Chapter 1
Elise had re-read the same email three times and still couldn’t tell you what it said.
She stared blankly at her glowing monitor, the spreadsheet open, the numbers blurring into nothing. All around her, office noise buzzed in the background—phones ringing, keyboards tapping, someone unwrapping something loudly in the break room. Her coffee had gone cold. Her enthusiasm, long before that.
She checked the clock: 4:47 p.m.
Her soul had clocked out at lunch.
Her phone lit up beside her keyboard.It was her childhood bestfriend and roommate.
Jenny - Still trapped in spreadsheet hell?
Elise smiled faintly, thumb hovering.
Elise - Yep. I’ve accepted my fate. I’m going to die surrounded by bar graphs.
Jenny - Nope. Not letting that happen. Come home on time tonight. I have wine. And a plan.
Elise - A plan that involves fire or federal charges?
Jenny - Not unless you say no.
That made her pause. Jenny was chaos wrapped in good intentions, and any time she said “a plan,” it was either life-changing… or mildly illegal.
Elise minimized the spreadsheet and took a long, slow sip of bitter coffee.
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be worse than another night staring at the ceiling wondering if this was it.
That Evening – Their Apartment
The scent of garlic and red wine hit her as soon as she opened the door.
Jenny was in the kitchen barefoot, music playing low, a wine glass already in hand. She turned with a smile like she’d been waiting all day to cause trouble.
“You’re late,” she said, pouring a second glass.
“I stopped to mentally prepare for whatever this is,” Elise replied, dropping her bag.
Jenny handed over the glass. “Trust me. You’re going to want to be sitting for this.”
“I am sitting,” Elise said, collapsing onto the couch.
“Good. Because I signed us up for something.”
Elise blinked. “Please tell me it’s not another dating app.”
Jenny whipped out a folded brochure from behind a candle like she was revealing evidence.
Amazon Exploration – Two Weeks. Guided. Off-Grid. All Wild.
Elise choked on her sip of wine. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m serious. No Wi-Fi. No mirrors. No conference calls. Just trees, sweat, and maybe hot strangers.”
Elise stared at her. “You really think throwing me into a rainforest is the solution to burnout?”
“I think you’ve been living the same day everyday for eight months. And I think it’s time to feel something.”
Jenny pushed the brochure closer. Mist. Green. A single trail through it all.
“Ten people,” she added. “Two guides. We’ll be paired off. You might even meet someone tall, dark, and useful in a crisis.”
Elise rolled her eyes. But her fingers brushed the edge of the paper anyway.
Part of her—the one buried beneath spreadsheets and sensible shoes—wanted to say yes.
She didn’t say it out loud.
But she didn’t say no, either.
