Chapter One

ERIC

The sound of something vibrating next to me woke me up. Actually, I've been awake for close to give minutes now but decided to stay in bed until my alarm goes off but my phone beat my alarm to it. Picking my phone from my bedside table, I take a quick glance at the time before checking the caller ID and picking up.

"Jenna just quit"

"Good morning to you to" I say with an eye roll.

"You know, I'm starting to think you don't actually want an assistant and you're just using the position as a means to meet hot women"

I've had about five different people work as my assistant for the last one month, none have been able to give me the kind of hardworking attitude I've been looking for, they either quit when they feel the work load was getting too much or I'd fire them out of anger. My best friend and business partner, Noah, took it upon himself to make sure I get a new assistant almost immediately after the last one gets fired and at first I totally believed in his choices and thought he'd eventually find someone for for the job, but now I think he's just setting up random people for it.

"You and I both know I have no problem meeting women." I say in reply to his earlier statement "And she didn't quit, I fired her"

"And what's your reason this time?" I could practically see him rolling his eyes as he asked that question.

"Next time, get an assistant who ISN'T trying to seduce me. I'd like to be able to have a full conversation with someone without her batting her lashes like she's got dust in her eyes". I knew from the day she started working with me that I'd fire her before a week, her clothes were always provocative, and she didn't seem to fully understand the concept of personal space and it irked me.

"Dude, that girl is hot, if she wants the D so badly just give it to her. That's what I'd do anyway"

"This D has standards, I don't hit girls like that, I like classy women who know how to value themselves, not women who go around half ***** practically begging to get laid"

"okay okay don't start, it way too early in the morning for any of that. Want me to get you a new assistant?"

"Tell Melissa to put it up online that I need a new assistant, but I'll be doing the interview myself this time"

"Aiit, later"

I ended the call and got out of bed just as my alarm goes off. 5:30AM. I hit snooze and make my way to my bathroom to get ready for another busy day.

*_________*_________*_________*_________*_________*

TIDE

Free.

That's how I felt whenever I was underwater, I'd swim laps for hours and I'd never get tired, I'd never get tired of the way the water felt around me, throwing my hair in a frenzy around my face, the way little bubbles of air fly out my nose at random but sadly, right now, I can't relate to any of that, I was working at a coffee shop, serving beverages to grumpy humans. Although some of them were nice, I still miss life in the ocean. It's been five years since we breached the surface, five years since the oil company started drilling right in the middle of the ocean and making it inhabitable for almost 99% of life there, five years since I had to leave my old life behind. Five years since we lost dad.

I'd occasionally go to the nearby beach and swim in my full form just to get the feeling back, Mom would kill me if she knew about it but I couldn't bring myself to stop. We've been able to survive well enough, we weren't rich but we were not poor either, mom's best friend, Fiona, and her family were rich though. Back in Sitovani, Fiona was a jewelry maker, she made the finest jewelry in the entire sea, when we breached, she took along with her lots of pearls and valuable shells, sold some and then started her jewelry business up here, she offered to help Mom too but Mom refused, not wanting to seem like a charity case.

"Order for table 6" Layla calls behind me. I snap out of my reverie and immediately got back to work.

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