The Life List Read Online Free PDF Page B

is a blur. Was I so sloshed that I’ve forgotten even earlier events? Wait! Did I have it when I went tumbling down the stairs? I rush from the room and race back down the steps.
    Two hours later, having searched beneath furniture cushions, through every drawer and closet and even the trash, I come to the horrifying conclusion that the book is nowhere to be found. When I call, nearly hysterical, my siblings haven’t a clue what I’m talking about. I collapse on the sofa and hide my face in my hands. God help me, I’ve lost my promotion, my inheritance, and my mother’s last gift to me. Can I sink any lower?
    W hen the alarm clock buzzes Wednesday morning, I wake to a blissful oblivion of yesterday’s nightmare. I stretch and throw my arm over the bedside table, blindly groping for the obnoxious little beep. Silencing the alarm, I roll onto my back, granting myself one more moment of shut-eye. But suddenly it all comes flooding back. My eyes fly open and a net of dread ensnares me.
    My mother is dead.
    Catherine is head of Bohlinger Cosmetics.
    I’m expected to dismantle my life.
    The weight of an elephant plops down on my chest and Istruggle to breathe. How can I possibly face my co-workers, or my new boss, now that they know my mother had no confidence in me?
    My heart races and I prop myself up on my elbows. The drafty loft has the crisp feel of autumn and I blink several times, adjusting to the darkness. I can’t do this. I cannot go back to work. Not yet. I collapse against the pillow and stare up at the exposed metal ducts in the ceiling.
    But I have no choice. Yesterday, when I didn’t show up for work after the meeting with Mr. Midar, my new boss called, insisting we meet first thing this morning. And as much as I wanted to tell Catherine—the woman my mother believed in—to go to hell, without an inheritance, I need my job.
    I throw my legs over the side of the bed. Taking care not to wake Andrew, I peel my terry-cloth robe from its hook on the bedpost. It’s then that I realize he’s already gone. It’s not even five A.M . and my incredibly disciplined boyfriend’s already up and running. Literally. Clutching my robe, I pad barefoot across the oak floor and lumber down the cold metal stairs.
    I take my coffee into the living room and curl up on the sofa with the Tribune . Another scandal in City Hall, more corrupt government officials, but nothing distracts me from the day ahead. Will my co-workers sympathize with me and tell me how unfair Mother’s decision was? I turn to the crossword puzzle and scramble to find a pencil. Or did the office erupt in applause and high-fives when the news hit? I groan. I’ll have to square my shoulders, hold my head high, and make everyone believe it was my idea that Catherine run the company.
    Oh, Mother, why have you put me in this position?
    A lump rises in my throat and I swallow it down with a gulp of coffee. I don’t have time to grieve today, thanks to Catherine and her damn meeting. She thinks she’s being coy, but I know exactly what she’s up to. This morning she’ll offer me a consolationprize—her old position as vice president. She’ll make me second in command in exchange for her amnesty and my obedience. But she’s delusional if she thinks I’ll accept without some serious demands. Without an inheritance, I’m going to need one heck of a raise.
    My pout softens into a smile when Andrew breezes through the door, damp with sweat from his morning run. Clad in navy shorts and a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, he studies his black runner’s watch with furrowed brows.
    I rise. “Good morning, sweetheart. How was your run?”
    “Sluggish.” He removes his ball cap and rakes a hand through his short blond hair. “You taking the morning off again?”
    Runner’s guilt punches me in the gut. “Yeah. I still don’t have the energy.”
    He bends down to untie his laces. “It’s been five days. Better not wait too long.”
    He turns in the direction of the