I said, trying to sound as patient as I could, even though I felt like my sanity was hanging on by the thinnest of threads. “We’ve been planning this party for two months. A group of our friends are inside the club waiting for you. We paid a hundred dollars for a bottle of champagne! You work your ass off, can’t you leave just this once? It’s your birthday; you can’t work overtime on your birthday. You only turn twenty-three once, and we love you. We want you here with us.” I pressed the palm of my free hand against my ear, trying desperately to block out the sound of honking horns and rowdy Wall Street types that liked to frequent this area of town after hours. Even through the bustle of the city around me, I still managed to hear Paige’s long-suffering sigh on the other end of the line. “Chloe,” she said with a hint of a whine. “I want to be there, okay? But Carter has a presentation tomorrow, and I have to get these slides cleaned up before I can go.” “Okay.” “Okay?”
