way Blake was involved, if he was involved. I have a gut feeling he may have been one of the ringleaders. Likely today is not a good time to try to find out though. I really need to do some work to keep my own clients happy,” Niall replied.
“Me, too. I’ve been spending rather a lot of time on this whole call center thing instead of hustling my butt out there, looking for paying work. Gotta do something about that today.”
Niall nodded and waved as Mas headed farther through the lot to his car. The money the government would have paid them for their help with the call center case was welcome, and he was grateful for it, but he still—they all still—had to keep their own clients happy and coming back to them. “Working for myself is wonderful, but taking a few days off without warning is really bad for business,” he sighed.
* * * *
Aurelia hurried to the store, rushing up and down the aisles as if she was on a reality TV program with only ten minutes to choose whatever she wanted. She smiled at herself, but she knew once she started booking caterers, and music, and all the other things for her own commitment ceremony, shopping would never cross her mind again. And if they planned to eat any time soon, shopping was a necessity. It was amazing how much the three of them had eaten when they’d had to stay inside all day. Of course, they’d had a hell of a lot of exercise with all the sex, burned off thousands of calories, but still, the refrigerator and freezer were seriously empty and needed filling right now.
Back home, the shopping unpacked and put away, Aurelia settled in front of Mas’s old laptop, which was now her laptop, and opened her e-mail. “Wow, thirty messages. I think that’s a record.”
Several of them were questions about the seniors’ party she was planning, which she left to answer until later. She opened the one from Ormonde.
Hey, girlfriend, Talbot liked your work. I’ve CC’d this e-mail to him so you have his address because he asked you to contact him ASAP. Way to go, Aurelia. —Ormonde.
Oh wow! Ye gods, how long has it been waiting for me? Oh, only since yesterday, that’s okay. What should I say? Hell. Um.
Aurelia pulled herself together and wrote a polite, succinct, businesslike reply, reading it through three times before hitting the send button to Mr. Talbot.
“It’s hard to believe someone would pay me for playing my little game, but, hey, I’m not going to say no. Of course, it might not be very much money, but even twenty dollars a week would be something regular coming in.”
Aurelia calmed herself down and started answering the other e-mails, but a bubble of happiness kept rising in her chest. She was planning a commitment ceremony to the two most wonderful men in the world, she was getting a few nibbles for her event planning business, and every party she orchestrated would introduce her to more potential clients. If only she knew what had happened about the call center demons. Had the people at the top been caught this time, or not? Of course, freeing the enslaved workers was incredibly important and worthwhile, but until the bad guys were locked up somewhere, it would just keep happening.
“Oh, that reminds me, I wonder how much my bonus was.”
Aurelia clicked through to her banking details and sat there, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. A thousand dollars! One thousand dollars! Ye gods, that was wonderful! “I’ll buy a dress for my commitment ceremony. Something elegant I can wear to really special parties. Yes, and I’ll encourage Mas and Niall to buy a tuxedo each, too. If I’m going to be running a business, it’ll be better value if they have their own formal attire than hiring it all the time. But I’ll still hire different dresses. I can’t arrive in just the one dress too often. My commitment dress, however, that I’ll buy and keep. Oh wow. Wow !”
Aurelia jumped out of her chair and danced around the room.
“Me, too. I’ve been spending rather a lot of time on this whole call center thing instead of hustling my butt out there, looking for paying work. Gotta do something about that today.”
Niall nodded and waved as Mas headed farther through the lot to his car. The money the government would have paid them for their help with the call center case was welcome, and he was grateful for it, but he still—they all still—had to keep their own clients happy and coming back to them. “Working for myself is wonderful, but taking a few days off without warning is really bad for business,” he sighed.
* * * *
Aurelia hurried to the store, rushing up and down the aisles as if she was on a reality TV program with only ten minutes to choose whatever she wanted. She smiled at herself, but she knew once she started booking caterers, and music, and all the other things for her own commitment ceremony, shopping would never cross her mind again. And if they planned to eat any time soon, shopping was a necessity. It was amazing how much the three of them had eaten when they’d had to stay inside all day. Of course, they’d had a hell of a lot of exercise with all the sex, burned off thousands of calories, but still, the refrigerator and freezer were seriously empty and needed filling right now.
Back home, the shopping unpacked and put away, Aurelia settled in front of Mas’s old laptop, which was now her laptop, and opened her e-mail. “Wow, thirty messages. I think that’s a record.”
Several of them were questions about the seniors’ party she was planning, which she left to answer until later. She opened the one from Ormonde.
Hey, girlfriend, Talbot liked your work. I’ve CC’d this e-mail to him so you have his address because he asked you to contact him ASAP. Way to go, Aurelia. —Ormonde.
Oh wow! Ye gods, how long has it been waiting for me? Oh, only since yesterday, that’s okay. What should I say? Hell. Um.
Aurelia pulled herself together and wrote a polite, succinct, businesslike reply, reading it through three times before hitting the send button to Mr. Talbot.
“It’s hard to believe someone would pay me for playing my little game, but, hey, I’m not going to say no. Of course, it might not be very much money, but even twenty dollars a week would be something regular coming in.”
Aurelia calmed herself down and started answering the other e-mails, but a bubble of happiness kept rising in her chest. She was planning a commitment ceremony to the two most wonderful men in the world, she was getting a few nibbles for her event planning business, and every party she orchestrated would introduce her to more potential clients. If only she knew what had happened about the call center demons. Had the people at the top been caught this time, or not? Of course, freeing the enslaved workers was incredibly important and worthwhile, but until the bad guys were locked up somewhere, it would just keep happening.
“Oh, that reminds me, I wonder how much my bonus was.”
Aurelia clicked through to her banking details and sat there, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. A thousand dollars! One thousand dollars! Ye gods, that was wonderful! “I’ll buy a dress for my commitment ceremony. Something elegant I can wear to really special parties. Yes, and I’ll encourage Mas and Niall to buy a tuxedo each, too. If I’m going to be running a business, it’ll be better value if they have their own formal attire than hiring it all the time. But I’ll still hire different dresses. I can’t arrive in just the one dress too often. My commitment dress, however, that I’ll buy and keep. Oh wow. Wow !”
Aurelia jumped out of her chair and danced around the room.
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