CHAPTER 1
Sadie
I should’ve known.
When my stiletto snapped half-way between my office building and Fifth Avenue this morning, that should have been a sign.
My best friend, Bailey, is always telling me about signs and how I should take better notice of them, but since she lives in a one-hick town in Wyoming, her experiences in life are somewhat different than mine. I mean, in Manhattan, you can’t even see the sky. It isn’t like that in Alpine Falls. I’m sure there’s a rainbow and birds tweeting every time you look up in that cheery little town, not like here.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the city. I love everything about it. I’m a city girl at heart. But lately? Lately, things have gone from bad to worse, and don’t even get me started on my ex-boyfriend Duncan. I may have dumped him six months ago when I found out he was screwing around, but the betrayal still stings. One day when he lent his i-pad to me, I found multiple dating apps, naturally I snooped. Sue me. Clearly, Duncan forgot all abouthow i-cloud works. Needless to say, I swiped left on quite a few profiles.
Added to that, my roommate, Kelto — someone I trusted — hasn’t been paying the rent. I’ve yet to have a showdown with her because I only just received the eviction notice THIS MORNING and, uncannily, she’s not picking up her phone. Some may say Duncan was sign number one, Kelto sign number two. I didn’t need sign number three to whack me in the face like a runaway tornado. I should’ve known when my stiletto tried to warn me…
“Fired?” I gape at my boss.
“I’m sorry, Sadie, but we’ve had to cut back, and unfortunately those cuts start at the bottom.” Clarice Ruins, correction,Mrs. Ruins,lives up to her namesake. She sure knows how toruinother people’s lives.
Wow. Just wow. Of course, the ad company I work for doesn’t start at the top, where all the executives are paid a trillion dollars to sit around the boardroom making stupid decisions; like firing me, no, no, they start with the bottom-dwellers. The people who do all the work for a mere pittance. I love this job, and my heart lurches in my chest at the idea that I’m fired. Just like that.
I swallow hard. “I’m not understanding, I’ve been here for two years, Mrs. Ruins. I’ve created all the time saving procedures in the office, as well as reconfigured efficiency in the workplace using checklists and spreadsheets. Did you know I reinvented the entire office filing system? Before me, people just used to point at stacks of paper in manila folders on the desk.” I barely come up for air, but this occasion definitely calls for putting my best foot forward. “This isn’t just a job to me, this company, thisplace,it’s my life.” Pathetic, but here we are.
And I’m freaking out that my rent money hasn’t been paid, along with Kelto who I gave the cash to, and I’m about to be evicted.
I need this job!
She quirks one of those thinly sculpted eyebrows and unsympathetically states: “It’s just a receptionist position, Sadie, you’ll find other work.”
Just a receptionist position? I’m the office manager!
I stare at her, and when my vocal cords find their strength again, I try hard to choke back the tears and imagine what I really want to do right now: leap over the desk and strangle her with her stupid pearls. “Justa receptionist?”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that. I’ll give you a glowing reference.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She’s always disliked me. I’m apparently too ‘chirpy’.
I bite my tongue. Maybe there’s a possibility that I could take a lesser paid job… I go to open my mouth and she cuts me off.
“We just can’t place you anywhere else at this time. We acknowledge your efforts at Starbright Enterprises, but the company has had several setbacks this year. Having to cut costs somewhere is just how it goes in advertising.”
Don’t cry. Do not cry! They don’t deserve it.
“But—” I take a breath. I need her for a reference, and technically, she hasn’t been a bad boss, just an annoying one. “I’ll make coffee. I’ll grab your dry cleaning. Ineedthis job, Mrs. Ruins. Christmas is right around the corner. My roommate is MIA with the rent money. Me and Mindy will be out on the street. You don’t want to see that happen, do you? She’s sensitive. She doesn’t like loud noises and the smell of carbon dioxide.”
“There are places you and your daughter can go,” she says sympathetically. “I can give you a couple of numbers…”
“Oh, no, wait. Mindy’s my cat,” I reply. “But I guess technically she’s the closest thing I have to a daughter.”
“I hate to cut this short, but I have several other appointments this morning.”Several other lives to ruin.There she goes, living up to her name again.
“You will have time to clear out your desk, and hand over your pass at security downstairs. The severance email will be sent today. Again, I’m sorry, Sailor, it really is unfortunate.”
“It’s Sadie.”
“Oh.” She clears her throat. “Sorry, yes, of course,Sadie.”
I don’t like the way she says my name like I’m a hick. I’m from Colorado, thank you very much.
Tears spring to my eyes. This is really happening. I nod. Holding it in is going to be harder than I thought. I stand, albeit on wobbly legs, and my broken stiletto doesn’t help matters.
I leave her office, and now I have to face the walk of shame. I hold my head high, though it’s hard to walk with authority when half my heel is missing. Whatever. It’s as good a walk as I can muster. Several heads turn my way as I pass by, some have sympathetic smiles on their faces, others don’t even give me the time of day.
