Page 86 of Maid in Heaven

She plopped down the laundry on the bed she’d done a half-assed job of making. Thoughts of Will oozed from the recesses of her brain, like a bulging dam about to burst. His warm voice, the feel of his fingers slipping between her legs, thosedamnblue eyes… she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

Storming to her walk-in closet, she tugged open the doorand flickedon the overhead light. Snatchingempty hangers from the rail, tears pricked her eyes.

Goddammit… she tried tohelp, notcontrolhim.

Or… had she?

Had some part of her wanted to line things upconveniently tooffer more protection for her heart?

Sure, she had trust issues, but how could trying tohelp himbe so severely misconstrued? The last few weeks, she felt within reach of everything she ever wanted. A family. Love. Excitement. Yet, somehow, she managed to end up with none of it.

Wandering to the empty bed, she painfully recalled the night he lay beside her. She grabbed the pillow he’d used that nightwith trepidation, inhaling any scent trapped within it while her tears fell.The pillowcase had since been washed, but she could haveswornshe could still faintly make out his scent.

Kuda hopped up on the bed, watching his owner’s crying eyes pinch closed. He took a few careful steps toward her, licking tears from her cheeks. His gentle kisses coaxed a chuckle from Ava. She scratched behind his ear and offereda pained smile. “Thank you, Kuda. I’ll be okay.”

The dog turned away, scratching and digging at the pile of remaining clothes, finally curling up like a bird in acloth nestagainst her back.There, they both slept away the remainder of the afternoon.

36

Ava strolled into thethree-story, weather-worn building. Today was the day that everything would turn around.

She couldfeelit.

Shewas going totake life by the balls and squeeze until it surrendered. Her heels echoed through the walls of the lobby. Tile swirledin a flowery pattern on the floor. The front desk was back-lit,giving the administrative assistant a glow like an angel.

Her sweet face was framed by shoulder-length blonde hair pinned back at the temples.“Can I help you?”

“Yes,I’m here for an interviewwith Mr. Carlin.”

“Oh!” The woman bounced, typing on her keyboard stationed below the countertop. “Alright. Heknows you’rehere. You can have a seat over there.” She gestured to an area with black chairs flanked by two leggy, potted Bird-of-Paradise plants.

Beyond the benches, inan office with clear walls, a middle-aged man satbehind a metaldesk. His squared goatee was accentuated by the frame of his rectangular glasses.Before she could sit, he beckoned Ava with a finger. She nodded and entered, takinga seat on the availablechair inside.

Ava smoothedthe creases in her slacks and readjusted her matching blazer.

“I’m Greg Carlin. You’re Ava, right?”

She nodded.“Yes, sir. Ava Quinn.”

He pulled thecopy of her resume up on his monitor and glanced over it.“Burton Laboratories…Chief Revenue Officer… wow, over nine years.”

Ava plastered on a smile and nodded. “Yes, sir. I moved up the ranks. I was promoted to thatposition about three years in.”

“So what does a job like that entail,exactly?” He wovehisfingers together on his lapand rocked back in his seat.

“Over the years,I did a little bit of everything in the finance department. It shrunk down,and then it grew so fast that I was doing the jobs of at least three separatepositions. Over the last decade,the company had grown from mid-size to a largerenterprise, grossing roughly seven billion annually. So, Iprovidedall the financial information for smaller proposals,put togetherforecasts, and did cost analysis. Ioversaw corporate takeovers. And, eventually, acquisitions is where I really flourished.”

“I see.” His chair groaned as he leaned forward. “This position is for our Finance Director. We want someone who can help us formulate strategies, oversee budget planning,and supervise compliance. Does this sound like something you could do?”

“Yes, sir, absolutely.”

“You seem pretty confident about that.” He smiled.

“Finance is the lifeblood of any large company. If you can’t be confident in who’s involved, then they have no business being there.”

“Couldn’t agree more. After all thatexperience, I’m surprised you’d be interested in a position at a smaller company likeHalafin.”

Oh God, please don’t say it…

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