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Amaya
“Oh, for the love…” I mutter under my breath and swallow back a slew of curse words as my phone rings. It’s Derrick. Again.
I ignore it and focus instead on strapping Mikey safely into his car seat. I can’t afford to be late. When you get a job opportunity on the Golden Sequoia Estate, you do whatever it takes to grab it and keep it.
The pay is exquisite, the benefits are great, and they even have an on-site kids center for all of the working moms within the company. It’s one of the perks of working for a huge fintech conglomerate in Northern California, and just one of the many reasons why I really need to knock this out of the ballpark.
“You all set, honey?” I ask my son.
He gives me his signature toothy grin that brings out his cheeky dimples, and I melt at the sunny look in his blue eyes, blonde curls dancing over his forehead. “I’m perfect, Momma!”
“My little man,” I reply as I kiss his warm temple before getting in the driver’s seat.
This old Honda may not be in tip-top shape, but she’ll handle the commute from Sacramento just fine—I hope. The last thing I need is for Suzy to give up on me, too. My phone buzzes. Of course, Derrick can’t take no for an answer, so he has to text me, as well.
It’s fine, I’ll ignore it like I’ve ignored every other message he’s sent me over the past couple of weeks since we broke up.
“Come on, kiddo, let’s go get Momma a job,” I say, keeping my tone as bright as I can given the circumstances, and shift the car into drive.
It’s been hard on my own, but truth be told, I was still a single mom even when Mikey and I were living with Derrick. Maybe it’s because Mikey isn’t his son, but Derrick never truly bonded with him.
We always felt like guests in that apartment, even though I kept the place in mint condition. I cooked, I cleaned, I took care of my man and my son in equal, loving measure. Derrick didn’t want me to get a job after my last gig fell through and I was a fool to follow his lead.
My phone rings again just as I’m about to hit the freeway.
“Dammit!” I snap, then check the screen and breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh…” I slide a finger across to accept the call, and Mira’s voice comes through the speaker.
“You’d better be on your way to GS!”
“I am, don’t worry. I just left Sacramento,” I tell my best friend. She’s been there for me through thick and thin, even when Derrick almost cut me off from her for the most ridiculous reasons. “But I’ve got Mikey with me,” I add, my gaze fixed on the road ahead. I can hear Mikey giggling and playing with his soldier figurines in the back. He’ll doze off soon enough. “I couldn’t pay a babysitter.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, babe, I’m sure someone there will be able to keep an eye on him while you do your interview,” Mira says. “Besides, Kace is a pretty cool guy.”
“Tell me again who that is?”
She laughs lightly and I welcome the sunlight filtering through the car window as I dive into the freeway traffic. It’s not that heavy, but it’s not as light as I’d prefer it, either. According to my GPS navigation app, I should reach the Golden Sequoia Estate in about an hour or so. “Kace is my boss’s partner on the GS project. There’s three of them, actually, former servicemembers and best friends. They all made their fortunes here in San Francisco first before they moved over there.”
“Okay, yeah, you mentioned that,” I say.
“Well, they need a good yoga instructor for their fitness center, and you need a job. It seemed pretty obvious that I’d bring this to you first,” Mira replies.
“And I cannot thank you enough for thinking about me, especially after the past few years with Derrick and all that—”
“Hey, enough with that a-hole,” she cuts me off in a gentle tone. “He’s in the past. Let him stay there. We’re okay. I told you before and I’ll say it again: No man will ever truly come between us.”
“Yeah, I’ve learned my share of lessons alright.”
“So, when Elias told me about the job opening on GS—”
“Wait, Elias. That’s the other partner, right?”
“It’s Kace, Finn, and Elias, yes,” Mira confirms. “Elias was more than happy to accept a referral from me before posting the job offer publicly. If you nail this, they’ll save a pretty penny on job advertising and recruitment companies, too. It’s a win-win for all of us.”
“Have you been there?” I ask.
“Where, the estate? Yeah, it’s gorgeous, you’re gonna love it. And they’re really cool guys, too. I mean, Elias is the best boss I’ve ever had. Trust me, it’s not something you often hear in the fintech sector.”
