“God damn, Leah,” Richie said as he handed me a bottle of water after I finished my plyometric session. “As many times as I’ve seen it, I still can’t believe how intense you work out.”

Nodding thanks for the water, I held the cold bottle against my forehead for a moment before twisting the cap off and taking a big swig.

“I have to maximize my efforts, since I have so little time to work out,” I said.

“You put in at least three hours a day!” Richie protested. “That’s so little time?”

“It is for what I want to get from it,” I replied.

Richie just shook his head in amazement, so I made my way to the heavy bag to work on my strikes.

Richie followed me and watched for a few minutes, before asking, “Hey- and I mean this as serious question. You know we did a light spar the other day and you cleaned my clock, right?”

“It was just a light practice,” I grunted, trying to keep my focus.

“Yeh, but you still beat me like a dusty rug,” he said. “So I’m curious- if it was a real fight, how long would it take you to lay me out?”

I stopped my high kicks for a moment and looked at him, surprised by the question.

“Like an MMA bout, or a real back alley fight?” I asked, not sure what he was asking.

“Well, I guess I meant in a ring,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But when you put it like that, maybe a real, like you said, a real back alley fight?”

“About ten seconds,” I said, looking him in the eye.

“You could what, knock me out in ten seconds?” Richie asked, aghast.

“What? knock you out?” I asked. “No, I meant I’d take about ten seconds to kill you dead.” At the horrified look on his face, I broke out laughing.

“Oh, fucking Hell,” Richie groaned, shaking his head. “I set that up for you, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” I agreed, turning back and giving the bag a really solid high kick.

I put in long hours at the office that week, as much because I had nobody waiting for me at home as any desire to get a lot of work done. Of course, I did get a lot of work done, so that was good.

A few really big projects were coming together, most importantly the Dana Point development. Finally all the hurdles had been jumped, so all that remained was to actually build the damned thing. Yes, we had a lot of exposure, but we already had enough commitments from outside players to ensure that we were golden. I’d been worried that we’d have empty storefronts, or even worse, no operator for the hotel, but those fears had vanished, to my great relief. I’d mentioned to Emmy and Angela that we were deep into it with our own money, but I don’t think either of them really understood what that meant. Now that it was clear that I wouldn’t have to tell them we’d be eating instant ramen for budgetary reasons, relief was my main emotion. I’d rolled the dice, and although it was too soon to pop the champagne cork, I was optimistic.

Sparring with Duane on Wednesday morning was interesting, and more than just a little bit painful. He didn’t hit any harder than Joey had, but he was a bit quicker and harder to read. He managed to land a few good ones, but utterly failed in his attempts to shoot me when he went for the takedown once he became aware that he was losing the striking game badly.

The training I’d done with Jody really paid off and I might as well have been coated in grease for all his ability to get a solid hold on me. Even though he was significantly stronger than I was, I had better control of the angles and the end result was that he tapped out when he realized that his face against the canvas was an inescapable condition.

Pleased that all the ground training with Jody had done me some good, I was in a great mood at work despite my new aches and bruises.

“You seem chipper today,” Jake said in the break room. “Did you get to beat somebody up this morning?” he joked.

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact I did,” I replied. “And yes, it was very gratifying.”

Jake shook his head, a wry smile on his face. “The funny thing is, I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.”

“Kidding about what?” one of the other property managers asked as he walked in.

“Hey, Jonah,” Jake said, sparing me the embarrassment of not remembering the new hire’s name. “Boss Lady here just told me the reason she’s in such a good mood today is that she got to beat somebody up this morning. So, ‘A’, I’m not sure if she’s kidding about that, and ‘B’, I don’t know if she means it metaphorically, or, like, actually pounded some poor idiot’s face in with her fists.” The puzzled expression on Jonah’s face was comical as he looked back and forth from me to Jake, searching for any sort of clue on how he should react. Jake didn’t really clear it up for the guy when he explained, “She has a tendency to do both.”

“It was fists this morning,” I said with a shrug. “The guy’s name is Duane, and he does seem like a little bit of an idiot, but not a bad guy, from what I can tell. Mostly shy, I think.”

“I’m really not following here,” Jonah said, his brows furrowed as he punched in the setting on the coffee machine for his cup of bean juice.

“Boss Lady does mixed martial arts fighting,” Jake said. “You know, that Mai Tai stuff? She literally beats people up for a hobby.”

“It’s more than just a hobby,” I said, sipping my own coffee. “It’s a passion.”

Jake snorted, amused.

“I don’t know if you guys are doing a bit or what,” Jonah protested as the coffee machine started dispensing his macchiato or whatever frothy thing it was he’d asked it to make him.

“Ask around,” Jake said with a shrug.

