Page 18 of Heatwaves

It’s all a lie, but it’s what I tell myself to keep going every day.

Throwing open one of the doors, I pull it shut behind me quickly so I won’t be tempted to take another peek.

I’m saved from myself when I hear my phone ringing from where I left it on the kitchen counter. Hurrying over, I roll my eyes when I see it’s my assistant.

“Hi, Haley. What’s up?”

“Hi, Lila! Sorry to bother you at home, but there were some emails I thought couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I tried to call you when I was leaving work, but you didn’t answer. I figured you were out for a swim, so I called you when I made it home.”

Biting back a sigh, I’m already moving to my kitchen table, where my laptop waits for me. “Haley, you should’ve made it home an hour and a half ago. What did I tell you about working so late?”

There’s a moment of silence before Haley laughs.“Not to do it, but we both know that’s not going to happen. Just accept it, Lil. I’m a workaholic, and you couldn’t survive without me.”

“Oh, I’m well aware I can’t survive without you. You’re the only reason the company stays afloat.” I pause, waiting for my email to pull up. I see three that she’s marked as important. “Just the three?”

“Yup,”she says, and I can practically hear the smile in her voice.“Since tomorrow is the last day before heat leave starts, I figured you’d want a head start on those.”

Humming, I open the first one and start reading. “Probably a good call. Thank you, Haley. I’ll read them over now. Go enjoy the rest of yourevening with your boyfriend. I don’t want you to even think about work until tomorrow.”

“Not going to happen,”she sing-songs.“I’m going on heat leave, too. All I can think about is all the shit we have to get done tomorrow. But I promise I’ll have lots of fun with Allen tonight.”

I roll my eyes at her tone. I definitely don’t need to know about what she and Allen get up to at home. She’s a dwarf sperm whale shifter who doesn’t seem to have a filter. She’s also one of the people I’m closest to in the world, but there are times I have to tell her TMI.

“Alright, bye girlie. I’ll see you in the morning.” I hang up the phone, knowing if I don’t, she’ll likely keep talking to me. And she was right—these emails are quite urgent.

The first one is another offer from another company to buy us out. They’ve been making the offer for years, wanting to get their hands on Heat Assist, but I’ve always told them no. That should make the email unimportant, but when I see the amount they’re now offering me, my mouth falls open. I might have to seriously consider this offer.

I love running Heat Assist, but it’s just one app. There isn’t much variety in the day-to-day of it all. I spent a lot of time and money puttingtogether this company, but lately, I’ve been wondering if it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Sure, I can always try to come up with other apps, or completely take the company in another direction. I’m just not sure I want to do that. Knowing I can’t make a decision about it now, I send a quick response to let them know I will consider their offer after my two-week heat leave.

The second email involves an HR issue I can’t really do anything about tonight, but it’s something I’ll need to dive into first thing tomorrow. The third email sets my blood boiling and makes me want to rampage.

I brought on someone recently into the COO position because I have no intention of shutting down the company during my heat leave. Our last COO left just after last year’s heat, and it took me this long to find someone to replace him.

Now, this cocksucker thinks he can quit with one day’s notice. He’s in for a surprise tomorrow. While I don’t want someone to work for my company if they’re not into it, he can’t quit before heat leave. Not only is it illegal, but Ihave no one else to run the company while I’m out.

I’ll be giving his new employer a call first thing to let him know exactly what kind of person they’ve hired. Then I’m going to fire his ass after I make sure the company rescinds their offer.

It looks like I’ll be calling a temp agency to see who they have that can cover the company for two weeks. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than having that asshole there.

I’ll need to go in early and probably work late. That’s not how I want to spend my day, but what choice do I have?

Damn it, my mom is going to kill me. I’m supposed to have dinner with them after work tomorrow. There’s no way she’s going to let me cancel on them.

Slamming the laptop shut, I’m so annoyed that I don’t even think about how easily I could’ve broken it. I’m too busy grabbing my phone and thinking of ways to kill the fucker who’s ruined my night.

I take a deep breath and squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to calm down before calling my mom. She’s difficult enough to deal with ona normal day, and I know if I snap at her, she’ll make everything all about her.

Oh!

Maybe I can call my dad and he can tell her. I like that plan a lot better.

Dialing his number, I wait for him to answer.

“Hey, honey.”Dad’s voice is a calming balm to my soul.“Is everything okay? You’re still coming over for dinner tomorrow, right? Your mom might kill me if you cancel again.”

I snort. “She’s not going to kill you right before her heat, Dad, but good try. Yes, I’m still planning to make it for dinner. There’s just one teeny tiny problem.”

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