Page 9 of 3013: Dreamer
She loved her job and enjoyed running the sanctuary with her family. Sure, she was a workaholic, but being taken for granted was never a good feeling. It was nice to know that Raek had finally realized that was what they had been doing.
They fell silent as they watched the rest of the fireworks display. When the show was over, the crowd cheered. Some of the groups started packing up their stuff to leave, while several others walked over to where extra lanterns were available on one of the tables by the water. A line began to form at the drink and food stand that had been set up, and Charm’s stomach rumbled as the scent of something delicious drifted on the breeze.
As Charm finished her drink, she debated going over to the food stand to check out what they were serving. She decided itwould be easier to just grab something at home, but her friends weren’t quite done with her yet.
“Come on.”
She grumbled to herself as she was pulled to her feet by Juliet and Brielle and frowned as they dragged her toward the lake. “What’s going on? Are you planning to drown me or something?”
Juliet giggled. “I thought it was best to get you away from your brothers before you strangled them. You haven’t made a wish yet. That’s the whole point of the Festival of Lights.”
“I thought looking at the lights was the point.”
“Naw, that part is just an excuse to come here and drink,” Brielle countered.
That made Charm chuckle. “When have we ever needed an excuse for that?”
Brielle laughed. “You’re right. We don’t.”
When they reached the water’s edge, they pulled her down between them on the spongy moss. Melody and Lina walked over to join them. Charm blinked in surprise when Melody handed her a square lantern.
Lina wiggled a blank piece of paper and a pen at her. “You have to write down a wish and attach it to a clip over the flame. When it burns up and turns into ashes, you have a chance of it coming true.”
Who had come up with that nonsense?
“Does it really work?”
“Well, no. Not really. But it’s part of the festival. There’s no harm in hoping our wishes will come true, right?”
Charm thought it was useless, but she didn’t say that out loud. She didn’t want to ruin her friends’ fun. Despite her disbelief, she took the items from them and set them down on her lap.
“So, what should I wish for?”
“Love? A big pile of credits? Take your pick,” Ayla said as she strolled over carrying a bottle of champagne. She popped the cork on the bottle, then took a seat. She grinned as she offered it to Charm. “Then, we can get drunk.”
Charm took a drink from the bottle before passing it to Juliet. “Can’t. I have too much shit to do tomorrow.”
“Take the day off,” Juliet insisted. “In fact, take the next few days off. You deserve a little downtime.”
“I have interviews and meetings for—”
“We can handle those,” Juliet promised.
Charm started to protest, then realized that was foolish. She desperately needed some time to sleep and relax, and that’s exactly what she was being offered.
“Seriously, Charm. When was the last time you had a day off?”
She didn’t even have to think about that since she hadn’t had a day off since they had opened Wonderland.
“You can ask Evo to send you a copy of my schedule. Gia can handle the interviews tomorrow for management positions since she knows what I’m looking for.”
“Done,” Juliet announced with a wide smile. She sobered again as she reached out and touched Charm’s arm. “I know part of the reason you are overworked is my fault since—”
“No, it’s not your fault. Raek and Fen took some time off, which is fine. But it’s time for them to get back to work.”
Melody took the bottle of champagne and drank deeply before passing it. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You should stop treating them like partners and just treat them like employees instead.”
“You want her to demote her brothers?” Lina asked, then she smiled sweetly. “I like it. Do that. What?” She blinked innocently when everyone turned to stare at her. “Everyone knows Charm is the big boss here anyway.”