Table Of ContentELITE AMBITION
Other books in the
CANTERWOOD CREST SERIES:
TAKE THE REINS
CHASING BLUE
BEHIND THE BIT
TRIPLE FAULT
BEST ENEMIES
LITTLE WHITE LIES
RIVAL REVENGE
HOME SWEET DRAMA
CITY SECRETS
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is
stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and
neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped
book.”
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people,
or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and
incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN M!X
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the
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First Aladdin M!X edition September 2010
Text copyright © 2010 by Jessica Burkhart All rights reserved, including the
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Designed by Jessica Handelman The text of this book was set in Venetian 301
BT.
Manufactured in the United States of America 0810 OFF
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Library of Congress Control Number 2010929466
ISBN 978-1-4424-0382-6
ISBN 978-1-44240383-3 (eBook) No one else deserves a dedication more than
Kate Angelella,
who kept me semisane through a twelve-hour writing marathon and
didn’t leave when I threw a lip gloss. …
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To everyone on Team Canterwood at Simon & Schuster including: Fiona
Simpson, Bethany Buck, Liesa Abrams, Mara Anastas, Lucille Rettino, Bess
Brasswell, Venessa Williams, Katherine Devendorf, Ellen Chan, Alyson Heller,
Jessica Handelman, Karin Paprocki, Russell Gordon, and Dayna Evans.
Alyssa Henkin, thank you for taking the first step toward Canterwood.
Editor K (a.k.a. Kate Angelella), you fueled me through the final steps of
writing and your notes made it übersparkly. P.S. I loved our reward system for
this book and will only work under those conditions in the future.
Reader girlies, huge hearts to all of you for chatting on the forums, creating
graphics, and cheering me on while I write.
Ross Angelella, thanks for saying you’d leave work in the middle of the day
to shake me if you found out I was writing when I obviously needed a break.
Thanks so much to all of my writer friends who offer support and
encouragement.
Kate Angelella, for the five fifteen a.m. roller derby–esque walks (“Oscar!”),
“I know it’s a flower, but … ,” equal opportunity mocking, and for scaring the
“what?” and “huh?” out of my vocabulary. LYSSMB.
ELITE AMBITION
1
DEAR SASHA
9/19/10 11:15am
To: Jacob Schwartz ([email protected]) From: Sasha Silver
([email protected]) Subject: Hey
Hi Jacob,
I can’t stop thinking about you, so I wanted to e-mail and say hi. It’s only the
first day of fall break, but I miss seeing you around. I know things are messed
up between us and this e-mail probably doesn’t help, but I wanted to be
honest. Hope you’re doing okay after the Homecoming dance.
~Sasha
PS: My phone broke and I won’t get it back till the weekend, so don’t try to
text me. E-mail me back—if you want.
9/19/10 4:32pm
To: Sasha Silver ([email protected]) From: Jacob Schwartz
([email protected]) Subject: re: Hey
Sasha—
I didn’t expect you to e-mail me at all. I’m really glad you did. I know you
said you want to stay single. I respect that and I won’t push you anymore. But
I miss you—I’m not going to lie, especially since we’re both being honest
about this.
Jacob
9/20/10 7:32am
To: Jacob Schwartz ([email protected]) From: Sasha Silver
([email protected]) Subject: re: re: Hey
That’s kind of why I was e-mailing. I’m just so confused. I know I keep
sending mixed signals. I get that. And I don’t want to hurt Callie or cause
drama. But … never mind. Hope you’re having a good break.
~S
9/20/10 6:25pm
To: Sasha Silver ([email protected]) From: Jacob Schwartz
([email protected]) Subject: re: re: re: Hey
You can’t leave things hanging like that. Just say it—whatever it is. Do you
want me to call you or something? Someone told me you were staying with
Heather. Maybe I could call you on her phone.
Jacob
9/21/10 10:15am
To: Jacob Schwartz ([email protected]) From: Sasha Silver
([email protected]) Subject: re: re: re: re: Hey
No, don’t call. It’s too hard to talk about this over the phone. Okay … fine.
I’ll tell you. I liked Eric. A lot. But now, I hope we can stay friends and that’s
it. And I know you had feelings for Callie. But I’ve been thinking about what
you said that we never got a chance to really try being boyfriend and
girlfriend. If you want, could we meet at the fountain when we get back to
school? I still want to be careful not to hurt anyone, but maybe we owe it to
ourselves to at least talk.
~S
9/21/10 1:08pm
To: Sasha Silver ([email protected]) From: Jacob Schwartz
([email protected]) Subject: re: re: re: re: re: Hey
Sash, I never want to hurt Callie either. And I don’t want you to feel guilty
about Eric, but like you said—you’ve moved on and I believe you when you
say you want to be his friend. I think we should definitely meet when we get
back to campus. Let’s talk about this before things get crazy with school. I
can’t wait to see you.
Jacob
