The Detour

Copyright © 2023 by Samantha M Thomas All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact [email protected]. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Book Cover by www.GetCovers.com Edited by: Victoria Ellis at Cruel Ink Editing and Design First edition 2023 Contents Dedication 1. Bea 2. Riggs 3. Bea 4. Riggs 5. Bea 6. Bea 7. Riggs 8. Bea 9. Riggs 10. Bea 11. Riggs 12. Bea 13. Riggs 14. Bea 15. Riggs 16. Bea 17. Riggs 18. Bea 19. Riggs 20. Bea 21. Riggs 22. Bea 23. Riggs 24. Bea 25. Riggs 26. Bea 27. Riggs 28. Bea Acknowledgments Also By To those who put themselves on the back burner: Go be spontaneous and take the time to rediscover who you are again. Take a deep breath. If I tell myself to breathe on repeat, will it make this shit storm easier to deal with? Doubtful, but I’m the CEO of BeaDazzled, which means I don’t have time to freak out about a huge glitch in an app that’s set to release in six days. Usually, troubleshooting a problem like this wouldn’t send me spiraling, but those were just games and photo editors. This app is different. MentalMatch is my baby. Creating this app is the entire reason I built my company in the first place. I’ve worked tirelessly for this moment, and I’ve created what feels like a million stupid apps in order to support this one. Mental health is everything to me, and I just happen to have a talent for creating apps, so I want to change the accessibility of getting help. I want to change the narrative when it comes to the stigma of making mental health a priority. This app has been in my brain for fifteen years, and it’s six days from finally happening. I’m panicking. It feels like everything that could go wrong, has, and my normal take charge attitude is crumbling fast. A knock at the door startles me enough to pick my head up off my desk—where it’s been for the last thirty minutes. My assistant, Penelope, who also happens to be one of my best friends, pops her head in. Her eyebrows furrow, and I know she can see the panic written all over my face. “What’s going on Bea?” I shake my head because I don’t want to admit that I’m losing my shit rapidly with the more problems that come up, but I know she’ll see right through me if I lie. “It feels like everything in the universe wants this app to fail, and I can’t handle it, Pen.” I drop my head back down to my desk with a thunk. I hear Penelope’s footsteps and the sounds of her plunking down into a chair across from my desk. “Bea,” she whispers. “It’s not failing. You know we wouldn’t let this app fail.” “I know that, but we’re so close to launch, and there are so many bugs … and this huge glitch just hit the system … and I don’t think that I can get it all fixed in time.” I can feel my breathing getting shallower, my heart is starting to race, and little black dots are creeping into my vision. Fuck, I do not need to be having a full-blown panic attack right now. Penelope slams her hands down onto the desk so hard I jump and fall out of my chair. “Shit, sorry. I was trying to get you to focus, not fall on your ass.” I scramble back into my chair, feeling less and less like my normal self. What the hell is happening today? “Bernadette Ada Ladell, you listen here. Figure your shit out right now. We’ve done this a million times, and it’s always the same this close to release day. It’s hectic, everything goes wrong, but you fucking handle it. Every. Single. Time. I know this is your baby, but that doesn’t mean everything is against you. You have your whole team working on it. Things will get fixed, I promise. We cannot have our fearless, hardass leader falling apart right now. You are a badass bitch, always have been, always will be, and we need you to believe that for the next six days, okay?” I nod my head, stunned. Penelope has always been an in-your-face and take-no-shit kind of person, but this is the first time I’ve ever been on the receiving end of one of her tirades. “It’s three o’clock, go home and take a couple hours. I will manage things here, and when you come back make sure you’re ready to jump in and start getting MentalMatch ready to launch.” “I can’t leave Pen, just give me five minutes to calm down and I’ll jump in.” “Nope, not happening. Take two hours Bea, that’s all I’m asking. You’ve lived in the office the past six months, making sure everything is just right. I honestly don’t know when you’re even home, you practically live here. Have you eaten anything but delivery for the past six months? I’ve never seen you like this, and we need you at the top of your game. This is everything you’ve worked for. I’m not trying to add more pressure. You just … have me worried. I’m stepping in as your friend, not your assistant. Please go home for a couple of hours. You need a break; you’ve been working too hard for months, and it’s catching up to you. Take these two hours, I can handle it.” Her eyes are pleading with me. The control freak in me feels like I can’t leave if I