Annette Goldman, owner of the You Deserve It Travel Agency and general pain in the ass, made a beeline for Kayla’s desk seconds after she arrived. “Didn’t you get my message? You didn’t return my call.”

Kayla summoned her patience. She slipped her purse into her desk drawer and gave her harried boss the same smile she used on particularly difficult clients. “I did, but you said only to call back if it was before midnight.”

Annette’s face pinched momentarily, putting her latest Botox injection to the test before it smoothed out into the familiar mask.

It was no secret that Annette did not approve of Kayla’s single, carefree lifestyle, though perhaps it was more a case of envy than anything else. Annette despised her husband. From what Kayla had seen at agency parties, she didn’t blame her. The man was short, bald, and fancied himself as something of a ladies’ man. He excused his inability to hold down a steady job by claiming an “entrepreneurial spirit,” but the truth was, he was just lazy and content to live off Annette’s business savvy. Their son, now in his late twenties, was a self-proclaimed YouTuber and lived in the basement, recording himself playing video games. If Annette could divorce the sloth without having to give him half of everything, she would do it in a red-hot minute.

“Stephanie called in again,” Annette said irritably, hands poised on her narrow, girdled hips. “Some nonsense about her kid being sick.”

Kayla felt a tiny stab of sympathy. Stephanie had three kids under the age of seven. Her husband was a long-haul truck driver, which meant Stephanie was often left to juggle house, work, and kids on her own.

That sympathy was followed immediately by a sense of relief that she hadn’t fallen into the same marriage with children trap.

“I need you to cover her workload.”

“What about Ashley?”

“I fired her.” Annette sniffed, standing taller and lifting her chin. “She was sleeping with one of the clients.”

A lot more than one, Kayla thought, but refrained from saying so out loud.

It was too bad. Despite her obsession with married men, Ashley was a good travel agent. She knew her stuff, and the men often booked expensive getaways afterward.

“So, we’re two agents short today, and we have a lot of time-critical arrangements to make if we want to stay in business. I don’t know how everything is going to get done.” Annette wrung her hands together. Kayla wondered if the gesture was an unconscious one or one well-rehearsed enough to appear genuine.

“We’ll get it done,” Kayla said confidently. A sense of challenge and excitement began to hum through her veins. She always performed better under pressure. “Send me their open files.”

Relief passed over Annette’s features. “Thank you, Kayla. Get us through this, and I’ll send you on that scouting trip next week.”

Kayla’s eyes glittered. Senior agents occasionally got to check out airlines and hotels as part of the job. Sometimes the agency paid; sometimes new resorts would provide compensated stays as incentive in exchange for glowing, personal recommendations. Sate, a new and exclusive adults-only resort, had opened on a private island in the Caribbean, and Kayla was dying to go. The place was extremely expensive, though, so the only way she would get there is if someone else footed the bill.

“Annette,” Kayla said with a genuine smile, “you send me to Sate, and I’ll take on everyone’s workload.”

The morning’s lingering funk disappeared as Kayla focused on the job with renewed vigor. The rest of the afternoon and evening passed in a blur of appointments, phone calls, pricing comparisons, and reservations. For the rest of that week, she came in early, skipped lunch, and stayed late. Four days later, it was well past midnight when she sat back and rubbed her eyes. She reminded herself that every extra bit of effort was totally worth it, because she would be spending a long weekend at Sate.

Tired but happy, Kayla was creating a mental list of the things she would need to do as she drove back to her place. More long days were in her immediate future if she hoped to clear her own schedule and get things done before she left, and she wasn’t going to give Annette any excuse to renege on her promise.

Shopping was definitely on the agenda, too. It had been a while since Kayla had splurged on something sexy and fun. She was definitely due.

The motion sensor lights mounted on the carport roof came to life as Kayla pulled into the driveway. For a moment, she thought she caught sight of something moving back by her shed.

Immediately alert, she flicked on her high-beams, but saw only the shadows of the nearby maple swaying in the breeze.

Kayla got out of the car, a small can of pepper spray in one hand and her keys in the other. Crime wasn’t a big thing in her neighborhood, but she was definitely of the “better safe than sorry” mentality. A woman living alone couldn’t be too careful.

A quick look around revealed nothing more sinister than a few falling leaves.

“Definitely overtired,” she murmured to herself as she went into her house and locked the door behind her.