By Hook or by Wolf

I don’t have to save the world.

But I want to.

I want to be that person.

I want to be the one that everyone can count on.

I want to be the one that people turn to when they’re in trouble.

I want that to be me.

I want it.

My drive across town takes only a few minutes. I park at the back of the parking lot and stare up at the building. So this is where my client works? I’ll be the first to admit that she looks like a feeble old lady. At least, she had when we met.

Now?

Now I don’t know what I’m about to find.

Maybe it was all an act.

Either way, I steel myself before heading inside. There’s no telling what I’m about to walk into. It takes me a little while to finally get to the building because I parked so far away. Most of the parking lot is full. I’m guessing there’s a huge employee base here, which is actually pretty fantastic. Claw Enterprises is a huge employer in our town. In a day and age when your job means everything, it’s nice to know that some people still offer a chance for adults to make a living wage.

When I walk inside, there’s a huge open lobby. People are bustling about, walking to the elevators, going up the escalator, and talking with associates. There are so many people, in fact, that I’m not really sure where to look or where to go. There’s a receptionist sitting at a large desk, but this isn’t my first rodeo.

It’s my second rodeo.

And I know that if I waltz right up to her and demand a meeting with Emily Claw, she’s going to laugh me right out of the building.

Instead, I follow my personal mantra that’s gotten me through some hard times.

“Fake it ‘til you make it.”

That’s exactly what I plan to do.

I push my shoulders back and my hips forward and despite the fact that I’m not even sort-of wearing business-casual clothing, I strut past the receptionist. She opens her mouth, as though she’s going to ask if she can help me, but I quickly grab my phone and hold it up to my ear.

“I just arrived,” I say to my phone. “Yes, I’ll be there in a minute. Let me grab an elevator. The numbers are all right here. They look absolutely perfect, yes.”

My fake phone call seems to be just enough to get the receptionist off my back because she shrugs and looks back at her computer. She starts typing away and I hurry to the elevator. I slip in just as three other people enter. They all smell abso-fucking-lutely fantastic.

It’s a pity, really.

Sometimes I wish that I actually took time to date. After losing Henry, I just can’t. He was everything to me: my soul mate. He was my rock. My foundation. Nobody understands me the way he did and there’s part of me that doesn’t think I’ll ever get that again.

But it’s fine.

I’m totally fine.

I’m fine.

“Which floor?” The guy beside me asks. I glance quickly at the numbers on the wall. 20 floors. Damn. There’s no doubt that the owner of the company took a top-floor office for herself, but I’m not about to tell anyone in here that’s where I’m going.

“18,” I say, trying to play it casual. Apparently, that was a good guess because he pushes the number without a second thought. The elevator moves up and as it does, it empties. A few people get out at each floor. Eventually, it’s just me and the guy beside me. He gets out at the 17th floor and then I’m alone.

It’s just me.

The elevator opens at the 18th floor and I quickly jab the button for floor 20, but there’s a little message that asks me to input a code on the keypad beside the buttons.