Dark Fates

THREE WISHES LISA MANIFOLD

Present Day

Tibby

I walked into the conference room. This would be a piece of cake. The dispute wasn't all that big of a deal, although our client was making one out of it. Like all Granddad's friends, everything is a big deal, which is probably why they were all, to a man, filthy rich. Maybe I needed to get in that mindset.

I laughed inwardly and shrugged that thought away. I'd go insane. Also like most of Granddad's friends. I liked my life, my practice, and the way things in my life were going. I put my general state of satisfaction aside and focused on the meeting at hand.

"Mr. Barrington?" I held out my hand to the older gentleman in the room. He was standing with two younger men, and he turned when I said his name.

"I'm Tabitha Holloway, and this is my partner, Bryant Higgs. We represent—"

"Tibby?"

Two different voices called me by my nickname. Both held tones of shock and surprise. I had opened my mouth to respond, but stopped when I looked, really looked, at who was talking to me.

Oh my god. I felt faint suddenly as I realized who they were.

I looked around for the telltale flash of glitter. I was going to end up back in my room four years earlier. I could feel it. Back to where this had all begun.

Chapter One

Four Years Earlier

Tibby

What if? Lately, that seemed the story of my life. Since I worked at home as a website designer, I had plenty of time for self-reflection.

I was lucky. I know that. I had a lot of opportunities, and I let them get away. So now I chose to work at home, stay out of the messy office crap. That office crap was what screwed me up, every time. Get to know people, start being social, and then bam! I screw it up. Sleep with someone's ex without knowing it. Flirt with the wrong guy and piss off his wife. I'm not a bad person. I know that, deep down. But I make really, really shitty choices. If it weren't for my friend Xavier, I'd be living in a box with all my stuff in a shopping cart. As I was pulling myself out of the mess I made of law school, Xavier's star was rising. He knew I was good with the IT side of things, and he hired me as his web person. Because of him, I'll always have a job. A career of sorts, because he's brought business my way. I also look over his books, make sure his accountant and financial people aren't screwing him over.

Coming from where we grew up, you want someone double checking. Someone at your back. I do that for X. Just like he does for me.

The phone rang. It was Xavier.

"Hey."

"Girl, what's up?"

"Nothing. You're still filthy rich, and people are still honest or scared." Our typical greeting.

He laughed. "I love you, Tib. When are you gonna come live with me and marry me?"

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Never. You're a dog on a good day, X. I love you too, but from afar." We both knew that things could have gone differently, but in the end, we both needed a friend more than anything else. I treasure him like I treasure no one else. I'd never screw that up. At least I have some principles, in spite of what has been said about me over the years.

Talk turned to some updates he wanted, and I took notes. While X has a devil-may-care rep, or more bluntly, a fuck off rep, he's an amazing businessman. He knows every aspect of his brand. To the world, he's XTC, famous rapper and bad boy. To me, he's smart as hell and my one friend.