That evening, Damian picked her up in his battered truck, the same one he'd been driving for five years, refusing to replace it until his business was more stable. Lita climbed in, and the words tumbled out before she could stop them.
Something happened today. Something big.
She told him everything about the crisis with Mr. Whitmore, the way she'd handled it, Marcus Thorne's unexpected attention, and his mysterious offer.
Damian listened in silence, his hands tight on the steering wheel. When she finished, he didn't speak for a long moment.
That's amazing, Lita, he said finally, but something in his voice was off.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I'm proud of you. Really. He glanced at her, his expression conflicted. It's just… be careful.
Careful of what?
Of men like Marcus Thorne. Damian's jaw tightened. Rich, powerful men who notice pretty girls and offer them opportunities. You don't know what he wants.
Lita felt a flash of irritation. He wants someone who can think under pressure. Someone who doesn't panic when things go wrong. That's what I showed him today.
Maybe. Damian pulled up outside the small restaurant where their friends were waiting. But maybe he also noticed a beautiful woman and saw a different kind of opportunity. I've seen it before, Lita. Hell, I've watched you be overlooked and invisible for years, and suddenly this guy sees you after one crisis? It doesn't add up.
So should I just stay at the reception desk? Keep being invisible?
No. God, no. He turned to face her fully. You know I want you to succeed. I just… I don't want you to get hurt. Or used. These people, they're not like us. They don't operate by the same rules.
Lita reached over and squeezed his hand. Damian had been her anchor for ten years, her constant in a world that kept trying to sweep her away. He'd taught her that she wasn't alone, that someone cared whether she survived. His protectiveness came from love, not from doubt in her abilities.
I know, she said softly. And I'll be careful. But I'm also going to that meeting tomorrow. Because maybe this is my chance, Damian. Maybe this is how I finally prove that I'm more than just a survivor. That I'm someone who can actually thrive.
He nodded slowly, though worry still clouded his eyes. Okay. Just… promise me you won't let him make you feel small. Promise me you'll remember who you are and what you've already overcome. You don't need validation from Marcus Thorne or anyone else at that company.
I promise.
They got out of the truck and joined their friends, and the evening dissolved into laughter and celebration. But throughout it all, Lita's mind kept returning to that moment in the lobby, the way Marcus had really seen her, as if she were a puzzle worth solving.
Damian's warnings echoed in her thoughts, mixing with her own ambitions and fears. But underneath it all was something else, something that had sustained her through ten years of grinding work and small victories.
That old vow, made in darkness by a sixteen-year-old girl who refused to accept her circumstances as destiny.
I'll never live like this forever.
She had kept that promise so far. Tomorrow, she will take the next step.
Later that night, after Damian dropped her home, Lita sat at her small kitchen table with her laptop open, updating her resume. Her mother was asleep in the next room, her breathing steady and peaceful, a sound that still filled Lita with gratitude after all these years.
She thought about Marcus Thorne's words. Impress me twice.
The challenge excited her more than it frightened her, and that realization was significant. Ten years ago, she would have been terrified. Ten years ago, she would have doubted herself and would have seen only the risks.
But she'd fought through school while working multiple jobs. She'd learned to negotiate with landlords and creditors. She'd turned three copper coins into enough to keep three people alive. She'd built a life from nothing.
If Marcus Thorne wanted to be impressed, she would show him what a survivor looked like when given a real chance.
As she polished the final line of her resume, Lita allowed herself a small smile. Tomorrow would bring whatever it brought. She would face it the same way she faced everything else with her eyes open, her spine straight, and that unbreakable core of determination that had carried her from a broken streetlight to a corporate lobby.
The girl who promised herself that she would never live in poverty forever was becoming the woman who made sure that promise was kept.
She saved the document, closed her laptop, and went to bed.
Tomorrow, at nine o'clock, she would walk into Marcus Thorne's office.
And show him exactly who Lita Martinez was.