“Is that a yes to hiring me?”
“No, but your boss said that you’d say those exact words to me today.” He laughed. “You said them verbatim.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Mr. Cross knows you really well.”
“Mr. Cross knows I’m here?”
“He called the other day about this.” He crumpled my résumé, and my stomach dropped. “To be honest, if you were anyone else, I would hire you in a heartbeat, but… well, I don’t need Harrison Cross on my enemy list.”
“He’s not your enemy.” I scoffed. “You’re not even in the same competitive category.”
“Mr. Cross has stock in the mortgage company that owns my house.”
“So, he threatened you?” I leaned forward. “Shouldn’t that be more of a reason for you to help me escape?”
“He mentioned you’d be dramatic when I let you down, too…”
Oh my god…
“Mr. Cross is a certified tyrant, sir,” I said. “And I would like you to consider me for the open positions.”
“I would like to not lose my house.” He shrugged. “He made it quite clear that I should not hire you, and I’m sorry, but I’m not going to.”
“Why didn’t you call and tell me this before I came all the way here?”
“He wanted me to give you a false sense of hope,” he said. “Something about you needing stress relief?”
I stormed out of the office without saying anything else.
Dave handed me a box of Kleenex when I returned to the town car.
I was tempted to tell him to take me home, but I couldn’t let Mr. Cross see that he’d made me this pissed.
And as much as I didn’t want to care about this company… I did. This company felt more like mine than his.
Still, this was no longer sustainable. And I knew it.
Everly…Can you talk me up to the HR department at your school this weekend?
I’m going to apply…
Everly
YES!
Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I focused my attention out the window, dreaming of a better career.
“Here you are, Miss Stone.” Dave held the door open when we returned to headquarters.
“Thank you, Dave.”
“Hold on.” He pressed his handkerchief against my face, and then he pulled some foam gray balls from his pocket. “You should squeeze these on your worst days. They help.”
I smiled even though it hurt.
Walking inside, I headed straight to my cubicle, but it wasn’t there.