“Hey, Jake, I’m headed down to Dana Point after lunch,” I said. “I might not make it back to the office afterwards.”

“Sure, I’ll clock you out,” he joked affably.

“We have properties in Dana Point?” Jonah asked, surprised.

“Not yet, but soon,” Jake told him as I left to go back to my office.

Jonah had been Jake’s first hire as newly minted Head, and so far he’d seemed to work out alright. Although I hadn’t told him so directly, I was pleased that Jake had taken his new position seriously and had run with the “It’s your job now, don’t bother me unless it’s really necessary” edict I’d given the various Heads. He hadn’t asked me if it was O.K. to hire Jonah. Jake had felt a need for more professional staff, found the candidates, and hired him without my input at all.

Maybe the whole ‘stepping back’ thing was going to work out just fine, I thought.

I got more confirmation that stepping back was going to work that Friday in San Jose. There were no snags, no problems for me to deal with at all, so my day was nice and stress-free. It seemed as if things were going smoothly in both offices, making it clear that my Heads were doing their jobs well.

Something else was becoming clear, and that was the need to get our Seattle office up and running sooner rather than later. Now that we had well over a hundred rental units in the area, running things out of the San Jose office was moving past the challenging and into the nearly impossible.

Resigning myself to the idea that I’d need to spend some time in Washington over the next couple of months, I spent the afternoon on the hunt for local property management companies that might be willing to sell. I shot a few emails exploring the idea to potential buyout targets, and a couple to my two management Heads asking them to identify any experienced managers that might be willing to relocate.

We did have the one restaurant up there and that wasn’t enough to justify a local office for the hospitality division, but I did mentally file that as a possible future need.

One very real benefit of a Seattle office is that it would give me a good excuse to visit Donny, Dana and Aaron more frequently, which was a pleasant thought.

When I got to the Los Angeles office on Monday I had an email waiting for me responding to my inquiry about Seattle property management companies willing to sell. The owners of a small management company with an office in Lower Queen Anne had been thinking of retiring, and the right offer might be just the incentive to do just that. As a very real bonus, they owned their building outright- an old brick firehouse that had been converted into a couple of storefronts on the ground floor and offices above.

The owners of the company had done a certain amount of due diligence researching me and my company, so they knew that my interest was serious. I spent the rest of the morning on the phone and emailing back and forth with the sellers, and soon enough I had their complete financials, including market analyses and projections. With a bit over four hundred rental units they were a small player in the region, but nicely established. The bulk of their buildings were in the area around the office, extending into the main part of Queen Anne. They specialized in older but still mid-market smaller apartment buildings, which dovetailed nicely with our expertise.

Feeling good about the potential deal, I took the portfolio with me when I left the office to meet Emmy and Angela at the airport that afternoon, telling Marisa to not expect me in for the next few days.

Of course the flight from Amsterdam was late, but that didn’t kill my mood at all. My snuggle bunnies were coming home, and that was all that mattered.

I spotted Tiny first, mostly because he was huge and easy to recognize from a distance, but when I saw Angela and Emmy walking hand in hand behind him I could see nothing else but the two of them. They were so achingly beautiful, even as tired as they looked. When Emmy glanced up and spotted me her inky black face lit up with a smile, which Angela detected, making her look around and find me as well.

I wanted to rush and wrap the two in my arms but I had to wait until they cleared the security gate, which seemed to take forever.

When they finally made it past the one-way gate I did take the two into my arms, holding them tight and breathing in their familiar scents.

“Don’t stand in the way,” Grant chided, giving us a gentle push to make room for other arrivals. Recognizing that we were blocking the way, we moved aside and continued our group hug.

“Leah, will you need Jerome and me?” Grant asked, keeping it practical.

Returning to the here and now, I asked Angela and Emmy if they had checked bags, and when the answer came back yes, I asked Grant to stick around until we had everything and everybody loaded in the car.

“Perfect,” he said, signaling to Tiny to stay vigilant.

Tiny was a great help grabbing the bags from the conveyor, and soon enough we had everybody’s luggage. Walking out to the parking garage, I asked Grant to stay in town for a debrief the next morning, but otherwise he and Tiny were free until it was time for the next leg of the tour.

Back home I fixed a light dinner while Angela and Emmy showered to wash off the the unpleasantness of the nearly fifteen hour flight, never mind the pain in that ass that was Los Angeles International’s customs control.

Somewhat refreshed and wearing the comfiest clothes they could find, the two joined me in the kitchen.

“I just want to sleep for a week,” Angela groaned as she ate her Thai chicken salad.

“I do, too,” Emmy agreed, picking at her food. “I enjoyed the tour, but it was very exhausting.”

“How are you two doing?” I asked.

“Em’s been having some morning sickness recently,” Angela volunteered.

