Source One

She’d put some papers on his desk last week and had seen the front of it. It was a picture of his wife and daughter.
    Mr. Nichols hung up a minute later. He turned to her and began to list off tasks.
    “Got it?”
    Amber looked up from her notepad.
    Geez.
    He was practically scowling at her. His looks seemed more hostile as each day passed.
    Amber force d a smile and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Nichols.”
    Mr. Nichols’ jaw ticked. He gave her a curt nod in reply.
    Amber blinked as she realized she’d been dismissed.
    She got up from the chair and left his office. Let out a breath after she’d closed the door.
    This wasn’t what she’d expected. At all.
    It wasn’t that she’d expected them to be best friends. But she’d definitely expected him to be nicer.
    ***
    Don’t you remember how to treat a woman, Brian? It was Diana’s voice.
    This is work, Brian growled.
    Come on. You don’t need to be so cold.
    Brian ignored the voice in his head and returned his focus to the papers he was reviewing.
    ***
    “How’s the job going so far?”
    Amber and Michelle were having lunch at a deli a block away from the office.
    Amber didn’t want to mention the tension between her and Mr. Nichols. The last thing she needed was for Michelle to think she was ungrateful.
    “Fine ,” Amber said quickly. “Thank you for hiring me.”
    Michelle smiled. “My pleasure.”
    “Did you have a nice weekend?” Amber asked.
    “I did. My boyfriend’s in Los Angeles. I usually spend weekends down there with him.”
    “Is it hard being so far apart during the week?”
    “Sometimes. But work here keeps me busy.”
    Amber nodded. She knew Michelle typically stayed late into the evening.
    “So how about you, Amber? Are you seeing anyone?”
    Amber shook her head. “No.”
    She hadn’t dated anyone since college. Since her mother had gotten sick, dating had become the very last thing on her mind.

CHAPTER 5
     
    “You’ve just started and you already have a personal appointment during business hours?” Mr. Nichols asked.
    Amber’s stomach knotted.
    She cleared her throat. “It has to do with my mother. I wouldn’t be going if it weren’t important.”
    Mr. Nichols’ jaw set. He nodded curtly and turned away.
    Amber took a breath to suppress the anger bubbling in her core. She walked out of his office and shut the door.
    Sat down at her desk and looked at her hands. They were trembling.
    Was Brian Nichols that much of a robot? Did he have no feelings at all?
    If she didn’t need this job so much, she’d be tempted to tell him where to stick it.
    Later that day, Amber sat beside her mother in the doctor’s office.
    “Celia, I think you should just enjoy the time you have left without worrying about treatments,” the doctor said.
    Amber’s gut clenched. She closed her eyes and tried to draw a breath through the crushing weight pressing on her chest.
    She opened her eyes and risked a glance at her mother. Surprisingly, there was no fear or distress on her face.
    “I intend to do that,” her mother told the doctor. She turned to Amber and winked.
    Amber dragged a pillow to her chest as she lay in bed that night.
    Her mother had gotten such a raw deal. Her husband leaving. Financial problems. The breast cancer that had spread and was now taking her life.
    Amber’s parents had divorced when she was six. Her father had moved out a year before the divorce.
    Now he was remarried, living in Italy, with his second wife and her half-sister and brother. They were fifteen and thirteen. Amber hadn’t seen them in five years.
    As a child, s he had spent a few summers in Italy with them. When she’d gotten older, she’d had a choice about where she’d wanted to spend vacations. Friends and staying in San Rafael had won out.
    Her father had been understanding. But as the years had passed, they’d spoken less and less frequently. The distance hadn’t helped. And neither had her arrest. They hadn’t spoken at all since then.
    Amber drew in a breath. Lately, her parents’ divorce was always on her mind.
    It was hard to imagine lasting love. Yet it did exist. She’d seen it with her grandparents.
    An image of her mother sitting in the doctor’s office flashed in her mind. Despite everything, her mother was determined to enjoy the time she had left. Whatever it took, Amber would help her do just that.
    The next evening, Amber stood in the pharmacy waiting for a new prescription for her mother.
    What was she going to do when her