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[one]

Waking to the sound of winter rain on her window, Karlie Kloss rolled over groggily in her bed and reached blindly for her phone. Wincing at the brightness that she hadn't remembered to lower before falling asleep the night before, she tried to make out the hour and read her missed texts at the same time.

4:21 AM. Great.

Being woken up before her alarm wasn't the worst possible scenario, but without enough time for her to roll back over and get in a few extra minutes of sleep, it seemed like a negative omen for the day to follow. While morning were never her thing, Monday mornings weren't exactly her favorite kind of mornings - new hires were just starting, fresh faced and asking a thousand questions to dampen everyone else's productivity; the tiredness from the weekend was still settled heavily on most of her coworkers, making the day seem to last twice as long as any other; and the first-thing, pump-up pow-wows that her father's new fiancee had started insisting on felt like a new undiscovered circle of hell.

Usually, she'd take the opportunity to get to the office a little earlier than everyone else. Now that the promotion she'd been gunning for had slipped through her fingers, and right into her soon-to-be stepmother's outstretched claws, the idea of being the first in and last out sounded more pathetic than enthusiastic.

Karlie headed into her en-suite and glanced up at the sunlight on the ceiling, revealing an uncharacteristically grey sky. Her mood lifted a little, and she perked up as she reached for her toothbrush next to the sink.

The January overcast days suited Karlie just fine.

The southern California heat seemed to dissipate a little on mornings like this. The sun not being able to burn so harshly on her skin while she commuted to work paired with the slight break in temperature always left the woman in a surprisingly good mood, even though the skyline views from her office windows were a little gloomier than usual.

Brushing her teeth with one hand and responding to late emails on her phone with the other, she turned around with her back to the mirror and leaned lazily against the granite countertop. Coffee, she'd decided, would be her next step - even before her shower. Moving out of her father's sprawling San Marino estate, their family home, only a few months prior had a growing list of perks such as not feeling any pressure to be presentable first thing in the morning.

The apartment was surprisingly humble, for her, at least, but she'd told herself that it would be a temporary step between living at home and buying her own. Plus, it got her to the office quicker in the mornings, and not having to walk into a room and see Nerissa, her father, or worst case scenario: both of them, was enough to sell her on the place alone. That had been her thought process during the first month, but after a rough patch or two, the newfound independence that she hadn't even realized she'd been missing was beginning to grow on her.

Tugging her silk robe up over her shoulders and stepping into her slippers, Karlie trekked down the stairs to her kitchen and pulled the waiting mug from her espresso machine. One of the bigger downsides to the move had been the sudden lack of household staff, but with her sister, Kariann, showing her how to hook up her coffee timer to her phone, and the surrounding restaurants and catering services being more than happy to accept her corporate black card, Karlie managed to make do.

Her phone chirped impatiently at her as she made her way back up the stairs, now properly caffeinated and ready for a hot shower.

[4:59 am] Mason Perez

how'd you make out on that google removal?

[4:59 am] Mason Perez

i'm assuming great since i just got cc'd in an email about you being ready for grammy season.

Half of the city was barely even awake yet, and Mason Perez managed to have her blood boiling in irritation already. The only reason he would have even had for being awake was to try to beat her to the office once he realized she was up and emailing already.