I took the job as Lala Longstreet’s personal assistant. My job didn’t begin until her return from New York, and Barney had confirmed that would be on Wednesday, two full days from now. Until then, he had given me all the information I needed to prepare myself for a day working with Lala. The brand new dark silver Audi that was parked in the back of Duely’s bar had only ten miles on it when I had picked it up at the address Barney gave me. I’d been so nervous about driving a car like this I’d gone as far as putting a protective spell on it.

Sitting in the living room of Duely’s apartment, I had Lala’s daily agenda laid out in front of me with my own notes about how to best manage the day. The details about her family members were disturbing. The sister that Lala had a restraining order on was the most concerning. There was a packet that contained all the different photos that had been taken of Koko Longstreet. She changed her appearance regularly, and I needed to know the different ways she’d looked in the past to recognize her if she showed up at the house, offices, or walked up to me anywhere. Barney had warned that I needed to be careful with her as she could be unpredictable. I’d handle her just fine, and once we did meet, she wouldn’t come around again.

There was so much to remember here. Koko was just a small portion of all the information I had been handed. I had been at it for two hours and the bar below me had gotten rowdier as the time drew closer to midnight. I should put it all away and sleep, but I wasn’t tired. I should be ready to pass out after this day, but I was wired up. My brain would not shut off or slow down.

I had just about decided I would go find an apartment tomorrow. I had plenty money saved for first and last month’s rent and a deposit to get utilities turned on. If I was being honest, I could buy some furniture and most of my essentials, too. The money I had saved was to go toward nursing school, but with this new job, I would be able to enroll for next semester. Then there was my car I could sell for a couple thousand. I had to do something with it, and I didn’t need two cars. The idea of not having it if something didn’t work out with this job worried me but then I could say the same about getting an apartment and using my savings to do so. Ugh!