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“With pleasure.”
I copied the filename in the program before deleting it and the other files. Then I ran a search on the filesystem for that filename, and found a backup copy on another drive. I deleted all of those too.
“Doesn’t look like there’s any cloud backup,” I said. “It’s deleted. Nobody will ever see it.”
Molly climbed under the desk and unplugged the power cable again. “You going to workout in the gym now?”
“Feisty, I just had my workout.”
She gave me a silly grin that brightened up her entire face.
“After we do the dishes, I think I’m going to skip my workout,” I said while we went back to the restaurant. “I’m kind of worn out from swimming laps. That’s a full-body workout.”
“You’rea full-body workout,” she teased.
She tried to pinch my ass, but I dodged out of the way. I snatched her arm before she could run away, then threw her over my shoulder and carried her back into the restaurant while she pounded on my back with her fists and squealed happily.
40
Molly
The Day We Split Up
The next morning I woke up alone.
I stretched my arms out and didn’t feel Donovan next to me. Sunlight streamed through the window as I imagined the breakfast he was probably making for me in the kitchen. Or maybe he went to get something at the market. More condoms, probably. We’d been going through a lot of them lately.
Which, of course, was a good problem to have.
I lazily grabbed my phone from the nightstand and checked my email. I had a new one from Andrea at the boutique.
Hey Molly, just checking in. Everything is still closed. I went ahead and took care of the monthly inventory, even though it hasn’t changed much from last month. There’s not much else for me to do until things open up again.
I heard there’s a way for small businesses to get interest-free loans. Maybe that will help the store get by? Just until things are normal? Everything is in your name so I can’t do it for you.
Hope you’re still eating lots of yummy pasta in Rome!
-Andrea
I replied back and told her the loans were a good idea, and that I would take care of it soon. But as soon as I sent the email, my motivation disappeared like steam after a shower. I didn’t feel like doing anything related to the boutique. I was very much enjoying beingawayfrom my problems.
I hadn’t realized just how much I needed a vacation from everything, even though it turned out totally different than I expected. The previous six months had been a whirlwind of stress: dealing with my parents’ death, planning the funeral, taking care of their estate, and then immediately jumping into management of mom’s store. I had been in fifth gear non-stop before coming to Rome.
Now that I was relaxing? I didn’t want to go back to the way things were.
The problem, I knew, was that owning your own business was a lot of work. You had to love the business, and be driven enough to give it all your blood, sweat, and tears. But the boutique wasn’t mine. It was mom’s. And even though I was holding onto it out of guilt, deep down I knew I couldn’t do that forever.
What am I going to do?
I could sell the business, although I didn’t know who would want to buy it in the middle of a pandemic. I owned the building the boutique was in, so I could always sell that too. Or close the boutique down and rent the space to another retailer. I didn’t know how much income that would provide.
I sat up in bed and decided to stop thinking about it. I knew I was avoiding my problems, but I just wasn’t ready to deal with them yet. Instead, I decided to text the sexy man who wasn’t in my bed.
Molly: You had better be downstairs making me breakfast. That’s the only excuse I’ll accept as to why you’re not spooning me right now.
Molly: Unless you’re getting more condoms and oranges. That is also an acceptable reason.
Moments after I hit send, I heard a high-pitchedchimesound. It was the sound Donovan’s phone made when he received a text. Had he left his phone here?
