No More Wasted Time: A Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance

“Um…yeah,” she said, but then shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “Actually, no,” she amended. “Can I ask you for a huge favor?”

Fiona shrugged.

“Sure,” she said.

Again, Becca took a deep breath.

“Can I press pause on this for a bit? Like, maybe just for a couple of days?”

Becca figured that perhaps during any downtime she’d have during her twenty-four hour shift at the fi

rehouse tomorrow, she might be able to come up with a way of talking to Krissy. Then, maybe on Friday night, after the fire department’s awards ceremony at City Hall, she’d be able to somehow get it done. All she really needed to know, after all, was whether or not Krissy was…obtainable.

“Was it something I did?” Fiona asked.

“No!” Becca hurriedly assured her. “I really, really like you. But, that’s why I want to press pause. I know I’m probably not making much sense, but there are things I need to get straightened out first.”

She wondered how much disclosure to provide. On the one hand, Fiona—like every woman—deserved the truth. On the other hand, Fiona probably wouldn’t be too keen on learning that she was, at the moment at least, Becca’s second choice.

“Professional stuff,” Becca said, deciding to lie and deciding she could live with it. “I’ve been offered a promotion and I want to find out first how much it’s going to demand of my life before I expect another person to also have to deal with it.”

Fiona smiled.

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” she said. “Okay,” she added and then jabbed her finger at an imaginary button. “We’ll press pause.”

“God, thank you,” Becca said, relieved.

They continued their walk, Becca wishing this thing about Krissy didn’t exist because, really, she and Fiona were in the perfect first kiss setting.

Chapter 14

“Charlie, you need to listen to me!” Krissy all but shouted into the Bluetooth headphones she was wearing while staring Charlie down on the Zoom window. “You keep saying you want to play with the big boys, so what’s up? Why are you suddenly acting like a scared child?”

“It’s a lot of money, Krissy!” Charlie, in his sixties, balding, with liver spots on the top of his head, was actually one of Krissy’s favorite clients. But sometimes he just needed a talking to.

“It’s what it takes to get into this fund!” Krissy repeated—for the umpteenth time. “They are not opening it up for just anybody! Fucking Shapiro and Heche are doing me a fucking favor, here, Charlie!”

“I know that,” Charlie said.

“If you spend even a goddamn hour thinking this over, the fund will be fully subscribed by the time you call me back! I swear to God it will. And with the rate of return predicted on the split-strikes…Jesus fucking Christ, that means somebody else is going to be making all that money. Not you!”

Or me.

Krissy stared at him. Charlie was a decent sort, but Krissy had learned early on that he was intimidated by strong women.

“Fifty million, Charlie,” she stated. “Right now.”

Charlie sighed dramatically. Considering that Krissy could see a pristine Hawaiian beach in the background of the Zoom window, Krissy wondered what he had to be so stressed about.

“Fine,” he said. “Put me in for fifty.”

Not so fast…

“Why not take it to sixty?” Krissy asked.

Charlie’s eyebrows shot up.

“Sixty?”