Free Mine at Last by Celeste O. Norfleet

I usually put in hours with the senior citizens at the center, but tomorrow I’ll be hanging out with a couple of dear old ladies.”
    “Okay, what do I have to do?” Shauna asked.
    “Nothing much. Just smile, be pleasant, help them in and out of the car and with their purchases. Most seniors don’t drive, so going to the store, going out to run errands or to the clinic is a major hardship. They have no way to get around. That’s where I come in.”
    “So, you just play chauffeur all day.”
    “Sometimes, but it’s mainly just being there with them. Most of them are alone. They don’t have any family, or if they do, they don’t see them much.”
    Shauna nodded. It sounded good. She always wanted to volunteer but never found she had time. Pearl was right. You don’t find time—you make time. “Okay, that sounds great. I’ll do it.”
    “Good.”
    “Good,” Shauna repeated. Then they laughed and Pearl began telling her about the books she’d downloaded and the one she was currently reading. Shauna responded and commented when necessary, but her mind was on Pearl’s last comment about Dominik. It would be tempting to finally fulfill her teenage fantasy of being with him. She smiled to herself. Never in a million years would she have guessed her day would end like this.
    Later that evening, after long hugs goodbye, Shauna went back to the hotel. It had been an arduous day, but still she was wide-awake. She didn’t want to go back to the hotel room and be alone, but she did. Pearl was right—being alone was the worst.
    She sat down at the small desk and pulled out her computer pad and laptop. She transferred updates and synchronized the data between computers. She preferred to work primarily on her laptop for the majority of her work, but used her lighter computer tablet for taking notes and general information gathering.
    Now that the laptop was up-to-date, she reached into her briefcase to get her flash drives. She pulled one out, then opened the case wider to retrieve the second one. It wasn’t there. She started digging and rifling through each compartment more thoroughly, pulling everything out. The case was completely empty. She looked again and again. She grabbed the case and nearly turned it inside out. Then she stopped and looked around the empty room. “Oh, no, this isn’t happening,” she muttered to herself.
    The missing drive, although password protected, had a number of very sensitive files on it that related to her work and the Cura Group. Losing that flash drive wouldn’t hinder her job or performance, but it would make it take longer. And even though the same basic program was also on her laptop, she’d already begun singling out specific files to be examined more closely. She’d have to do that part all over again.
    She had to find it. She began searching her briefcase again and then her purse and her suitcase. It was nowhere in sight. She sat down on the side of the bed and tried to remember the last time she used it. It was at her last job, but she knew she had it when she came here. Then it hit her. It might have fallen out when she dropped her briefcase on the floor in the E.R. waiting area earlier that morning. She needed to go back to the E.R. She grabbed her purse and keys and hurried out to the car.
    Leaving anything behind was a huge misstep, something she’d never done. Leaving a very key component of her job because she was mesmerized by Dominik looking at her was an unforgivable breach in conduct. She’d never been so reckless before. She never allowed her emotions to get in the way of her job or get the best of her. But once was already once too many times. She knew she’d have to shield and protect herself more than ever now.

Chapter 7
    There were only a few people waiting in the open area. This wasn’t about checking out the staff and procedures. Shauna stepped up to the nurse’s check-in desk. “Hi, I lost something here earlier. Is there someone I can speak