My heat was well and truly done. I’d had to fake it for my morning date, leaning hard on the efforts of the emitter, but I thought I did a good job—he seemed satisfied anyway. Management would have to know, because I’d expected at least another twelve hours out of it.

This was going to put a cramp in my apartment savings.

It was going to be hard going back to my regular clients after David. I’d do it, because I was a professional and I took my job seriously, but he was definitely a hard act to follow.

I tidied up the room and hit the button on the panel to call the floor maintenance crew to come change it over. I had a couple of days off, except for my medical exam tomorrow. Maybe I’d go down to the Housing Commission and see what they said about my apartment choices.

Enderby was already coming down the hall with the cleaning cart. We exchanged friendly hellos and I took the staff stairs down to find the office so I could let them know that my heat was done.

I peeked around the corner, hoping Ma was working but she must have been off dealing with things somewhere else in the building. But it was Peregrine, so it wasn’t that bad. We got along well. He was sitting behind the desk, staring intently at a screen and frowning grumpily while he clicked a cheap ballpoint pen over and over with his free hand. I knocked on the frame of the door. “Hi.”

He looked up and smiled. Peregrine used to work here in Silver before he moved up to management in the Moonflower Garden, but the Silver always called her children home to her. If I didn’t mate and start a family, I’d probably end up in management here once my high earning days were done.

It wasn’t a bad future to look forward to.

“Hey, Salem, I was just looking at your numbers. You had a good heat.”

“Thanks. I think it’s done, though. The emitters weren’t much use to me at all this morning.”

“Too bad, but it’s only to be expected. I noticed you played it safe with the dates anyway, so it’s not like you’ve got anyone coming in expecting to get an omega heat today.”

I shrugged and flushed a little in pleasure. “Ma made sure I knew better.”

“Your Ma’s a smart woman. I can only hope to be half as good as her someday.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll do better than that.” I lounged against the doorframe, feeling the night’s efforts coming home to roost. “I’m going to grab some sleep, but I’ll be back for my shift tonight. I wanted to book my physical for tomorrow, if there’s any slots left.”

“We can cancel tonight if you want. You had a pretty heavy schedule for the week.” He clicked something and his eyes flickered over the screen. “Your guy from last night, the one that booked the long session? He left you a tip too. A generous one.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Really?”

He turned the screen a little, inviting me to come look.

I leaned over the edge of the desk—there wasn’t really room enough for two of us behind it. The building was spacious and lovely in the public areas, but anything the clients couldn’t see was very efficiently built. “Wow,” I said. “That works out to what, percentage-wise?”

“Just over thirty percent.” He paused and the pen started its clicking again. “Salem, you know I have to ask…”

“I didn’t do anything I wouldn’t do with anyone else,” I hastened to assure him. “No bruises, no welts, nothing’s sore—or more sore than it should be. I don’t know. I guess he enjoyed himself?” I didn’t mention the little fur show I’d put on for him. It wasn’t a part of our menu and I could get kicked out of the houses completely for doing it. “Maybe… He was kind of fascinated with my omega line.” It was still a little embarrassing to talk about, though Peregrine obviously knew all about them just from his work in management.

But omega lines were kind of personal. Private. It was what made the male omegas the most expensive dish you could order here in Nevada Ashes.

Peregrine gave me a searching look, so I shrugged and held my hand up in a ‘who knows what clients think’ kind of gesture. “What’s the schedule for the medical look like for tomorrow?”

He clicked open another window on the screen. “Morning or afternoon?”

“Ugh, afternoon,” I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He laughed and booked me an appointment, writing the time down on a sticky note. “Don’t miss it.”

“I won’t.” I stuffed the little square in my pocket and yawned. “Okay, I’m off unless you want something.”

He waved a hand at me, his attention already going back to the screen. “Go, get some sleep. No, wait—can you work Tuesday? We’re a little short.”

I’d already been turning away, so he didn’t see the face I made. “Sure,” I said brightly. “Extra shift though, okay? Don’t trade away one of my good ones?” Now I did make a face, because his expression said that was exactly what he’d been planning. “No, Per, really. I’m saving up for a place of my own. I don’t want to give up a good paying shift for a Tuesday.”

“You’ll burn yourself out,” he said.

“I’m being careful,” I promised.

After a moment, he sighed. “I’ll make Tuesday a short shift then. Four hours okay?”

“Four hours is easy-peasy,” I said in delight and swooped in to drop a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best. Thank you!”

“Go on, get. Go have a soak in the hot tub and relax a little, then get some sleep before tonight.”

“You got it, boss,” I said saucily and scooted out the door before he could change his mind. Yes! An extra four hours wasn’t much, but every little bit counted. I almost skipped as I went down the hall, my head full of dreams of my own apartment and my own furniture and just my own everything.