Page 31 of Full Strength

That made me feel a hundred times better. I was glad someone understood my perspective. I wasn’t trying to hurt her or go behind her back. I just wanted to help. To take one burden away.

Knowing I had Emma and Hartman on my side made me feel a bit better.

Nikolay made it back to the center with Erik and I gave him a nod. “We’ve got this one.”

He didn’t smile but I noticed the tension around his eyes relaxed a bit. I hoped he understood what I was trying to say. We all had baggage we had to leave in the locker room. Right now, we had to focus on winning.

10

Addison

Thanks to the prescriptions and Gatorade Grant left behind I was feeling one hundred times better when I woke up on Friday. Eli seemed to be doing better too. He was all smiles when I snuck into his room. I thought I’d have to wake him up but he was laying there waiting for me. No tears or flushed cheeks.

“Hey there, sweet boy.” He laughed when I picked him up and carried him into the bathroom. “You sure are a stinky boy.” I got him ready for a bath and got us both ready for the day in record time. Mrs. Jefferies was busy today so I’d been forced to ask Emma to babysit so I’d have to drive to her house before heading into work which meant I was short thirty minutes.

After getting dressed and making sure Eli had everything, he’d need for the day in his diaper bag I threw my hair up in a messy bun and called it good.

I got to Emma’s house and was so grateful she was standing out front showing Jackson the leaves that had fallen.

I parked and jumped out, releasing Eli and pulling the diaper bag over my shoulder.

“Hi.” I hurried over and set the bag on the ground. “I love you forever for doing this. Thank you so much.”

She took Eli from me and set him on her other hip. “Don’t worry about it. We’re going to have fun today.”

Her confidence made me feel a bit better. “Okay.” I backed away. “Call me if you need anything at all.”

She shook her head. “Just go. We’ll be fine.”

I didn’t have time to talk any longer. “Thank you!”

I jumped back in my car and headed to the salon. I knew I’d have inventory to catch up on, but I hoped there were no fires to put out. I knew it was probably a lot to ask but I just wanted one day without emergencies or angry clients. Just one.

I could sense things were off the moment I walked through the back door. Ronny was sitting on the counter in the back room instead of the front desk where he normally was. I paused and looked around. “What happened?” Dread washing over me.

He laughed and jumped to the ground. “Why do you assume it’s a bad thing?”

I raised an eyebrow. “History.”

He scoffed as if I was the one being dramatic. “Follow me.”

Since I knew I didn’t have much of a choice I walked behind him through the salon. A few of the stylists were already there prepping for their morning clients. A few of them sent me knowing smiles. I narrowed my eyes but no one seemed willing to give me a hint.

Ronny stopped at the front desk and waved his arms to his side. “Ta-da!”

An enormous bouquet of roses, chrysanthemums, and carnations in warm harvest colors sat in a crystal vase on top of the desk. My eyes darted from him to the flowers. “Did you?”

He shook his head. “Oh no. This came from a secret admirer.”

As soon as he said the words, the rest of the staff was surrounding us. They must have known about these and were waiting for my reaction.

I took a step closer to examine the arrangement. There was no card included. “Who sent them?”

He shrugged. “Main street floral delivered them, but the delivery boy said the sender hadn’t included a note or name.”

Sarah, with her neon pink pixie cut, put her arm around me. “Any idea who the lover could be?”

I shook my head on instinct then stopped. “I’m not sure.”