Ainsley had another blind date which she felt optimistic about. In addition, things had been going better at work. Henry had almost complimented her. She arrived before him all week giving him no ammunition. Unfortunately, her mystery man had disappeared again. Without him to brighten her day, she focused on her next date.

Friday when she sat down at her desk after picking through a wilted salad in the cafeteria her laptop wouldn't connect to the network. If she really had influence over the Sumners, she would tell them to hire a better food service company. The cafeteria was on the first floor and open to people working in other office buildings. Why would anyone bother?

With less than fresh greens in her, she tried the obvious solutions. "Is anyone else having network trouble?"

A chorus of 'no' made her frown. Ainsley had enough experience to know a simple restart would not suffice. She would shut it down and wait at least thirty long seconds while channeling good thoughts to the silver rectangle she had a love/hate relationship with. There was no doubt she had a reputation with the young kids who worked at the help desk. Most of them still had acne.

Going through the shutdown process twice didn't work as her frustration grew. She had a deadline. Reluctantly she picked up her phone and dialed the help desk. She felt like the guy who answered expected her call.

"Douglas. Promos. I'll be right up." She never explained her problem.

Logan wore running shoes for a reason. The kid appeared with a smile as she pointed to the lack of connection.

"Did you troubleshoot it?"

"Trouble what? That's your job. I restarted it twice."

He nodded and started doing things she knew nothing about. A few minutes later a second guy, Ethan, who looked barely legal to drink, appeared. "Logan, do you need help?"

"It's not connecting."

"Let me see." Ethan said.

Logan protested. "No."

Nina giggled, and Ainsley glared at her. "Boys, no fighting." She felt like she was thirteen and babysitting for her neighbor's twin boys. They were both hyperactive. They may have dismantled her biological clock.

Finally, Logan relented to the other one. Ethan tapped with no luck. She called them so often she knew their names.

Henry appeared. "You break it again, Douglas."

The boys laughed, but Ainsley snapped. "It's not my fault the help desk can't help. I'd rather be working."

"I can pick up your slack." Henry smiled.

Ethan looked up smiling. "It's up!"

Logan chuckled. Nina snickered. Henry glared. Ainsley let out a breath. "What was wrong?"

"You had the wrong IP address. You had 192..."

She went deaf as he rambled on. Tech stuff bored her, so she cut him off. "Anyway, thank you. I have work to do."

The two didn't seem ready to move on. Henry sighed. "Go back to your cellar."

They scurried off. "Cellar?" Ainsley repeated.

"You mean you don't know everyone? IT is on the lower level."

She didn't bother defending his comment. She only knew the people in various departments she worked with for almost ten years, and the ones she met through her sister. So she had only imagined Henry's change of attitude. She just wanted to go home and stay home, but she had another date. Nina wished her good luck as they turned to go in opposite directions outside the front entrance. Ainsley shook her head. Her friend, who was content with her very nice boyfriend, laughed.

On paper, John seemed perfect. He was older, her preference. He had his own business. The best part was he suggested a bar only a few blocks from her apartment. She hadn't told him where she lived. If a date pushed, she would say the old neighborhood where she lived with Lilli and Rhys. Ainsley had his picture on her phone and he looked younger than thirty-five. When she entered the bar, a man approached her. He looked over forty.

"Ainsley?"

She narrowed her eyes and looked at her phone. "Is this your son?"

He shook his head. "It's me."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow "From before you let yourself go?"

"What do you mean?"

His face had rounded like his belly with added pounds. "You're not thirty-five. You lied."

"Everyone does." He frowned.

"I like an older guy, but you aren't who I have in mind."

She turned and left. Instead of walking home she walked to the subway station. She went down one entrance and came out a different exit. When she reached her apartment, she let out her breath. He probably bellied up to the bar, but she worried he would follow her.

"That's it. I'm done. I'd rather be single the rest of my life." Her cat looked at her and meowed. He was hungry. The fat kitty ate diet feed, two scoops a day.

Instead of calling Lilli, she called Rhys. "Are you ready for your date?"

"I'm back. I'm done. Call me old maid."

"I like spinster."

"You would. Where did the word come from? Should I be spinning something?"

"Honey, don't give up. The right man is out there for you."

"He's not going on blind dates." Ainsley groaned.

"Let's go to dinner tomorrow. We'll get the love birds to join us."

"They're at a wedding." Lilli had been talking about the wedding all week.

"It's tonight. The new newlyweds will be honeymooning. I'll make the arrangements."

Ainsley didn't argue. She missed her roomies. When her mother called, she almost didn't answer. She should be out on Friday night. "I'm glad I caught you. You never responded to my text."

