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The muffled sound of her cell phone ringing coming from somewhere among the bedsheets and pillows, her boss’s ringtone, had her moving all her electronics off the bed to try to locate the phone. She’d been awake until two a.m. working on the proposal for SmartTech Kids. Their new potential client needed an app aimed at kids and teens, and if Sarah had a shot at the promotion, she needed to push herself beyond her comfort zone of telecommunications and show her boss she could handle different kinds of accounts.
Finding the cell phone, she took a deep breath and tried to sound as wide awake as possible as she answered. “Gail! Hi!”
“Is there no cell service out there?”
Her boss’s chilly tone made her shiver. “So sorry, Gail. Yesterday was…eventful.” She’d spare her the details; Gail wasn’t one for water cooler chitchat. Her employees’ personal lives were of zero interest. Sarah knew absolutely nothing about her boss besides her hard-nosed business persona. She’d never met a spouse at any of the corporate events the company held, there were no family photos in her boss’s office, and her expensive suits were always pet-fur-free, so Sarah could only assume the company was Gail’s life. Unless there was a goldfish or something…
“I received your email last night with the revisions to the first proposal…”
Sarah held her breath. These revisions were the fourth round that her boss had requested. She was running out of ideas for ways to design the kid app the company was looking for. Not having kids, it was difficult for her to determine what they’d even use an app for in the first place. So far, she’d focused on practicality—a messaging system to connect with friends, a safety GPS locating system…but the company wanted the app to appeal to kids, not necessarily to their parents.
“It’s still not wowing me,” she said.
Not much wowed Gail. Almost impossible to impress, but there was such a sense of accomplishment and pride to be had whenever Sarahwasable to garner any kind of praise from the woman. “I’m still coming up with ideas.”
“You’re thinking with your adult head. You need to think like a kid. What did you wish you had an app for when you were ten years old?”
To beam her out of Blue Moon Bay. Same thing she’d like an app for right now.
She repressed a sigh. Staying upbeat was the only acceptable attitude with Gail’s critiques. “You’re right. Absolutely. I’ll work on it again today.”
“Here at the office? I’ll meet you there for a brainstorming session.”
Sarah cringed. The last brainstorming session had been sixteen hours long, and they hadn’t even ordered in food. Her desperation for sustenance had somehow miraculously led to an idea Gail was happy enough with. Obviously her creativity thrived on survival mode. “I’ve actually hit a snag. Nothing too serious,” she said quickly. “Just something I need to deal with for my grandmother’s estate…I’ll need another day here.”
Silence.
Gail always gave employees time to revise their final answer. “I mean, not a full day, of course.” It was already after ten. “I’m sure I can wrap this up and be back in L.A. in a few hours.”
“I’ll expect you at the office around four.”
She better hope not to hit traffic on the way back into the city. “Thank you so much for understanding, Gail. And I’ll work on the—”
Silence. Gail had hung up.
Tossing the bedsheets aside, Sarah ran to shut the blinds (after another peek at Wes’s body). She could oglehim, but there was no way he was seeingherfirst thing in the morning.
Hurrying into the bathroom, she undressed, turned on the shower, and stepped into the spray. She quickly lathered her hair and ran the soap over her body.
Think like a kid…
What would a kid want to do with an app? Play games? There were enough of those available already. The design she had so far could already post photos and videos to the internet. What else did kids do with technology?
She was coming up blank, and she needed something new to offer, otherwise she’d be at the office with Gail that evening until sunrise tomorrow morning.
Come on, Sarah! Think!
Freezing-cold water hit her back, and her breath caught in her chest. She scurried away from the stream, grabbing the curtain to use as a barrier from the spray. She slipped on the wet, soapy bathtub floor and clutched the fabric frantically, causing the rod to come loose from the wall.
What the hell?
She cranked the tap higher and tentatively reached a hand forward.
Still cold.
Shaving her legs would have to wait, even though it really couldn’t, but she needed to wash the suds out of her hair at least. She hung the suction-cup rod back in place; then, taking a deep breath and summoning all the courage she could muster, she ducked her head under the freezing water.
Her breath came in a succession of short gasps as the drops cascaded down her back. Dancing from one foot to the other, she struggled to stay beneath the stream, but fear of hypothermia had her shutting off the taps within seconds. Goose bumps, the size of golf balls, appeared on her skin, despite the sweltering heat in the un-air-conditioned bathroom.
