Hayden stared at the ceiling letting her body meld with the mattress. The peaks of spackle and plaster giving it the appearance of tiny mounds. She almost missed the mirror up there. It was always easier to give yourself a pep talk after a visual of yourself being a lumpy mess.

Her heart hurt. Not in the grab a jacket and head for the emergency room way, but enough that she wanted to pluck it out, lay it down in a mound of glistening white snow and let it deep freeze into a painless lump for a while. Maybe the restarting process would make it forget the moments up until now.

She wished she could call someone who got her. Someone not affiliated with the resort, someone who didn't know anything about her failures and inability to keep her life together. Was there a support group for people who sucked at running their own lives? Or maybe a world record for the number of times someone could realize they screwed up?

I'm not boss material. That's it. Mason was right. I haven't even been able to make a single change. The staff thinks I'm a cute mascot, and Angie thinks so little of me she just hired someone without even consulting me.

A small piece of her wanted to get mad and go in guns blazing and take back what she lost, but she felt drained. An elastic balloon without any air but so stretched out so it wasn't pretty enough to be reinflated. She rolled herself over and realized she was even too tired for tears.

She watched the numbers on the clock until her eyes couldn't focus and soon the ding of a text pulled her into a sitting position making the world spin a little. Great, I can't even sit up without it being dramatic.

The text was from Austin: DINNER?

She glanced toward the bathroom and wondered if she could drag herself in there and get herself presentable without screwing that up. She was hungry, and Austin was great company. Maybe a dinner away from the resort would be a good thing. He was a friend who didn't work at or for the resort so maybe it was fate answering her plea.

Me: YES. GIVE ME TWENTY?

Austin:  I'LL BE THERE!!

She got into the bathroom and fixed her bed head. It was nice to have a plan to get out of the building in the day. Wallowing had never suited her well, and even if she had reasons, it would lead her to places she didn't want to go.

She went down to the lobby and still had ten minutes to spare. Mike looked at her unusually happy and with a wink. It was unnerving. Couldn't he see what a mess she was making? She strutted up to the desk and looked him straight in the eyes.

"What's up Mike?"

He looked around while fidgeting with the empty message pads lined up across the desk.

"Nothing Miss Hayden. Nothing's up. Why would anything be up? I'm just here doing my job. How about you? You got something up o should know about?"

She didn't know what, but something had Mike acting like a puppy who just shredded your favorite boots and knew he was going to get caught. She stood her ground and kept her focus on his jet black eyes. Noticing the deep crease line between them was increasing by the second.

"Anything we should chat about Mike? Friend to friend? Boss to employee? Man to woman?"
She threw it all at him. Something already had him squirming and she just needed to find the crack.

As a single trickle of sweat slowly tickled from his left temple Hayden's phone binged. It was too early for Austin so she ignored it keeping her attention on Mike.

"I can't think of a thing Ms. Hayden. Just wondering if we were going to be doing any more secret adventures now that Mr. Mason is gone." 

His lips curled and he knew he'd won that match. Hayden conceded with a smirk which boiled into a round of hilarious gut cleansing laughter. She really had taken it far off base. But it was a good memory. For a split second she thought about the possibility of breaking into Angie's office and getting the info on the new hire. There had to be a folder.

She jumped as her phone dinged again and she looked down. One missed call from Warren. Of course he would call the moment she was trying to stare down Mike looking all shady!  She was just about to hit the redial button and call him back when she stopped mid swipe. She didn't need him messing with her mind right now. She was about to go out with a good friend and let loose. Full disclosure and no one thinking it was a date. She could make Warren wait for a change. And she sure didn't want to end up blabbing and whining about her non existent managerial skills. Maybe she would call him later when she was in a better mood.

As she stepped into the bar area Star and Angie were together on the dance floor laughing and twirling to an Elvis song "I Gotta Know."  To Hayden, it seemed like a bit of a smack. Sure, she was happy they were in a great mood and that they were friends, but watching them twirl and giggle she felt like she was an outsider.

Star caught a glimpse of her and motioned her over. Hayden shook her head declining the invitation and the girls ended up grabbing hands like a two step tango and dancing their way over.

"Come on boss, one for the road!"

Star pleaded as they held out their arms. Hayden couldn't help wanting to join in. Elvis was growing on her which scared her more than her lack of ability as a boss.

Her hands reached out and as they sang and swayed she felt her mood lighten. Something about friends and music and motion made everything seem a little bit brighter. As Star dipped her she caught a glimpse of Austin standing in the doorway with Q giant grin plastered on his face.

"That's my cue girls, have fun. I'm out!"

Angie grabbed her arm. "You're going out? With Austin? You can't! I mean, of course you can, but I need you!"

Star nodded in agreement. "Me too. You should stay in, it's supposed to rain. And you don't want to be caught in your first mudslide!"

Hayden squeezed their hands. "Don't worry about me girls. Austin is a good friend and a perfect gentleman. We're having dinner and I'm pretty sure he's capable of handling rain. He lives here! We'll be careful."

She made her way over to Austin who grabbed her hand and gave her one last spin around. As she walked out the door she waved at the girls she left standing open mouthed on the dance floor.

Outside the sky was blue and beautiful without a cloud in sight.

"Austin, did you hear anything about rain today?"

His face looked puzzled. "Rain? It's the dry season. It's not supposed to rain but it sure would be nice if it did."

Hayden looked back towards the building as they made their way to the car. Something nutty was going on in there and she was sure glad to be getting out for a while. As Austin got in the car the smell of coconut and sand filled the air. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She'd worry about all of it tomorrow. Today she was just going to relax in a little bit of normal.

"How do you feel about pigs?" He asked.

"Pigs as in ham bacon and sausage?" She asked praying he said yes.

He smiled and started the car. "More like pigs giving birth. I just got a page that Tina's in labor and I need to check it out. It shouldn't take long."

Hayden shrugged. So much for normal, or any chance of having an appetite. But at least she wouldn't be tempted to make out with Austin to relieve stress.

"Bring it on." She said as she buckled her seatbelt.

***********************

Elvis recorded "I Gotta Know" April 4, 1960 in Nashville.  

So Hayden really is dramatic isn't she? I doubt anyone has anything going on behind her back (they totally do). Pig birth? So not a date like thing to do. But I'm pretty sure it will give Hayden some fresh perspective. Thanks so much for reading. Next update is Saturday. Btw- can you guess what's going on with Angie? Don't tell me. I want it to be a surprise 😉