Apex Of The Curve - A.J. Downey Page 0,83

my own now. Do this for me, as much as for him.

The phone rang, and I picked up. “Clayrity, this is Aspen speaking, how may I help you?”

“Hi, I’d like to book a private paint night for me and my two girlfriends.”

“A private booking for three?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“I can do that,” I said.

“This week?” she asked.

“Oh, um, when were you thinking?” I asked. Jesus, talk about short notice. Still, a private booking was good. It was listed on my website, three minimum and a minimum of X amount of dollars. I would double check she knew, but I should be able to handle this – even with the short notice. Double-edged sword, the perks of being the boss but also its downfall.

“Any time between tonight and Friday,” she said. “I know it’s short notice, but we really need a break and it sounds so much fun. Cost is no object.”

“I can do tonight,” I said, “It’s really the only time for a private session that I have between now and Friday. I do have regular classes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Are you sure you don’t want the Thursday night regular class? It’s my least crowded,” I said.

“No, we’re sure, we want a private class, just the three of us.”

“Okay, can I get your name?” I asked.

“Marisol,” she said, and the name tickled my memory but didn’t quite click. It sounded familiar. Maybe if I had a last name?

“Last name?” I asked.

“Vasquez.”

“Okay, Miss Vasquez, I have you and two others down for tonight. Does seven pm work for you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Perfect, I’ll see you then.”

“Uh-huh, sounds good.”

“Bye now!”

“Bye.”

I hung up and let out an explosive breath.

“Shit,” I muttered.

I picked up my phone and texted the truth…

Me: I wanted to see you tonight but I just had a private party book for a paint night and I could really use the money.

I tossed down my phone and sighed, leaning back in my desk chair in my little office.

“Amber!” I called out.

“Yeah?”

“Set out the glazes for a private party of three, they’re coming in at seven!”

“On it, boss lady!”

I put my head in my hands and fought not to cry. That was going to be the hardest part of losing my business, to be honest – letting Amber go.

She didn’t deserve it, and I seriously hated Charles for putting me in this position. I was beginning to hate my lawyer, too – for not returning calls and, for seemingly brushing me off to the side. I understood that my divorce wasn’t particularly lucrative for her, however, it felt like she was doing the absolute bare minimum here, and that just added to my stress and my heartache in several ways.

While it was good news that Charles couldn’t touch my inheritance from my mother, I needed to figure something out there, too.

With Copper gone, my sister-in-law, who was a stay-at-home mom, couldn’t keep their house. She was going to lose it, and I couldn’t let that happen. My mom’s house was paid for, and while I could sell it and give my sister-in-law half the money, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides, half the money from my mother’s house wouldn’t be enough to buy her and Silver a home of their own.

I needed to talk to her, but for a while, we might be roommates after a fashion, which was going to be tough on me. While I didn’t dislike my sister-in-law, she didn’t exactly like me. It wasn’t about me, though. It was about my nephew, Silver, and making sure he had a secure future.

The only thing I had going for me was that the clean-out of my mother’s house was going pretty well. We’d made a good dent on Monday, and I’d gotten a little further every night since the party, too.

I hadn’t gotten to see Fenris, and that was okay. I was making progress, and I knew he was busy at the farm. I honestly didn’t want to be around for the slaughter of the goats, and they were in the thick of it, apparently, so I had begged off seeing him over the weekend. Now, it was Wednesday. I hadn’t seen him in a week, and I knew he was starting to worry and things were starting to strain. I hated that it was all my fault but a private party.

The timing both sucked and was fortuitous. I really was hanging on by a thread, here.

I stared at my profit-and-loss statement and willed the numbers to move into