Atlantis by Jessica Rosberg

accounts. We should probably meet with the accountant, too."
    "This is all so overwhelming."
    "I know." Candice put her hand on Sloane's knee and gave it a reassuring pat. "We'll manage. We always do."
    "Yeah."
    They were silent for a moment, each of them lost in their own thoughts, sipping on their hot chocolate. "Maybe I should try to talk to Mom."
    "What're you going to say to her?"
    Candice shrugged. She had no idea, but one of them had to talk to Geraldine for no other reason than to try and get some information about the business. Candice had always asked questions about what their mom did in regards to managing them, but Geraldine never gave any straight answers. It was a method of control. As long as Geraldine knew everything about their appointments, interviews, photo shoots, and financial dealings, Candice and Sloane were at her mercy. It was a shitty place to be, especially right now.
    Maybe Candice could play nice, pretend to be angry with Sloane, beg Mom to continue managing Candice long enough so she could learn about the important stuff. It was sneaky and dishonest and totally against everything Candice believed in. But what other choice did she have?
    "Jason suggested we hire a new manager. We've got a good reputation in this business. I'm sure anyone we hire won't have an issue stepping into Mom's role without much of an issue," Sloane said, setting her empty mug on the end table.
    "Do we really want to hire someone else?"
    "So, what're you saying? That we should get out of the business? I don't know what I'd do without modeling."
    "No, I'm not saying we should get out of the business, but do you really want someone else running our lives? Someone we don't know? Do you think we'll be any better off?"
    "If we hire someone else, we can set some guidelines, be firm in what we will and will not accept," Sloane argued.
    Candice looked around her apartment and out the window at the city skyline. Giving up modeling meant giving up the lifestyle she'd become accustomed to—the nice clothes; the expensive jewelry; the large, comfy apartment; the lavish parties. "What if we just managed ourselves?"
    Sloane laughed. "Oh, you're serious?" she said after a moment.
    "Yes, I'm serious. It can't be that hard. Plus, think of all the money we'll save by not paying a manager." Even though they were a team and never took jobs that wouldn't let them be together, they had always paid their mom double because she was managing two people. At one point they'd looked into hiring a new manager when their mom had insisted on more money, but everyone they'd talked to wanted to charge them as two clients as opposed to one, which is what they were. It was irritating.
    "Do you really think we can do this?"
    "Yeah," Candice said with more certainty than she felt. "I'm in my final semester of college, and I've got a solid understanding of how to run a business. We'll get on the phone and call everyone we've ever worked with before and explain that we're managing ourselves."
    "And Jason knows a lot about this business. I know he'll help us." Sloane adjusted her body so that her feet were tucked beneath her. There was excitement in her voice and eyes.
    "See?" Candice smiled, and then laughed. "I told you we could do this."
    Sloane squealed with delight and clapped her hands. Candice laughed. "Oh my God, I can't believe we're actually going to do this."
    Her excitement was contagious, and Candice couldn't stop from smiling. "It's going to be a lot of work."
    "So, where do we start? What do we do now?"
    Candice and Sloane spent the next several hours discussing how to go about managing themselves, what they had to do, what they wanted to do, how different things would be now. For the first time in a long time, Candice was optimistic about the future.
    Sloane yawned. "What are you going to do about your exams?"
    "I'm going to petition the college's judicial review board. It's the only option I have left. What about you? What are you going to do