CHAPTER 1
CORA
“Hey,Mack, my login’s not working.”
Mack took a big gulp of his break room coffee, staring at me over the rim of hisWorld’s Okayest Team Leadmug with dead eyes.
“What?” I demanded. “It’s not me. I’m using the correct password.”
“I bet,” he drawled, swiveling his chair toward his computer with a sigh. “Hold on. I’ll send you the link to reset it.”
I twirled in slow circles in my less-than-ergonomic desk chair as I waited. Beside me, Brandy was already taking her first call of the day with a painfully chipper voice. I knew from experience that her energy level would not deplete, no matter how much overtime she put in. On my third spin, I met Andrew’s eyes as he clocked in. He held a finger gun to his temple and fired.Tell me about it, buddy.If I didn’t need the paycheck so bad, I’d be out of here. Oh, and the health insurance. Lately, I had this catch in my wrist that was killing me. I’d been meaning to make an appointment to have it looked at, but the co-pay was so high. Maybe if I sold a kidney, I could have my wrist taken care ofandmy teeth cleaned.
“Cora Keaton.” The deep, authoritative voice came from the end of the cubicle row. Along with everyone on my team, I swiveled to look. One of the security guys was there with an empty box and an envelope.
I looked around at my co-workers, confused and tempted to hide under a desk. Brandy, ever the helpful one, pointed at me. Andrew ducked deeper into his cubicle and hurried to put on his headset.
“Mack?” I looked to the team lead, but he wasn’t much use for anything but recovering passwords. He shrugged and sipped his coffee.
“Here’s your severance letter,” Security Guy said.
“Severance letter?”
“Yeah,” he said, sounding bored. “You’re the fifth one on my list today. Layoffs.”
“Uh, how many names do you have on that list?” Andrew asked.
Security Guy shot him a deadpan look. “A bunch. It’s a good day to be in a union.”
My eyes zoomed over the letter, not really taking it in.Laid off?I had rent due on Friday! I thought about getting mad, but… Why? Security Dude didn’t lay me off. I could yell and scream about how I have rights, but this wasn’t exactly my first rodeo. I knew from the last two layoffs I’d been through that no, in fact, I do not have rights. Security Dude had rights, because he was in a union, apparently, but customer service minions had none.
“I don’t need the box,” I sighed, gathering my purse and sweater. I’d learned not to get too attached to my workspace and left my personal effects at home. Anyway, I was a single thirty-something with no kids and no family to speak of. What did I have to display pictures of? Framing a picture of Mr. Darcy, my cat, would have been pathetic. Also, if someone asked his name, they might realize he was my emergency contact.
“What’s your name?” Security Dude asked Andrew.
Reluctantly, he said, “Andrew Rolfstad.”
Wordlessly, Security Dude handed him the box.
Andrew’s shoulders slumped. To me, he said, “Brunch at Gigi’s?”
“I’ll get us a table.”
What the hell? Bad days called for bad decisions.
“How long have you been here?” Security Guy asked as we rode the elevator down.
“Six months,” I said. “This is my third layoff in three years.”
“That sucks,” he said.
We finished the ride in silence, and he led me to the security desk in the lobby, where I turned in my badge for the door and signed a paper stating I had no company equipment at home. Then he walked me to the door.
“Hey, you wanna hook up sometime?” he asked as he held the door open for me.
I blinked in the hot summer sunshine, trying not to be too obvious as I looked him over. He wasn’t bad to look at, but not my type. Slender, with stylish hair and a thin mustache, no beard. “I feel like I would unfairly link you with this job in my mind,” I said. “I’m gonna pass. Andrew’s single, though. Hit him up.”
Security Guy nodded and waved as I stepped out into the wide, unforgiving world, jobless and alone. “Have a good one.”
