Page 5 of Paradigm

“Depends on what I can negotiate for their rate, but at least a few,” Violet told her and leaned forward in her chair before she added, “Arlowe, no offense, but you look like hell. You need to sleep.”

“Yeah,” she said on a sigh.

“I know things have been pretty crazy for a while now, but they will calm down.”

“When, exactly? I’m burning the candle at both ends here, Violet. We all are. I know Enya is burning out, too, and she never burns out. Sarai asked for a few days off to spend time with Gabi. She never asks for time off.”

“Part of that is because she’s tired, but the other part is that she has a girlfriend now, and she wants to go on a vacation with her. I get that. Stella and I took that long weekend a few months ago.”

“So, you’re saying that us singles will have to pick up the slack because you two went and fell in love?”

“No.” Violet laughed a little. “I’m just saying that priorities change when you do. This company is still incredibly important to me. We’ve been working on it for twelve years. But Stella is the most important thing to me now. I love her. I want to keep building a life with her. And that means that every so often, I might actually want to take a few days away from this place just to be with her and do nothing at all. Sarai and Gabi probably feel the same way.”

“I overheard them talking about it. They’re both really excited. I guess Gabi rented a little cabin for them, and they’re going to sit by a lake all weekend or something.”

“Or something,” Violet replied with a little headshake. “You should consider taking some time off, too. Maybe a day or two. We can handle things while you’re gone.”

“Yeah, right,” Arlowe said.

“Gabi can make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You trust her with the code.”

“I do, but it’s fine. I just need to get some sleep. Do the contractors at this BPO work our business hours or theirs? I don’t think I can work eighteen-hour days like I did when I was twenty-four.”

“They’ll work whatever hours you want them to, so you can set up shifts if you want full coverage, or have them all work at the same time. We can go over that with the vendor.”

Arlowe nodded and said, “Okay. Well, set up the meeting, and I’ll listen to what they have to say.”

“Great. I think this is the right call, Arlowe.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said and stood. “I’m going to head home. It’s after six. You should be gone, too.”

“Stella’s coming here when she’s done at work, so I’m just here to wait for her. We’re going to dinner.”

“Have fun.”

“Arlowe?”

“Yeah?”

“You can find this, too, you know?” Violet said.

“Find what? Dinner?”

Violet rolled her eyes and said, “No, love.”

“This again? Come on, Vi. I just want to go home and get some sleep.”

“I’m not pushing you. I’m only saying that there is someone out there for you, and I know that you want to find her.”

“How do you know that?”

“When was the last time you brought a woman home or went home with one?”

“For the record, I don’t sleep with every woman I talk to at a bar or a club, Vi. Sometimes, I just talk to them. Other times, we kiss or something. Most of the time, it ends there.”

“Just answer the question, Arlowe.”

“It’s been a minute.”