Free Falling for Fate by Caisey Quinn Page A

at the woman across from her. “How’s that exactly?”
    Gwen chewed the inside of her cheek for a second before launching into her plan of Operation Rescue Fate. “I have an apartment—well, a small loft—on Greenwich in Tribeca. My dad helped me with the down payment, but I need a roommate. I had one but she hooked up with our boss and then hightailed it out of town.”
    “Mr. Pierson?”
    Gwen nodded. “Yep. That’s the rumor. And that no intracompany-dating policy is no joke. She didn’t stick around to tell me if she was fired or forced to resign or what, but I have an open room. I could even give you a few weeks to get on your feet before you’d have to help out with rent. She paid in advance and left without asking for a refund. I know how much you make at Maxwell because it’s what we all make, so I know you can afford it.”
    Fate wanted to cry. Or leap across the table and tackle-hug the woman. But if she’d learned anything about life, it was that things that seemed too good to be true usually were.
    “Gwen, I don’t—”
    “No. Wait. Before you say no, let me explain that this is not charity. I do okay for myself, but a roommate to help with bills actually allows me to have extra money so that I can have a life.” She waited for Fate to argue. When she didn’t, Gwen continued. “And my friend Sam works at Lux, a club downtown that pays extremely well—even part-time servers and bartenders make close to what we make at Maxwell. They just don’t get the insurance and benefits. If you’re looking to make extra cash on the weekends to help pay for your mom’s medical care, I could see if she could get you an interview.”
    A lump formed in Fate’s throat. Kindness like this was rare. And when everything had been going so outrageously awful, she could fully appreciate the blessing that was nearly knocking Gwendolyn Scott over in an elevator.
    “Why are you doing this for me? You hardly know me.”
    The other woman tilted her head to the side. “Because I was you once. I was in love with a sorry excuse of a man who couldn’t commit. And then I moved on, and it was hard as hell. I struggled and I still live on leftovers most of the time, but can I tell you something?”
    Fate nodded. She could tell her that she was a serial killer at this point and Fate would still kind of love her.
    “Sometimes, the worst things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.”
    The words threaded through every fiber of Fate’s soul. “I love that. Who said that?”
    Gwen shrugged. “I think I saw it on Pinterest or somewhere. I had it framed and it’s proudly on display on a wall in my bedroom. I believe that it’s true—not because I have any concrete proof, just because I choose to believe it.”
    Fate quietly contemplated the worst thing that had ever happened to her and the path it had propelled her down. A beautiful stranger who’d given her the most incredible night of her life.
    “I think I choose to believe it too.”

S he couldn’t have described what she felt for all the money in the world. It was a bit like her entire life had been divided into individual balloons filled with high-octane helium, dozens of them—some carrying her concerns about her mom, a few containing the cost of her mother’s medical care, her rent, her utilities, the need for decent clothes for work, the hours of sleep she’d have to forgo to hold two jobs. All of them had strings, strings she was grasping desperately with already full hands. They pulled and tugged in every direction, threatening to break her apart any second.
    But among all the worry and the fear of failure and the stress, there was one memory she held close in a private space she hadn’t even known existed.
    Him.
    The sexy stranger who’d given her the kind of night she couldn’t forget. Glancing up at the broad expanse of night sky and seeing only a few stars through the glow of city