A hitch in my throat had me looking up at Charleigh in surprise. “Whoa.”
“I know.” She widened her eyes. “She’s fierce.”
“She is,” I agreed.
“Anyway, this is everything I was able to find on social media and Google. I even searched through the public records. Everything is here.” She smiled.
Just as she said that, Stacy came breezing in, a smarmy leer on his face. “Hey there, Birdee. Good to see you with your clothes on.”
I gritted my teeth.
“That was highly inappropriate,” Charleigh said. “That is so far out of the realm of boss behavior that I almost feel compelled to file a complaint with the big boss.”
Stacy rolled his eyes. “Get a grip. It was just a joke.”
Then he disappeared into his office, likely to do nothing for the rest of the day like always.
Charleigh’s gaze came to me and she said, “What did he mean by that?”
I explained everything that’d happened that morning.
“What do you mean he just walked in?” she asked. “Did he knock?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted to her. “I mean, he might have. I was in the shower, though. It’s not like I can hear anything over that ancient shower.”
Sometimes, the pipes groaning in the walls were so loud that I feared they might burst.
They hadn’t kicked the bucket yet, though.
Thankfully.
I had a feeling if they did it would be some major damage, and I’d have to move out.
“Did he give you notice in writing that he was going to arrive?” she asked. “They have to do that by law twenty-four hours in advance.”
“No,” I said. “I check my email every day, and it certainly didn’t come through that.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” She looked outraged. “Did you get that job with the dog food company?”
I’d urged her to apply herself. Because no matter what, I was leaving this job behind once I got another one. I just hoped that she was able to find something new as well. Hopefully somewhere where we’d be together.
I liked her a whole lot, and she was great to work with.
It helped that I knew that she’d actually do the work.
“Actually, I have an interview tomorrow.” She smiled, but it faded away. “How will you get to work? It’s not like you can walk to this one.”
I actually blew out a relieved breath when I said, “They said that I could use the company vehicle like all other salaried employees. I just can’t take it on long-haul drives. They said I could use it to do errands and stuff around town, though. As long as I drove respectfully.”
“Of course you would.” She scoffed.
The rest of the day went by as usual.
Stacy didn’t come out of his office until it was lunchtime. He didn’t come back, which Charleigh and I were both thankful for.
Charleigh even offered me a ride home, which I accepted.
With the papers still firmly in my hand, I took a seat at the table and went through everything.
