I get a couple of hours of sleep on Monday night, but I wake up at three in the morning, and I can’t fall back to sleep. I have a long shower and fall asleep on the couch while I’m checking my email. Which means I’m almost late for my shift at Harry’s.
I make it with a few minutes to spare, rushing to the office to punch in. I give Chloe a bright smile. “I didn’t know you were working today.”
She gives me a funny look. “Are you filling in today?”
“Filling in? Maybe. Who’s sick?”
The intercom in the office goes off, paging her to customer service. “Gotta run. See you later.”
I follow her out and head for the cashier stands. I get a couple more questioning looks. Usually I’m on cash four, but Chuck is there today. I stop at the customer service desk, where Noreen is filing returns. I haven’t seen her or Aaron since things blew up on the weekend. I adopt a bright, cheery smile. “Morning! Looks like cash four is taken; where would you like me?”
“Oh, hi, Teagan! I didn’t know you were on the schedule today. Are you filling in for someone?”
“Not that I know of. I always work Wednesdays.”
Her brows pull together and she bites her lip, her gaze dropping from my face to my shirt and up again. “It’s only Tuesday. Are you okay, honey?”
At first I think she’s joking. Until I glance at her computer screen and see the date in the right-hand corner. I slap a hand over my mouth. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I got my days mixed up. I guess that explains why everyone is looking at me funny. Well, I guess I better hightail it out of here!” I check my planner; I have a meeting with a client on the other side of the lake in less than an hour. And now I need to go home and change.
It isn’t until I’m in my loft that I notice my Harry’s Hardware shirt was inside out.
I tell myself that I’m fine, just frazzled and stressed out. A good night’s sleep and I’ll be back on track.
I make myself another coffee and head to the meeting, stopping at the convenience store to grab an energy drink as well. I know I said I was going to quit them, but I’m going on no sleep, and I need to stay alert, at least until this meeting is over. Normally I’d drive in with Dillion, but I don’t want to risk running into Aaron. Not yet. Not until I have things under control again.
I notice a few typos when I’m presenting to the new clients. Usually, I’m so much better at catching those, but I forgot to send it to Dillion to look it over. I wait until we’re out of the house before I say anything.
“I’m so sorry about the typos.”
“It’s okay. I should have asked to see it yesterday, and it slipped my mind. A few typos aren’t going to stop them from hiring us.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Is everything okay? I don’t want to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but Van’s worried about you.”
“Honestly, I’m fine. Everyone is making a bigger deal out of things than they need to.” I hate that everyone is on me now. I feel like I’m being watched. Like I’m a kid who needs babysitting.
“Okay. If you say you’re fine, I’m going to believe you. I told Van I was Switzerland and that I wasn’t taking sides and I wasn’t going to push you for information.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” I honestly do too. Because I have a feeling if Dillion joined the harp-on-Teagan brigade, I’d probably end up losing it, and I don’t want that to happen. She doesn’t deserve that.
I expect that I’ll finally be able to get some sleep tonight, but even after three martinis I’m wide awake.
In the morning I head to Harry’s with a headache, feeling more than a little fuzzy. I haven’t slept for more than a couple of hours since Friday. I know the wall is coming. I can feel it. I wish I’d hit it so I can get some actual rest and press the reset button like I need to.
At lunch I usually sit in the break room with everyone else, but today I desperately need caffeine, so I offer to pick up coffees for everyone and head down the street to Boones. I don’t drive because it’s a crisp day and I could use the fresh air. I order a dozen fritters and coffees, then manage to trip on my way back to Harry’s and lose one coffee. At least it’s just a black one, so I tell everyone that I drank mine while I waited for the fritters. At the end of my shift I’m beyond exhausted. So tired, in fact, that I lean my seat back and take a fifteen-minute power nap before I drive home.