The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

Author:Kyla Zhao [Zhao, Kyla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

19

Samantha winced as her ringing phone pierced the quiet of Raina’s office, drawing annoyed looks from all directions. Being in proximity to a dozen lawyers was like walking on eggshells, but Samantha supposed no one would be too pleased about having to come into work on a Saturday. At least she was there by choice.

When Raina had suggested working together at her law firm on Saturday, Samantha immediately agreed. She told herself it was because Raina’s office offered two things her flat didn’t: air-conditioning and Wi-Fi that moved faster than a snail’s pace—both of which she needed to finalize the Deluxe Eats press kit before Monday’s meeting with Cassandra.

Her quick agreement had nothing to do with her guilt over canceling brunch tomorrow to attend Vogue’s luncheon at the Singapore Repertory Theater for the second month in a row. Nothing to do with that at all.

“Hey! Took you long enough to pick up,” Anya said the moment Samantha answered the call. “Are you in the middle of something?”

Samantha’s eyes darted toward Raina, then quickly away as though Anya could somehow sense Raina’s presence through the phone. “Just getting some work done,” she mumbled, pressing her voice low to cover up any traces of guilt. “What’s up?”

“I am absolutely freaking out about what guest favors to give at my party.”

It didn’t sound like it was going to be a quick call, so Samantha mouthed, “I’ll be right back,” to Raina and hurried to a quiet corner outside the office.

“I thought we discussed two days ago you’d be giving out personalized Oscar figurines and hundred-dollar gift cards to any Golden Village cinema.”

“Yeah, but is an Oscar statue too corny? I was thinking I could offer everyone a 23andMe testing kit, to play off the fact it’s my twenty-third birthday? Shit, what if someone finds out they were adopted or their mom cheated on their dad or something—”

It took every ounce of self-control for Samantha to not sigh out loud. When Anya—impressed by all the work Samantha had done for Cassandra’s project—enlisted her to help out with party planning, Samantha was so flattered she’d immediately agreed. She’d naively thought there wouldn’t even be much for her to do since Anya also hired a professional event planner who charged a five-figure retainer fee. But since then, every lunch break and office pantry conversation the past few weeks had been dedicated to making all sorts of decisions about Anya’s upcoming birthday party.

Anya’s voice perked up. “Wait, isn’t twenty-three known as the Jordan Year or something? What if I put up basketball arcade machines at my party? Do you think—”

The rest of her words were drowned out by a loud chime from Samantha’s phone. She pulled it away from her ear for a moment to peer at the screen—another email from Cassandra, the only person who hounded her even more than Anya did these days.

Samantha pressed her phone back against her ear. “But arcade machines would look totally out of place at an Oscars-themed party,” she said as patiently as she could.

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