By noon, I’d barely dented the pile, but I’d fallen into my routine much quicker than I’d anticipated. Allison held off on any meetings or phone calls for me, so I was able to lock myself in my office and get caught up.

A little after noon, I received a photo from Jess. She and Gina were at the park on the swings. I took a satisfying breath and looked at their smiling faces. How I wanted to get back home to them and extend our vacation just a little longer.

Seeing the stack on my desk propelled me to work harder so I’d be able to get home to Jess sooner.

My phone buzzed. I groaned and picked up. “I thought I said I needed time to catch up.”

“I know, Noah, but the warehouse just called, and one of the trucks is out of commission, affecting three deliveries today.”

I hung my head. “Get me in touch with them now, please.”

As Allison connected me to the warehouse, I closed my eyes and tried to remember the calming crash of water on the shore from my many trips to the beach last week. I was already fired up and needed to calm down before someone else was about to be.

It was seven o’clock by the time I got home from work. I’d texted Jess to let her know she’d have to stay late that night. Guilt snaked through me at the fact that I wouldn’t be able to see Gina until tomorrow night, but it wasn’t something I could help. Once I got back on track, I’d be able to get home earlier, but I had no idea when that would be. We were backlogged an entire week, and with my stress levels, no one was going to have a good week. My company hadn’t been this off track since we’d first started.

“Hey,” Jess said to me when I got home.

I pecked her on the lips and placed my briefcase on the kitchen table. I had a lot of work to complete tonight, but now that I was home, all I wanted to do was go to bed.

“Rough day?” she asked.

I rubbed my eyes. “Rougher than I can remember for a long time.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure tomorrow will be better.”

“I damn well hope so,” I said.

Jess frowned. “I made a casserole for dinner. Do you want me to heat it up for you?”

I checked my watch. “If you wouldn’t mind. I know it’s late though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sort of the reason you’re stressed out now.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “I should have done more work when I was over there. Allison significantly underestimated how much was going on while I was gone.”

“Do you think you can catch up this week?” she asked.

“Probably not; I have this week’s work to do as well. I’m going to be pulling a lot of hours this week. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” she said. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a glass container. She moved around the kitchen as it were her own.

I sat down on one of the bar stools and watched her take a plate from the cabinet and place a chunk of the casserole onto it.

“Gina really missed you today,” she said.

“I feel guilty enough, Jess. I don’t need to hear that.”

“I’m just telling you what your daughter said,” I noted a hint of annoyance in her voice. Her attitude wasn’t helping my mood. I knew Gina missed me, but what the hell was I supposed to do about that? I had to work. Someone around here did.

“It will take her a few days to adjust to the new schedule,” Jess said. “Sometimes vacations, especially ones halfway across the country, need a little time. That’s all I was saying.”

“I know,” I said. “Today is the first day in a long line of days of adjustment for me.”

Jess broke up the chunk of casserole with a fork while she spoke. “Well, it’s a good thing you have a lot of money. If it gets too stressful, you can always sell the business and retire comfortably. I know Gina would love having you around more. Or you could take a demotion and be a salesman if you get bored with retirement.”

What? “Retirement? Jess, I’ve worked too hard to retire this early.”

Her eyes met mine. “You’ve made more in a short amount of time than most make their whole lives.”

Tags: Claire Adams Erotic
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