“I would not say that it has been horrible,” Emmy confirmed. “But it is not pleasant. It has not affected my performances any, and for that I am grateful, but it has made eating… difficult.”

“No morning sickness for you?” I asked Angela, to which she shook her head.

“There were a few days I felt a little bit- I had a bit of an upset stomach, but no, not really, but Em, it’s been hard to find her things to eat sometimes.”

“Is this salad O.K.?” I asked, suddenly horrified that I’d made something unpalatable for her.

“No, this is perfect, Leah. I am merely not very hungry,” she assured me. “I am very tired, that is all.”

“Well, let’s get you two to bed,” I told her. “There’s no reason for you to stay up any longer.”

“Oh, but there is,” Emmy objected. “It is only,” she said, checking her watch, “five o’clock here in Los Angeles. If we sleep now we will wake up at two in the morning and our sleep schedules will be off. We need to wait until later to sleep.”

“You said ‘sleep’ three times in ten seconds,” I chided her. “You’re clearly in need.”

Smiling a tired smile, Emmy said, “What I would really like is to rest on the couch with you, Leah. Not to sleep, but just…”

“I’d like that, too,” Angela agreed.

“I’d like that most of all,” I said, taking their plates away, then grabbing their hands to lead them into the living room. I plopped down lengthwise on the couch and the two piled on top of me, the way we had done many times before. Angela grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and draped it over herself and Emmy as the two settled down.

They felt so good in my arms, their weight pressing down on my like a heavy living blanket. I kissed each in turn and got tender kisses in return.

“I’m so happy you guys are home,” I said, running my hands up and down their backs.

“I hate being away,” Angela confessed. “Lee, please please please come with us on the rest of the tour.”

“What will you give me?” I asked, teasing.

“I cannot give you my heart,” Emmy said, her voice drowsy. “Because you already own that. I am certain I can find something to give you, though.”

“I’ll give you my first-born,” Angela said, her voice slightly muffled by my shirt.

“Yes, that is perfect. I will give you mine as well,” Emmy agreed. “That should be fair.”

“That is a very generous offer,” I agreed, kissing the tops of their heads. “I accept.”

“You’ll do it? You’ll come with us for the rest of the tour?” Angela asked, lifting her head to look me in the eyes. Her hopeful expression was so adorable I couldn’t help myself from craning my neck down so I could give her another kiss.

“Yes, I’ll come with you,” I said. “I’ll have to take some time to get work done, but I’ll come with you.”

Angela’s smile was so heartfelt it made me feel like an ass for not having been with them for the last few weeks. I should have been working remotely as I travelled with the tour and not abandoned the two of them the way I did, I thought.

“You hear that, Em? Lee’s going to tour with us!” Angela said, but she only got a muffled sigh in return. Despite Emmy’s protestations, sleep had come.

Realizing that Emmy had drifted off, Angela softened her voice. “She hasn’t wanted to say it, but pregnancy has been hard on her,” Angela confessed. “She hasn’t really been eating anything on performance days so she doesn’t get sick during the shows,” Angela said. “She thinks I haven’t noticed, but she’s getting really skinny, right when she should be putting on some weight.”

“I am so glad you’ve been there for her, babe,” I said, kissing Angela’s forehead. “Thanks for- thanks for that.”

“Lee, I do it because I love her,” Angela replied. “It hurts me to see her feeling bad.”

“I know the feeling,” I agreed. “And I’m serious. I will come with you guys- I guess it sounds as if you’ve decided that you’re doing the rest of the tour, too?”

“I can’t leave her by herself,” Angela said, making it clear that she was more concerned about Emmy’s well-being than her own feelings or comfort.

“I’m not surprised to hear that her pregnancy’s been rough,” I said. “As hard as it was to even get her pregnant in the first place.”

“It doesn’t help that she’s so thin,” Angela agreed. “She’s been having a hard time sleeping, too. I wish I could trade places with her,” Angela said, giving voice to her compassion. “I’ve had it so easy in comparison.”

“I’m just happy that it has been easy for you,” I told Angela. “It would be best if neither of you suffered at all, but at least you’ve been able to be there for her.”

“Do you remember when I joked about the two of us being as huge as whales and demanding pickles and ice cream?” Angela asked. “I’m glad you’ll be there with us on tour to get us our pickle ice cream.”

Angela and I talked about the last few weeks, keeping our voices quiet, until it was time to go to bed. Sure, it was an early bedtime, but that was fine with me. I carried Emmy to the bedroom where Angela and I gently helped her into bed, Angela slipping in beside her. I took a quick shower and joined them, content to have my two loves back home with me.

The sound of their breathing lulled me to sleep quickly, despite the early hour. I guess it was just the comfort of the sound, and the warmth of the two bodies in bed with me.