Woodfield, I’m leaving,” I heard Ruthie say as she stood in his doorway. “Very well,” he replied in a monotone. “See you in the morning.” Our offices were right next to one another’s, and judging by the sheer size of mine and the higher end furnishings that filled it, someone very important once worked in here. I’d heard him refer to it as Sapphire Hart’s old office earlier, and I made a mental note to ask Monica about her next time I had a chance. The clock on the wall read five past five. I rolled my chair back to my window and watched as people exited the building in droves. Men and women in suits with briefcases and purses pounded the pavement one by one and soon shoulder to shoulder. I’d accompanied my mother on many business trips to the city when I was in high school. She was an interior designer back in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and she’d often go to the city to shop the latest in high-end fabrics and art. The lights of the city were enough to enrapture me the very first time I set foot on the island, and the air was ripe with ambitious and dreams.
