Chapter One

With her heart pounding, her nerves a complete wreck, and her brain a jumble of half-finished thoughts, Annabeth rushed around her desk gathering her purse and the light jacket she’d worn that day.

Mother Nature liked to mess with New Jerseyans during spring. It was like the mystic goddess was playing roulette with the weather. Sometimes it was beautiful, warm, sunny, and just lovely. Often it was cold, windy, rainy, and downright miserable. The thing was, that all happened in the course of one day.

“Whatever,” she mumbled to herself, swapping her work heels for a pair of neon pink crocs.

Comfort whenever she could, that was Annabeth’s motto. Also, probably why she’d never been picked for this gig before. She’d only recently started wearing appropriate footwear inside the office because Toni suggested it.

She hated what she called Annabeth’s orthopedic nurse shoes, but Annabeth did not give a fuck. Crocs were fucking awesome, and she had a dozen pairs in all colors and prints.