Monarch sat on the forty-first floor of the Alder Tower, the kind of restaurant where the menu didn't have prices because if you had to ask, you couldn't sit up here. Anika arrived fifteen minutes early, which was part of the plan. She greeted the hostess by name — Hi, Dana, table twelve, please — and took her seat by the window with the whole glittering city spread out below. She watched the door while she sipped her water, calm as deep water, and when Anna walked in, Anika almost laughed out loud. Because Anna had dressed. Full armor: a designer dress that was last season, heels she clearly couldn't walk in, and a little gold bag that Anika recognized instantly — because it was the bag Anna had "borrowed" from her two years ago and never returned. "ANIKA!" Anna crossed the room like a missile, arms wide. "Oh my gosh, you look — wow. You look amazing. Is that a real Delacroix blazer? Wait, no, I forget, you work in the building now! This is so crazy!" "Anna." Anika stood and let h
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