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“There is no such thing for me.”
Three Weeks Later
I sat at my desk with my monitors cued up reading my daily reports. I had nothing but good news to share with my partner, Nina, when she returned from Key West. Nina had started the company with her cultivated fortune using my lone idea and we’d built it from the ground up. Scott solutions had revolutionized the protocol of the modern day inventor. We saw an idea we thought the consuming masses couldn’t live without, we invested, and it had paid off in spades.
I’d started off as her assistant and was now half owner of the company, a goal I hadn’t intended to meet until much later, but was rewarded to me by the amount of work I’d invested. The day Nina had pushed those papers across my desk, I thanked excellence.
Our building was located in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. I’d only moved here from New York when the position was offered to me. I’d always thought I would remain a New Yorker but was surprised for my love of both Charleston and the historic south it represented. It was very different from the desolate and depraved, shithole town in Tennessee where I once lived.
Six months in the city had me convinced that I no longer wanted any part of New York, and after my first mild winter, I was convinced I’d moved to paradise. I had a successful career and more money than I hoped at the age of twenty-nine, which afforded me a life more comfortable than I’d thought possible.
I had achieved my goal.
And I was bored out of my mind.
“Taylor, line four.” I picked up without giving my new assistant, Ross, the scolding she deserved. I didn’t like being surprised by who was on the other end of the line.
“Taylor Ellison,” I barked.
“And good morning to you,” Nina joked as I sat back in my chair with a smile.
“How’s it going in the Keys? Is Devin still alive?” I joked back.
“Barely. I’ve pulled my gun on him twice.” I chuckled knowing that might be the truth of it. I’d recently taught her how to use a pistol and she was a natural and never left home without it. Nina was now a far cry from the more timid woman I’d met. Recent events had ensured she would never be the same.
“Remember clean shots only and leave the important parts. I have a meeting in five but is there something you need?”
My office door opened and Nina walked in with a smile. She had a deep-set tan and her eyes were glowing with mischief. I was instantly envious, though I made sure my face gave nothing away.
“I thought I would take this one,” she remarked, ending our call and sitting across from me to look around my new office. “This looks great. Are you happy with the turnout?”
“I am, thank you,” I offered as I took in her appearance. She was glowing from weeks of sex aboard her boyfriend Devin’s boat. They had sailed away together in an attempt to reconnect. “You look good,” I admitted with only a slight grudge. The truth was, she deserved the smile she was sporting more than anyon
e I’d ever known. She’d gone through hell to get it.
“Thanks, I feel good. Look, I’ve been away for long enough. It’s time the favor was returned. Seriously, Taylor, you haven’t taken a day off…ever. It’s time.”
“I—”
“It’s an order,” she said, half-joking.
I ignored her as I began to type up my final notes for the meeting I had in two minutes. I was never late and I wouldn’t be to this one, either. “Thanks, really, but I’m good. Maybe I’ll take you up on that in a few months.”
“Don’t you have family to see? Someone to do?” She knew I’d been frequenting The Rabbit Hole. That club had turned out to be part of her horror story, and another good reason for me to stay away.
“No.” I stood up then walked toward the door. “Want to sit in? The clients are in the conference room.”
“I’m aware. I got your 6:00 a.m. email.” There was concern in her voice. She’d been trying to get anything she could out of me for months. I’d told her I’d try to loosen up a little more with private details about me for the sake of our growing friendship, but one minute before a meeting was not the time.
With a sigh, she looked at me as I stood next to her at the door. “Taylor Ellison is all business all the time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I confirmed as she followed me out.
Thirty seconds.
I counted them down as we reached the conference room door.
Three, two, one…excellence.
