It’s amazing what can happen when you put your mind to something. When you focus all of your energy and attention on one single goal, you really can conquer the world. Or in my case, business strategy.

I never set out to be a millionaire. I just wanted to own a small shop and sell books and be happy. But the more I learn, the more it occurs to me I actually like the business side of things. The pressure and excitement of seeing those numbers grow day by day. It’s addicting, and it shows.

I’ve become a certified workaholic. This realization dawns on me when Mellie stops by, and she looks mad.

“What’s the matter?” I’m buried in paperwork and earmarked pages of the business books I’ve taken to reading. My eyes are blurry, and my hair’s a mess, and now that I think about it, I can’t remember if I showered this morning.

“What’s the matter?” Mellie repeats. “You were supposed to meet me an hour ago for drinks.”

I blink at her and scrub my eyes. That doesn’t ring a bell. I scroll through my calendar, furiously tapping through my reminders, but it isn’t there.

“You must be mixed up,” I tell her. “It’s not on the calendar.”

She laughs, but it isn’t out of amusement. “Since when do you put me on your calendar, Lola?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Everything goes on the calendar now.”

I’m still staring at it when Mellie pries the phone out of my hands and forces me to give her my full attention. And when I look around the office, I can see how this might look bad. It’s not organized chaos, it’s just chaos. And I’m a little messy too. I’ve gained five pounds, and there’s a chocolate stain on my shirt, and this space could do with a bit of housekeeping.

She counts the coffee cups on my desk, out loud.

“This isn’t healthy.”

“Please don’t start,” I groan. “I’ve been swamped. The shop is doing so good, I can’t lose momentum now. I just need to—”

“You just need to take a shower,” she says. “And relax. Have a drink. Eat a meal that isn’t candy. Maybe go for a walk. Or you know… hang out with your best friend.”

“I’m sorry.” I rub my forehead and find some chocolate there too. “I can’t believe I forgot.”

But actually, I can. I’ve forgotten a lot of things lately. Important things. Unless I write everything down, it’s gone a second later. The pressure I’ve put on myself is enormous, and Mellie is probably right, but I’m afraid of losing the momentum. I’m worried if I stop for even a second, I’ll have to feel something I don’t want to.

“Avoidance tactics can only work for so long,” Mellie says. I hate it when she reads my mind.

“Come have a drink with me,” she insists. “I promise, the shop will still be here when you get back.”

I bite my lip and stare at the computer. There are still ten pages of bookkeeping practices I wanted to read through tonight. But in all honesty, my eyes have lost the ability to focus. I reluctantly put the computer to sleep and drag myself up from the chair like a Frankenstein creation. Mellie shakes her head and tosses me a coat.

“What the hell am I going to do with you, Lola?”

We’re on our second round of margaritas and three-quarters of the way through a plate of nachos when I get a text from Julian.

I haven’t heard from him since the awkward confession he made at Portillo’s the last time he was in town. Mellie asks me who it is between bites of her loaded chips, and I tell her.

“What’s he up to?” she mumbles.

“Not much.” I tap out a reply to him. “I guess he just figured the obligatory amount of time has passed and now we can carry on as usual.”

Mellie laughs, and so do I.

“Maybe you should consider him,” she says. And this is the margaritas talking because she knows Julian and I have nothing in common. I tell her so.

She shrugs. “You never know. Sometimes you might write someone off before you even give them a chance. But once you start to look at them in a different light, things can change.”

Tequila makes Mellie very philosophical.

“I’m not interested in him like that,” I insist. “It doesn’t matter which way you slice it, I never will be. And it’s better that I’m honest with him about it.”

Mellie drags a chip through the salsa, seeking out a chunk of tomato. “Okay, so what about the guys on Tap Left then? Any contenders there?”

I haven’t even been on the app since the incident with Daire, but I can’t bring myself to tell her that.

“Not really.”

“Just not your bread and butter, huh?”

I shake my head. I’m sure there are a lot of nice guys on there after you weed through the bad apples. But they aren’t ThatGuy. They aren’t Daire.

Julian texts me again and tells me he’s got tickets for Super Krunk. They were my favorite band in high school, and I can’t believe they are even still touring. I tell him that’s amazing and I hope he has a great time. He replies and asks me if I want to go, with an added clarification a few seconds later- as friends.

I look up at Mellie, and she’s stuffing another chip into her mouth.

“What?” she mumbles around the food.

“Julian just asked me to come visit him in California.”

“Really?” she washes her mouth out with a margarita and then gives me her full attention. “That would be fun.”

“It would. But it could be weird too.”

“It’s only weird if you let it be weird,” she answers. “You guys have been friends for a long time. No reason to throw that away over one awkward encounter. And besides, you could use a few days off.”

The thought of a vacation sends me into a state of panic, and almost immediately I start to protest. There’s no way I can leave the shop. Mellie cuts me off at the pass. “You’ve got two employees now,” she reminds me. “They can watch it for a couple days. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll even check in on them.”

The offer is tempting. Truthfully, I’m exhausted. And after all of the heavy stuff with Daire, it would be nice to get away. The deal only sweetens when Julian sends another message telling me he’ll pay for my ticket with his points. And if that isn’t enough, he even says he’ll throw in a trip to Disney while I’m there.

I throw a chip at Mellie and shrug. “Looks like I’m going to California.”