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think I’ll just show myself out. Sorry to take up your time."
    She felt simultaneously thrilled and dismayed to see that he was nodding. It sucked not to get the job, but she wouldn’t be working for a weirdo. She turned and started to walk toward the door.                
    "So you can start Thursday, then?" he called out after she’d taken a few steps.
    She stopped and turned. "Excuse me?"
    " We’ll see you Thursday," he said, nodding, as though she’d replied with an affirmative. "Nice to meet you, Sky."
    He turned and walked back up the stairs, leaving Sky standing there, completely confused.

Chapter 7
     
    On Wednesday evening Julia came over with Thai food and offered her opinion on the various outfits Sky was trying to decide between for her first day of work. The pile of discarded clothes on the bed grew larger and larger.
    " How about jeans and that black shirt right there?" Julia asked, taking a bite of spring roll. Sky looked where she was pointing.
    " Julia. I’m not going into work wearing jeans and a t-shirt. At least not on the first day."
    " Well, it’s not like you’re going to be dealing with the public, right? This is his own private collection. I’d think you’d want to wear something comfortable."
    " Sure, but also professional. And professional trumps comfortable, at least in this situation. I think the reason I haven’t felt totally excited about this job is because I’m nervous about messing it up. I don’t want what happened at Prelude to happen here."
    Julia nodded. "Fair enough."
    " So I’m going to be as professional as possible. Dressing like it’s a gallery job, even if I’m not going to be interacting with the public. Not talking about anything personal. Which I think should be easy enough; he doesn’t really seem like the sort of person to really get into that sort of thing."
    " Here, try this curry before I eat it all," Julia said, handing one of the plastic takeout containers to Sky. "It’s deliciously awesome tonight. And Sky? You know I love you, and of course I want the best for you, but I don’t know if you’re going to be able to make good on that second one."
    Sky took a bite of the curry, red, with chicken, over brown rice. It had a slight heat to it that was tamped down by the coconut milk, just the way she liked it. "What do you mean? You think I’m just going to go in there and spill my whole life story to him or something?"
    " Well, not necessarily, but you really are like an open book. You kind of can’t help it. Which is one of the things that make you, well, you. Most people are more guarded with that sort of thing. It’s refreshing."
    Sky smiled. "You should meet Conner, the assistant. If I’m an open book, he’s like a tabloid magazine fluttering in the breeze. But really, though." She handed the curry back to Julia. "I feel like I’ve been given a second chance in a way. So I want to do things right. I don’t want to mess this up." She picked up a charcoal-colored pencil skirt and held it to her waist. "How about this and that pink turtleneck sweater?"
    " That would be good," Julia said. "Show off those excellent calves of yours."
    Sky shook her head, smiling. "That is not what I’m going for," she said.
    " I know. But still, it can’t hurt," Julia said with a smile.
     
    Sky woke up early on Thursday and was dressed and ready to go nearly two hours before Conner was scheduled to come pick her up. She paced her apartment, fiddled with her hair and then switched out the pink sweater for a long-sleeved black and white striped shirt. Finally, she decided she’d go get a latte.
    She went to Café Del Mar , in part out of habit, and in part because it was closest. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter as she ordered her drink. Someone would be opening Prelude shortly, and she wondered if it would be Ashley or Aidan or her replacement. Probably, they hadn’t hired anyone to replace her yet.
    She went down to