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“No, I’m heading out now,” Rachel said for her. “I’ll see you later,” she added for Violet.

“Yeah, later.”

Violet had finally managed to get some sleep after the interview with Rachel three weeks ago, feeling like Rachel was a shoo-in for the role and that they’d see one another again soon. Then, the next day, Mark had confirmed that they’d get an offer out to her, and later, Rachel’s start date had been set. Violet hadn’t been able to sleep much the night before that start date, though, and she’d spent more time getting ready that morning than she cared to admit because she wanted to look nice for Rachel’s first day.

The device was still in her garage, but she’d put it in one of the cabinets attached to the workbench and had used a padlock to keep it locked in there, hiding the key in the top drawer of her bedside table so that no one would happen upon it and decide to go snooping. The fence was also done around the pool, so she’d bought her rapidly growing puppy a doghouse, that was much too large for him now but he’d grow into it, and placed it in the backyard. Installing a doggy door that would also grow with him had been a challenge, but at least it had kept Violet busy and not thinking about Rachel for a few hours. Well, that wasn’t really true. She hadn’t stopped thinking about the woman at all, but she’d tried.

Violet couldn’t help how she felt. She liked Rachel – the little she knew about her, that is – and she’d gotten that feeling when they’d talked at the interview that there was something between them. Still, she needed to be cautious. She’d seen a future where they were married and had grown children and even grandchildren, but she couldn’t just put herself in the position of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. If thiswas real, if she was meant to be with this woman, it had to happen naturally and be unforced.

“God, why do I sound like a time-traveler trying not to see themselves in the future so as not to cause some kind of horrible loop situation? And why do I even know that that’s a thing?” she mumbled to herself after her last meeting of the day ended.

“Hey, are you ready?” Rachel asked.

“Yes!” she said with a little too much enthusiasm in her voice and instantly blushed. “I mean, yeah. Thanks. Sure,” she rambled out.

“Okay.” Rachel laughed. “Sorry; I know it’s, like,exactlyfive-thirty, but I was done for the day. If you need a minute, though, I–”

“It’s fine. I’m done, too,” Violet interjected, not wanting her to go.

She knew this wasn’t a date. It was two work colleagues grabbing a drink. That was all. It just also happened to be a drink with the woman who might become her wife one day. Violet grabbed her bag, leaving her laptop on her desk, and walked toward her office door, where Rachel stood outside of it.

“So, do we just walk?”

“Yes. It’s literally across the street.” Violet closed the door and turned to see Courtney staring at her.

“What about your Little Guy?”

“Your little guy?” Rachel asked her.

“My puppy,” Violet explained. “And I arranged for the dog walker, so don’t worry about him, Mom,” she teased.

“Have fun,sweetie,” her assistant joked.

“You have a puppy?” Rachel asked her as they walked toward the elevators.

“I do. He’s gotten so big, though… I’m not sure how long they’re classified as puppies when they grow that fast.”

“What kind of dog?”

“German Shepherd.”

“I love them. What’s his name?”

“He doesn’t have one yet.”

“Oh. How long have you had him?”

“Well, many weeks now, if I’m being honest. I’ve been calling him Little Guy or, sometimes, just Guy.”

Rachel laughed and pressed the button to call the elevator.

“Is that just his name by default?”

“No, but I’ve thought about every name and can’t seem to findone I like for him, so I’ve just kept calling him that. He knows it now, but he also responds to ‘buddy,’ ‘dog,’ ‘baby,’ ‘puppy,’ and a few other names, too, so maybe he doesn’t need one.”

Rachel laughed some more as the elevator arrived, and they got inside. She pressed the button for them and turned to Violet.

“What names have you ruled out?”