Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

MIRA

F or some unknown reason, Slate insisted that I spend some time off the rig now that Logan's visit was over. Something about slowing down and creating some balance in my life. Coming from him, that had been damn rich, but I had some stuff I had to do on land for the company anyway, so I'd agreed.

Slate was staying put, so while I fully intended on forcing him to take some time off soon, I also knew everything would be fine while I was gone. It definitely helped me relax to know that even if I wasn't there, he was.

He'd survived Logan's visit—everyone had—and now, all I had to do was hope that his curiosity had been satisfied enough that he didn't feel a repeat visit was necessary. Either way, I'd put it behind me for now.

Done with work for today, I sat in my best friend's living room and took a sip of beer while we got caught up. Anya was the only person in the world I felt truly understood everything about me, and it was weird because we were polar opposites.

Where I was by the book and straitlaced, she was carefree and a bit wild. More like Tess than like me, but I loved them both all the same. Which reminds me. I need to call Tess and Mickey while I'm in town .

For now, though, I was just enjoying some rare girl time with Anya, who was currently lamenting about her former boss. "Can you believe that he fired me? Just like that?"

My mouth dropped open. "You got fired? Why the hell didn't you lead with that?"

Her dark brown eyes filled with despair. "I didn't want to ruin the mood just after you got here. I mean, it's been months since I've seen you, but yeah. I got fired. On Wednesday, so it's still really fresh."

"What happened?" I asked softly, crossing my legs underneath me on her vibrant red sofa. "I thought you loved that job?"

"It wasn't my fault. I was late, like, five times in over a month, and when I got to the office on Wednesday, he just blew up at me. Fired me on the spot."

My eyebrows climbed up high. Five times in as many weeks. Jeez. I'd have fired her too. "Anya, that's terrible!"

She reached for her blonde ponytail and tightened it as she shrugged. "The job just wasn't for me, I guess. I need something with more flexibility, and a less nitpicky boss. Who cares when I get there? As long as my work is done, am I right?"

"A boss who expects you to show up on time isn't nitpicky, babe. That's the bare minimum standard. If you've got working hours, you have to be there for them."

She waved me off, her delicate brow furrowing as she spread her legs out ahead of her on the other sofa. "Hours shouldn't matter. That's what I'm saying. Who cares if I get there at five a.m. or at ten a.m.? As long as I get the work done in the time I have, it shouldn't be an issue."

My heart pulsed as it roared against her reasoning. "Some companies work like that, but most don't. If yours didn't, then I hate to say it, but you're probably right about the job not being right for you."

"Exactly, and my boss was always in such a hurry, you know? Everything needed to be done, like, right now. Quality work takes time. Sitting at a desk thinking about the best way to do things still counts as work. I need to put thought into things. Shit, you can't snap your fingers and expect me to have it ready. "

Internally, I cringed, my stomach turning over as my heart kept pulsing. My entire body rejected her argument, but I tried my best not to show it. This was a prime example of our differences, and ultimately, arguing with her about the way she saw the world would yield the same results as it would've if she'd tried the same with me.

In other words, it wouldn't work at all. Anya truly believed everything she was saying, and just because I didn't agree didn't mean that she was wrong. For her, it made complete sense that it was pointless to be at your desk, doing your work instead of staring into space, for set hours every day.

"So what's next?" I asked instead of arguing. "Have you started looking for another job?"

She shook her head, letting out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes and rested her head back. "It's still too fresh. I know I have to start looking, but I just haven't had the energy. I'm still trying to decide what I should look at."

"That's understandable," I said slowly. "It must've come as a huge shock to just get fired like that."

Eyes still closed, she nodded. "You'd think they'd have given me another warning before they just kicked me out of there."

" Another warning?" I asked, feeling every cell in my bloodstream kicking against this. "Does that mean they gave you warnings before?"

"Oh, yes," she said easily. "Every time I got there late, there was this big lecture about how, if it happens again, it will go in my file and blah, blah, blah. But I mean, it was like, once a week. Really, is that so bad?"

Screams echoed through my mind. Yes! Yes, it is so bad.

"Well, I suppose the only thing that matters now is moving on," I said. "What kind of jobs are you considering applying for?"

"I'd really like something remote," she said as she finally opened her eyes again and sat up halfway so she could take a sip of her beer. "If not remote, then at least with flexible hours. I've seen some ads for tutors, so I'm thinking of applying for that."

"It could work," I said slowly. "Tutoring what, though?"

