With a towel wrapped around her long hair in a desperate effort to dry it, she’d rushed around her apartment, getting dressed and grabbing what she would need to finish getting ready at work. Dominique was a great boss and she wouldn’t be angry if Veronica needed to take twenty or thirty minutes to dry her hair and put on a little make-up when she arrived. Especially since Veronica’s power was out.
Lamenting the fact that she couldn’t make coffee at home and didn’t have time to stop at the coffee shop on the corner, Veronica gathered up her purse, laptop bag, and the gym bag she’d stuffed her make-up, brush, and hair dryer into.
She was just walking to the front door when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror beside it and stopped short.
“Damn,” she murmured, staring at the towel turban on top of her head.
It was still chilly in the mornings, even though it was spring in Texas, and she didn’t relish the idea of going outside with a wet head.
Moving quickly, she piled her stuff on the couch and ran back into the bathroom to give her hair a quick spray with smoothing serum and comb it back into a bun held in place with a black scrunchie. It wasn’t the most stylish look, but it would do until she got to work.
When she ran out the door, she was a full twenty minutes behind schedule.
Which meant that she should get to work by eight on the dot.
Grateful for her habit of arriving early, Veronica braved the morning traffic only to hit a snarl a few blocks from the office. Two cars had collided in a minor fender bender, but traffic was backed up for several blocks.
Frustrated, Veronica called her boss’s cell phone.
“Good morning, Veronica,” Dominique said. “I’m assuming your stuck in that accident around the corner.”
“Yes, I am,” Veronica admitted. “And I’m going to need twenty minutes to dry my hair and do my make-up when I get there. My power went off this morning before I finished my shower.”
“Oh, dear. Well, that’s no problem. I’m afraid I have to leave the office as I have a breakfast meeting.”
Damn. Veronica had forgotten all about that.
“I’m so sorry,” she began.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dominique said. “You’re never late. Everyone’s allowed to have a morning where nothing goes right. I’ll lock the office when I leave and voice mail can handle any calls that come in before you get here. It’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Veronica said, taking her first full breath of the morning.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
Dominique disconnected the call, but the tension in the pit of Veronica’s stomach didn’t go away until she reached the office fifteen minutes later and went inside.
She turned on her computer and started a cup of coffee in the Keurig, but before she could run into the bathroom to dry her hair or put on make-up, the phone at her desk rang.
Stressed to the max, Veronica took a moment to breathe before she answered it. “Mystical Matchmakers, this is Veronica speaking.”
Okay, her voice sounded calm and collected as it usually did. That was good.
“Hi, Veronica. This is Clay Dugan.”
“Hello, Mr. Dugan. How may I help you today?”
The coffee maker finished brewing her coffee, so she stretched the cord from her phone to the counter so she could add sugar and creamer to it.
“I’m calling to terminate my membership with your company,” he said.
Oh, no. Just another thing to go wrong this morning. An unhappy client.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Dugan. Are you dissatisfied with the service?”
“Not really,” he said. “I, uh…” He trailed off. “Well, it’s like this…”
Veronica paused and let his emotions wash over her. Then, she smiled. Maybe something was actually going right this morning, after all.
