“So, you see, Ms. James, the medical leave that our previous librarian intended to take has been postponed until summer break. Under our seniority policy, we’re obligated to take the other librarian back. Unfortunately, that means we will have to rescind the job offer we made to you.”
“Rescind?” I echo her word. “What do you mean, rescind? You can just take it back?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what we mean. Unfortunately, we no longer have a vacancy. The librarian who intended to go on leave?—”
“No, I’m sorry. I heard what you said. I just don’t understand. You offered me a job. I accepted that job. I quit my old position and moved to Tampa. I rented out my townhouse. I?—”
“Well, I’m very sorry, Ms. James, but there is nothing we can do about all that. If you read the offer letter, it did clearly state in the fifth paragraph that the offer was contingent upon us having a vacancy, and if at any time the vacancy was filled by a change in the proposed leave?—”
I stop listening then and there. It doesn’t matter what she says. What the letter I signed says.
I have no job.
That is it.
The reality.
I quit a job, and now, I have no job.
I moved away to try to leave Clive, and there might be no escaping him. I have no job.
I’m screwed.
“Wait,” I say, not caring that I’m interrupting her. “So, if there’s no job vacancy, there’s no separation package. No severance pay? No benefits of any kind? Is that right?”
“No, Ms. James. Your offer has been rescinded, so you never had a job with this district. That means no employment date, so no compensation will be paid. And, of course, no benefits. We’re terribly sorry, and if anything changes, you’ll be the first to?—”
I swipe the touchscreen to end the call, and I just can’t help it. My hand goes weak, and my phone clatters from my fingers to the concrete.
“Violet, what the fuck?” Shadow bends down and checks the phone for damage.
Well, at least I have that much luck. My phone is just fine. I, on the other hand…
“I’m screwed,” I say, shaking out my hands and starting to pace. “I’m so, so, so screwed.” I walk wide, frantic circles in the lot, shaking my hands and clenching my fingers together into fists.
“I’m fired,” I say, rambling to myself in long, unbroken sentences. “Not fired, but out of a job. A job I guess I technically never had because I signed a piece of paper that said there was no job if there was no vacancy, but I thought there was a vacancy because I interviewed, right? I interviewed for a job because there was a vacancy, but now there is no vacancy because there is no job?—”
“Violet.” Shadow grabs me by the arms and pulls me to a stop in front of him. “What the fuck happened? You’re out of a job?”
I almost scream the answer. “Yes. Yes, I’m out of a job. This is not okay. I am not going to be okay.” I try to pull away, to cover my face with my hands and start pacing again, when Shadow wraps a hand around my waist and nods at his biker friends.
“Keep looking, boys,” he calls out. “I gotta get Violet inside.”
His hand never leaves my waist as he moves me through the main room, down the corridor, and back to his room. He closes and locks the door before pulling me to his chest.
“What the fuck is happening?” he asks.
“I don’t know.” I wrap my hands around his back and hold on with all my strength. “I feel so helpless.”
Two days ago, I had a job offer, a contract on a condo, and a new lease on life. Now, I have no job, no home, and my ex might be stalking me. I’ve had lots and lots of wicked sex with a total stranger. A total stranger who is a biker, by the way. That part has been amazing, wonderful. But eventually, I’m going to have to pull out of the compound parking lot, make my way through the mess that is the outside world, and live somehow.
Where will I go now?
What will I do?
I can’t go back.
Clive is there.
