Chapter 1: Dust and gold

If you ask the modern world, a woman like me is supposed to take up as little space as humanly possible. We’re taught to shrink our bodies, quiet our voices, and apologize whenever our hips bump into a table. But I’ve spent my entire life refusing to play by those stupid rules. I am Maya Blue. I’m built with generous curves, a loud laugh, and hands that are almost always stained with mahogany wood stain or chemical stripper. I don’t starve myself for high-fashion trends, and I certainly don’t apologize for taking up space.

In fact, right now, I was taking up as much space as I damn well pleased in the middle of my small, dusty workshop, screaming the lyrics to an eighties rock song at the top of my lungs.

Sawdust floated in the sunbeams pouring through the cracked front window. The air smelled heavenly—a thick mixture of old oak, turpentine, and cheap gas-station coffee. Across the room, perched on two heavy-duty wooden sawhorses, sat my current project: a battered, gorgeous Victorian cabinet from the late 1800s. Someone had coated it in hideous green paint fifty years ago, completely suffocating the intricate, hand-carved roses hiding underneath.

It broke my heart when I first saw it at an estate sale. People throw away history just because it looks a little bruised. But I know how to look past a ruined surface. I know how to find the gold underneath the dirt.

"Just a little more," I muttered to myself, lowering the volume on my speaker just enough so I wouldn't go deaf.

I wiped a streak of sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm, careful not to get varnish in my eyes. I was wearing my favorite outfit: a pair of oversized, paint-splattered denim overalls, a faded black tank top, and work boots that had seen better days. My dark hair was pulled back into a chaotic bun that was currently losing its battle against gravity.

I picked up my fine-grain sandpaper and got back to work on the cabinet's left door. Slow, rhythmic circles. Smooth, careful pressure. Slowly, the ugly green paint flaked away, exposing the rich, warm cherry wood beneath it.

God, I loved this job.

I owned Blue Restoration. It was a tiny, one-woman shop tucked into the warehouse district of the city. I didn't make millions. Half the time, I was scrambling to cover the rent on this place because my landlord, Mr. Henderson, was a cheap asshole who raised the price every six months just because he could. But it was mine.

Every tool hanging on the pegboard, every jar of brass polish, every scar on the concrete floor belonged to me. I had built this life with my own two hands, free from anyone else's orders.

I stood back to admire my work, wiping my hands on a dirty rag. But as my eyes swept over the cozy, chaotic shop, a sharp knot tightened in my stomach. The harsh reality of my life was waiting just outside these doors.

Behind my tool rack was a stack of unpaid bills. Electricity was past due. My shop rent was due in three days, and my bank account balance was currently lower than the temperature in mid-December. If I didn't pull off a miracle by Friday, Mr. Henderson was going to slap an eviction notice on my door and change the locks.

"Think positive, Maya," I whispered to myself, running a hand over my face. "You'll figure it out. You always do."

Suddenly, a loud, piercing screech cut through my music.

My phone was vibrating so hard on the metal workbench that it was slowly walking itself off the edge. I grabbed it just before it plummeted into a bucket of wood shavings.

The caller ID said Unknown Number.

I almost ignored it. Nine times out of ten, an unknown caller was someone trying to sell me fake car insurance or a telemarketer asking if I wanted to extend my roof warranty. But with eviction staring me in the face, I couldn't afford to miss a single potential client.

I swiped the green button and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Blue Restoration, this is Maya," I said, leaning my hip against the workbench.

"Miss Maya Blue?" The voice on the other end wasn't a computer, and it definitely wasn't a sleazy salesman. It was a woman. Her voice was crisp, razor-sharp, and so absurdly polished it felt like she was wearing a three-piece suit just to make a phone call.

"Speaking," I said. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Eleanor Vale," the woman declared without a second of hesitation. "I am calling on behalf of Vance Financial Holdings. We require your immediate services for a private restoration project."

I blinked, shifting my weight. Vance Financial Holdings. Even if you lived under a rock, you knew that name. Julian Vance was the undisputed king of the city's financial world. The man was a ruthless billionaire hedge fund titan. You couldn't open a business magazine or look at a skyline billboard without seeing his shadow. He was famous for crushing his competitors before breakfast and treating human beings like numbers on a spreadsheet.

"Vance Holdings?" I asked, pulling a rag out of my back pocket to wipe my hands. "Look, if Mr. Vance wants his fancy corporate office desk polished, he can hire a commercial cleaning service. I do fine-art historical restoration. Antique furniture, rare woods, hand-carved pieces—"

"We know exactly what you do, Miss Blue," Eleanor interrupted smoothly, her tone cold enough to freeze water. "Mr. Vance has recently acquired a private collection of extremely rare, 18th-century European antique. They are located inside his personal waterfront penthouse. They require delicate, expert restoration, and they cannot leave the premises under any circumstances."

I frowned. "Wait. He wants me to work inside his home?"

"Correct. You will bring your tools to the penthouse. You will work on-site."

I shook my head. "Yeah, no. That’s not really how I operate, Eleanor. I work out of my own shop. I don't do house calls for rich guys who want a decorative prop in their living rooms. Plus, I’ve got a backlog of client work right here."

That was a mild lie. My backlog consisted of one Victorian cabinet and a broken rocking chair, but she didn't need to know that. My independence meant everything to me, and stepping into a billionaire's playground felt like stepping right into a trap.

There was a brief pause on the line. I could hear the faint sound of expensive papers shuffling.

"Miss Blue," Eleanor said, her voice dropping into a low, terrifyingly business-like register. "Mr. Vance does not take 'no' for an answer. We are prepared to offer you double your total annual income for two weeks of work."

I stopped wiping my hands. The rag slipped out of my fingers and dropped to the floor.

"Excuse me?" I stammered, convinced I had heard her wrong. "Did you say... double my annual income?"

"Double," Eleanor repeated coldly, not a single trace of humor in her tone. "Half will be wired to your account the moment you sign the non-disclosure agreement this afternoon. The other half will be paid upon completion of the project."

My heart pounded a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Double my yearly income? That kind of money wouldn't just cover my overdue rent—it would pay off my shop's lease for the next three years. It would buy me top-of-the-line equipment. It would erase every debt hanging over my head in a single stroke.

My gut screamed at me that something was off. Why would a ruthless billionaire fight so hard to hire a small, independent restorer like me when he could hire global luxury firms?

I looked back at the stack of overdue notices on my desk. I looked at the peeling paint on my workshop walls. I had zero savings, three days before eviction, and nowhere else to turn. I didn't have a choice.

"Fine," I said, hardening my voice so she wouldn't hear the desperation clawing at my throat. "You've got a deal."

"A car is already outside your shop, Miss Blue," Eleanor said smoothly. "Step out. Mr. Vance is waiting.”