Vivvie scoffed. “Yeah, because you’re the king of small talk. Even if you were the type to hang
around and shoot the shit, maybe you didn’t know because he didn’t want you to.”
“That makes less than no sense,” I argued. “Why would you not tell people you work with that you
have a kid?”
She shook her head as if I was the biggest moron she’d ever met. “It’s not always easy to be a
single parent in the workplace. I know before I graduated, a lot of bars didn’t want to hire me because
they were worried about me needing to call off if I couldn’t find a sitter.”
“They actually said that?”
“They didn’t have to,” she said somberly. “As soon I slipped and mentioned Jayden, the
interviews came to a quick end. I’m not dumb, I knew why they were concerned.”
“Can they even do that?” Surely there had to be some sort of protections. How was any single
parent supposed to make ends meet otherwise?
“They can do whatever the hell they want. Listen, I’m not saying it’s right, but I do understand
where they’re coming from.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then remembered what a dick I was to Corey the night he bailed on
work because of a family emergency. Fuck, it could have been something wrong with his kid for all I
knew—except I wouldn’t know because he hadn’t told me—and all I did was give him shit about
trying to find a replacement. Fine, so maybe she had a point, and maybe dickheads like me were part
of the problem.
Even if nothing ever happened between us again, I wanted Corey to know I was there if he needed
a helping hand. The next time he called in, I’d listen to what was going on rather than blow him off
assuming he was a flake. I was beginning to realize he was anything but.
“Let’s say you’re right,” I started, immediately regretting the tactic when Vivvie leveled me with a
glare. I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m not saying I doubt you, but Jack isn’t that type of boss.
How can I show him he has nothing to worry about?”
Now I felt extra guilty for coming down so hard on him when it was likely a situation that was
truly out of his control. If anyone could help me figure out how to fix the mess I'd made, it would be
my sister. Deep down, I think Corey knew he didn’t have to worry about Jack thinking less of him, but
the damage was done where I was concerned. He’d thawed a bit recently, but I couldn’t be certain
that was because he trusted me as much as it was sheer exhaustion.
