes.

But some days, the charade was exhausting.

Especially with Jess around, her voice like a constant, annoying buzz.

And now, Marky wanted to go to The Gilded Spoon.

Something felt off.