Chapter 1
Safiya listened to the never-ending ticking of the clock. The sound was magnified by the huge lecture hall which, despite the enormous and slightly egregious number of students it was able to hold, still produced an echo.
Unfortunately, it was unable to drown out the voice of Professor Martin, who for the past two hours had lectured on ethics within corporate law. Safiya was bored to death. She couldn’t decide whether her boredom was the result of her sheer hatred of corporate law or the fact that she excelled in it. Just like every other class. When she feared that she would begin hallucinating the sound of the clock’s ticking in her sleep, Safiya redirected her attention to the body of students within the lecture hall. To her dismay, she saw that the majority were white men dressed in khakis, polo shirts, or both: the typical student at Harvard Law School. They were frantically jotting down notes and fighting their eyelids, which became heavier with each passing minute.
Fortunately, she also caught sight of her best friend, Solana, who was also bored to death from the lecture. Solana didn’t excel in corporate law like Safiya. But she hated it like Safiya. In fact, it was one thing they bonded over when they first found out they were roommates, in addition to their SZA obsession and being women of color, much to their relief. Solana caught Safiya’s eye and put a gun to her head with her hand, making Safiya chuckle. Solana always knew how to get her through a lecture.
“Alright guys, that’s enough for today,” Professor Martin exclaimed, noticing that the whole class could barely keep their eyes open. “We’ll continue this next class. Don’t forget your papers are due next week. And no procrastinating, unless you want to pull an all nighter!”
All the students subconsciously nodded in unison. They were probably more focused on the pack of energy drinks they would need to buy to pull an all nighter for their papers. Safiya said goodbye to Solana, who was in no rush to get to her next class, and stuck around to talk with Professor Martin.
“You know, it would do you some good to actually pay attention in class, Safiya,” warned Professor Martin, jokingly. “You may need a refresher on all this stuff for tomorrow.”
Starting tomorrow, Professor Martin would be helping his longtime friend, Ricardo Delgado, through some turbulent times at his company. And Safiya would be joining him. To be honest, Safiya had hardly taken the time to even look up the Delgado’s company. All she knew was that it was one of those huge companies that no one had ever heard of that owned many of the brands that people used every single day. And that its headquarters was the tallest skyscraper in Boston. The only reason that she decided to tag along was so she could skip some classes and have a better looking résumé.
“Starting tomorrow, my whole life will be corporate law, Professor,” said Safiya, already exhausted by the thought of it. “Let me savor my last few moments of peace!"
“Alright, whatever you say. Make sure to be at headquarters by 8 A.M. tomorrow. And bring your brain!”
“I’ll try my best not to forget it,” replied Safiya, flashing Professor Martin a smile as she walked out the door.
Back at her dorm, Safiya decided to do some last minute research on the Delgado company to ensure that she wouldn’t sound like a complete idiot tomorrow. As she lay on her stomach dressed in only a tight pajama shirt that accentuated her breasts and panties, she multitasked, eating a bowl of mac and cheese for dinner and typing on her laptop.
Ah, college life, she thought.
Scrolling through the results that she found, Safiya clicked on a photo of what appeared to be the heir to the Delgado throne and a blonde woman. Before she could find out more, she became distracted by her bowl of mac and cheese that was nearly flung into the air when Solana jumped on the bed. She was taking out her braids.
“Jesus Christ, Solana!” exclaimed Safiya. “I’ve got precious food in this bowl!”
“Sorry!” Solana replied with a mischievous grin. “Whatcha lookin’ at, Saf?”
“I don’t know, a photo of some people I should probably know at this point,” she replied. Safiya and Solana read the title of the photo:
A Real Life Fairytale!: Santiago Delgado and Valerie Dixon Announce Their Engagement
“Is she rich, too?” Solana asked.
“Yup,” replied Safiya, not knowing if she was more annoyed by their wealth or by the cringey title.
“Is this what the rich do now?” Solana remarked, making no effort to hide the anger in her voice. “They have these stupid, arranged marriages so they can breed ultra-rich, mutant babies!”
Safiya laughed at Solana’s commentary. She didn’t know how she came up with this bizarre stuff.
“Who knows,” she responded. “Maybe they actually love each other, and the company merger thing is just a pro.”
“Bullshit,” replied Solana. “But I do have to admit, that Santiago guy is hot.”
“Can’t you read, Sol? He’s engaged.”
“Nothing is final until the wedding,” Solana said with a smirk. ”Anyways, I need to stop looking at that screen before I break it. Plus, I’m trying to finish my hair by two A.M.”
“And what’s the likelihood of that happening?”
“Shutup. You need to go to bed too, Saf. Early day ahead of you!”
Listening to Solana’s advice, Safiya decided to call it night. Right before she was about to shut her laptop, a picture of Santiago Delgado caught her eye. Reluctantly, she clicked on it and examined the Delgado heir.
Santiago Delgado, as much as she hated to admit it, came as close to perfection as a man could get. He had brown hair and dark brown eyes to compliment his tan complexion and seemed relatively tall from the photo. Despite the dark suit that he was pictured in, his muscles could still be seen clinging to his shirt, as if being suffocated by it. Everything about him was meticulously perfect, from his perfectly gelled hair to his crisp suit. Although all these attributes alone could already easily sweep a girl off her feet, it was another thing that caught Safiya’s eye in particular.
Santiago Delgado naturally exuded dominance. His facial structure was sharp and precise. His dark eyes shot daggers, that could make anyone surrender in seconds. His stance looked calculated, yet at the same time looked like a second nature to him. And, perhaps the worst part of all, his slight smirk conveyed that he knew it.
Safiya took one last glance at him.
You may be pretty, Santiago Delgado, she thought. But deep down, I know you’re just another rich asshole.
And she shut her laptop.