"What text? You told me you were arranging flowers for the hospital luncheon."

Carolyn Douglas had a long list of volunteer activities to keep her busy. She had a knack for flower arrangements. If she ever had to make a living, she could be a successful florist. Since her father owned a lot of car dealerships making a living wasn't necessary.

"The text before. We have brunch in the morning for your father's birthday."

She inwardly groaned. Her mother had a habit of sending a string of texts during the workday when Ainsley didn't have time to read more than the notifications. "Where is it?"

At least it was at a hotel near her. After her move, she left her car at the family home which was a mile from the station, so she had to either walk, Uber, or have someone pick her up. Ainsley was sure the restaurant choice was because Violet and JJ lived in town too.

After she hung up, she looked at her mother's texts. Five others followed the one about brunch with mundane comments including a link to TikTok. Since when did her mother know about TikTok?

Ainsley clicked on it. It was a blonde bombshell telling the five best ways to meet the perfect guy. Carolyn was not very subtle. After her last date, Ainsley was convinced all the perfect guys were taken. Even the mystery man probably was a chauvinist or controlling or married.

Ainsley dressed the way her mother expected for brunch. To really meet her expectation, she should look like Jacqueline Kennedy in the days of Camelot, but a summer floral print dress would pass. She knew Violet would look better because she came with a handsome husband.

She arrived before her sister, so put a checkmark in her column. Competition for their mother's approval dictated the girl's relationship. Ainsley had humbly accepted her position as the underdog thanks to James Sumner marrying Violet.

"Happy Birthday, Daddy." She kissed his cheek. Luckily, she already had a gift for him. Thanks to Zach, she had a signed copy of Ethan Cunningham's new release.

"I'm feeling old." His blue eyes matched hers but his blond hair had turned white long before.

Carolyn colored her hair so only her overpriced hairdresser knew it's true color. She had settled on a honey blond. It was closer to Violet's color than Aisley's ash blond.

Ainsley sat and her father asked about work as she sipped a mimosa. She didn't mention her trouble with Henry because her mother would tell James and make everything worse. If Lilli could put up with her old boss Kendall, Ainsley could work with the annoying guy. Carolyn shifted the conversation to ask about how Lillian liked married life. Ainsley gave the expected answer, but truthfully she didn't see it as a big deal. They lived together before. Maybe with dreamy Zach, it was good to have a ring on his finger. He didn't have eyes for anyone but his wife, but some women couldn't be trusted.

Her mother smiled as Violet, and James appeared. Her sister called her husband James, so her family copied. Ainsley's friends called him JJ like his family. She teetered back and forth, and greeted him with a wink. "Hi, JJ."

"Ainsley, how's life in promos?"

"Fine."

Carolyn said, "She deserves a promotion?"

She wanted to hide her face. James put his hand up. "I can't create a job for her."

Ainsley said, "If you could, the new guy who came from HMH would get it."

"What's that?" Violet asked.

James said, "It's a larger competitor."

Ainsley relaxed and enjoyed herself when her mother started talking about her friend's grandchildren. Violet pleaded with her eyes, but Ainsley couldn't think of a way to change the subject. She stared towards the entrance of the restaurant as she watched the mystery man limp out. He was with another man who looked too young to be his father, maybe an older brother. At least he wasn't with a woman.

As she turned her attention back to her family. JJ said, "Zach is convinced she'd get along with Gilly. He's two years older than us."

"A bachelor at that age? Must be a reason." Carolyn frowned.

Ainsley wanted to argue for the sake of disagreeing with her mother, but she had a point. Violet said, "Josh Roche was older."

JJ nodded. "He was a good catch."

Ainsley's tongue slipped. "Handsome too."

Violet glared. "Stay away from him."

JJ put his hand on his wife's hand. "She's kidding. No one would pick Josh over Oliver."

Violet said, "Except his wife."

Ainsley felt frustrated with how the conversation had spiraled. "It doesn't matter. I've given up dating. I'm planning to focus on my career." The last part earned a reaction from her mother.

Her father stopped his wife. "I think that's a good idea. You'll get recognized, sweetie."

The brunch continued as Ainsley blocked out the conversation. She scored one with her dad's gift.

Violet pouted. "Zach is James's friend. We should have given it to him."

Ainsley shrugged. "I thought of it, and Zach is my friend too." She was closer to Zach than her sister was to Lilli. "I'm getting together with them tonight." Ainsley smiled.

When the meal finally ended, she hugged her parents. Out on the sidewalk, she took a deep cleansing breath. Time to enjoy her weekend.

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