"Math seems to pay best. "

My eyes grew wide as I stared at her disbelievingly. "Math? Haven't you been saying since the day I met you that it was the most useless thing you've ever learned?"

"Sure, but I did learn it, which means I can teach others."

I'm not so sure, but okay. "Tutoring will mean that you have to be online at the appointed hour, though. If you've got a session at say, noon, for example, you'd have to be ready at least five minutes before. People will be paying you for your time, so you wouldn't be able to be late."

She sighed heavily. "You can learn just as much in forty-five minutes as you can in an hour, but I hear you. It probably wouldn't work. There's a position available at a graphic design studio down the block. They're artists, so I'm sure they're not as small-minded about silly things like office hours."

"But it's a studio," I said slowly. "That means that it opens at a certain time and closes at a certain time. You could look into it, but I'd assume they would expect you to be there when they open and to stay until they close. Unless it's a part-time position?"

"No, the ad in the window says it's full-time," she lamented. "What am I supposed to do? Is there any job in the whole damn world where the bosses are capable of logical thought processes? Because it doesn't seem like that right now."

Exasperation tightened my insides. "There is one boss capable of following your logical thought processes."

She turned to me, her petite body flipping on the sofa as her eyes got big on mine. "There is? Who?"

"You," I said firmly. "I think it's time for you to bite the bullet and be an entrepreneur."

"An entrepreneur?" Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she thought it over. "I don't know. Do you really think I could do that?"

"Yes. I do." I looked right into the deep brown pools of her eyes. "You can do anything you set your mind to, Anya. You're smart and resourceful, and you have an incredibly unique outlook. You're just not built to clock in and clock out for someone else. There's nothing wrong with that, and you've always marched to the beat of your drum in life. Why not apply that to business?"

She swept her tongue across her lips, her brow furrowing as she shook her head. "You're not wrong, but I'm not sure what I'd do."

Before I could start thinking of suggestions, she suddenly perked up. "Maybe I could come out on the rig with you one day and see if there's something for me there?"

I burst out laughing. I just couldn't help it. Anya arched an eyebrow at me. "What?"

Still chuckling, I gave her an apologetic look. I felt horrible for laughing at my friend, but Anya on the rig would be a dozen times worse than even Logan had been. Not to mention more dangerous, but at the same time, now that she'd gotten the idea in her head, I couldn't just laugh her off, so I backtracked.

"I can see if maybe I can swing something. I just, uh, I don't know if?—"

She snorted, cutting me off as amusement bloomed in her eyes. "I was kidding. Why on earth would I want to isolate myself in the middle of nowhere? People die on those things, Mira."

Relief crashed into me, making my muscles unclench as I took another sip of my rapidly warming beer and nodded. "I know. I'm more aware of that now than ever."

Anya shifted on the sofa so she was sitting again. Then she tucked her legs underneath her and cocked her head. "Why now? Did something happen?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." I sighed and ran the fingers of my free hand through my hair, gripping the beer tighter than ever in the other. "It's just that the new owner came out to the rig last week. He showed up looking like he was about to walk into a boardroom in London or somewhere, and then proceeded to spend his time there acting like a fool and puffing out his chest, trying to prove to everyone that he belonged there when it's never been more obvious that he's not a good fit for that life."

"Don't be an asshole," she said lightly. "You were ostracized when you first started working with your brother, and you were underestimated just because you're a woman. Maybe you shouldn't single him out and make assumptions before you get to know him."

"That would've been very wise advice if I didn't already know him," I muttered.

She frowned at me. "Talking to him a few times on the rig doesn't exactly constitute knowing someone, babe. You need to give it time. At least he went to the rig. That has to mean something, even if he did mess it up by trying to prove himself."

I drained the last half of my beer before I finally came out with the truth. "That wasn't what I meant. I know him because I met him before."

"Before? Oh, well, you should've said so. Even then, what makes you think he won't learn now that he's bought the rig?"

"Because he's the guy I hooked up with at Jude and Mickey's wedding last August," I revealed dryly. "I was warned about him and I heard what people were saying while I was there. Trust me, he thinks the sun shines out of his?—"

She laughed. "You don't need to finish that sentence. I get the point. So what now? Are you going to hook up with him again?"

I wrinkled my nose and made a gagging sound. "I shouldn't have hooked up with him at all. So that's a hard no from me. If there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of, it's that Logan and I will never touch each other again, and that, my friend, is a promise."

Anya pursed her lips at me with a devilish spark suddenly lighting her eyes. "We'll see. If there's one thing I am absolutely sure of, it's that you should never say never, and that, my friend, is my promise to you."