Page 3 of Ruthless Serenade

Thankfully, Albert chimes in. "Christine should know. Listen to her, Miss Williams. She was a single mom of three before she met me."

Christine smiles at her husband and the tension in my chest releases. Maybe I was mistaken when I thought Albert was trying to hit on me. Innocent joking is what it was. It’s just his character, that’s all. Why would he try to hit me, with a charming and successful woman like Christine by his side?

"Ladies, I’ll leave you two to it," Albert says. "I need to go now." He looks at Christine, smiling. "See you later, dear."

The door closes behind him and only Christine and I are left in the office. There’s a hint of unease in the air, so I say,"I had a long call with Mr. Chen. That’s why I'm a little late today." I clear my throat. "Apparently, there’s an issue with one of the invoices. The Chinese have a way of managing things that sometimes confuses me. And sometimes their English is hard to understand on the phone, so I asked him to email me the details, and-"

"Mindy," Christine cuts in, "go pick up Sharon. I don’t want to keep the little girl waiting for her mom any longer than she has to. You can send that email on Monday morning."

I heave a soft sigh of relief and close down my laptop. "Thank you, Christine."

Ten minutes later, I’m making my way down the dim office corridor, listening to the click of my own heels echoing in the silence. As I pass Christine’s office, I catch a glimpse of her and Albert through the glass wall. My steps slow to a halt.

Even from this far, the tension radiating from their bodies is obvious. Albert’s hands grip the edge of the desk as Christine paces back and forth with visible frustration. I can practically hear their conversation.

"Albert, for Christ’s sake! Don’t you think I see what you’re doing, trying to charm these young women?"

His response is low, placating."No, darling, that’s just not true. You know I only love you."

After pacing back and forth, Christine finally stops and pulls out a hanky to dab at her eyes. Albert steps away from his desk to pull her in for a hug. For a moment, they are lost in each other’s arms.

Then, Christine gazes up at her husband with the adoration of a teenage crush. They probably think they’re alone in the building, being Friday evening. Or maybe they just don’t care who sees them at this point.

Watching them, I feel this mix of cute and gross. A part of me is jealous, and a part of me feels bad for Christine. It’s also a big ole reminder of my own situation - working single mom, feeling pretty damn lonely on most evenings. At least Christine has Albert, even if he’s a bit of a creep sometimes. Me? I’ve got nobody besides Sharon.

I step out of the Visionary Media building and look around me. My car is the only one in the employees’ car park.

To ease my loneliness and catch up with the latest news, I give Betty a quick Facetime call. It’s been over a year since she left the corporate world and started her own online dating agency. Since then, she set up base in Bali, and she’s killing it, living her best life as a digital nomad. The only downside is that she often works nights, due to the twelve-hour time difference between Bali and the US East Coast.

But then again, she loves it. Betty’s the girl who just breezes through life like it’s nothing. While everyone else is struggling, she’s just cruising along with no problems whatsoever.

As I wait for her to answer, I hustle to my car and fumble with my keys. With the phone wedged between my chin and shoulder, I finally unlock the door and flop into the driver’s seat. After a couple of tries, my engine roars to life.

"Hey there, cutie," Betty coos into the phone just as I place it on the holder. "I was starting to think you forgot aboutyour bestie on this beautiful Friday night. What’s keeping you so busy?"

"Just the usual work stuff, Bets," I reply nonchalantly as I pull out of the parking lot and ease my car into the Friday afternoon traffic. "But don’t worry, my love for you never takes a backseat, despite my passion for endless spreadsheets and clients with broken English."

"Your passion for endless spreadsheets, huh? Don’t you think you’re pushing yourself too hard, Mindy?"

"Oh, come on, Miss Digital Nomad." I roll my eyes jokingly. "I just called to check on you and you have to come right at me? Besides, you know how it is. Corporate life ain’t a walk in the park.”

"No, it ain’t, but so is raising a child. Sharon needs a calm, healthy, and well-balanced mother. And your clients can wait until Monday for those numbers. So can the Solomons."

"I’ve had much worse bosses than the Solomons." I sigh. "Not to mention that they’re disgustingly in love after all these years together."

"Oh, I’m sure your bosses are wonderful. But I know you, babe. I know you have a tendency of pushing yourself too hard and then getting burnt out in the process. Working as hard as you do and raising a daughter is a lot for one person to handle. I worry about you all the time."

"Don’t make me weepy, Bets." I pout. "Instead of making me ridiculously emotional, dish out the deets on Bali. Give me all the juicy gossip."

A wide smile spreads across her face. "Oh my gosh, Mindy, this place is like a dream! Every day feels like a fairy talewith the sound of ocean waves, and sunsets that are worthy of Instagram."

I roll my eyes again. “I'm green with envy,” I chuckle. “All I see from my window in the mornings is the never-ending parade of New York traffic, knowing I’ll be stuck in it in thirty minutes. How’s the matchmaking business going?”

"Blowing up, Min. Looks like my inner matchmaker is finally paying off! My database is growing so quickly, I’m thinking of hiring a virtual assistant."

"This is just so you, Bets," I giggle. "You’ve always had that knack for bringing people together. I’m so proud of you, girl!"

“Thanks, babe. Believe me, this is what living is. New York and Global Media - that was just existing, at best.”

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