“You sure?” Simone scanned her face, uncertain. “I can walk you out.”
“I need to do this alone.”
Simone nodded and let her step onto the elevator with the security guard. Watching her friend turn and walk away, Colette’s stomach dropped. This was the last time she would ever ride this elevator. Colette knew with certainty that she wouldnever grace the threshold of this office again. She couldn’t. Even if they asked her to come back.
She squared her shoulders and gazed ahead, waiting to arrive at the parkade.
Onward and upward, her father would say, once he heard the news.
After all, there was more than one job in this city for a bright woman with a mind for numbers. She was a determined accountant and ready for a new challenge. Glancing at the guard who was still watching her as she left the elevator, she gave a nervous swallow. Dread curled in her stomach as she placed the box and bag in the trunk of her poppy-red Volkswagen Golf. The security guard watched her from outside the elevator room doors to ensure she left the premises. Colette smirked. If only he knew how much she didn’t want to be there.
At this moment, they couldn’t pay her to stay.
CHAPTER 2
The dress code at her new job was amazing. Pajama casual. Showers? Optional. Ice cream? Anytime. The pay was shit, but the co-workers were top-notch.
Sure, her body odor resembled that of an unwashed teenager, but that was part of the expectations of the new job.
Also rotting on the sofa.
Lots of that.
Colette indulged in a few days of wallowing after being let go from her position. She would have to apply for something soon, since she was too anxious a person not to have an income, and bills would eat up her compensation package in no time. Her severance pay was not terrible, and she had a little bit of savings, but her heart raced when she thought about the time limit it gave her to get a job. The high cost of rent for her one-bedroom apartment, car payments, and the cost of food would make that money run out quickly.
Her father, Rupert Slip, had been emailing her job postings every day.
So helpful.
She rolled her eyes as another pinging sound came from her inbox. What her father didn’t realize was that she was at acrossroads. The corporate job at the law firm of Jones and Miller had chewed her up and spit her out.
Did she want to climb right back on that same rollercoaster? It wasn’t as though she fit in among the business law bros in matching puffy vests from Costco. In that company culture, knowing what was going on in the last hockey game was more valued than actually doing a good job. Other guys in her department got paid lunches, golf games, and drinks after work, while she met her deadlines and became bogged down finishing the paperwork others had abandoned.
But…she needed money to survive, so staying unemployed was not an option. She had goals. She wanted a house one day, and maybe a family. How could she accomplish this by being glued to her sofa alone for days on end? A disappointed sigh slipped from her lips as she contemplated how far she was from any of those goals. She needed a job to buy a house and a man to start a family. So far, she was zero out of two.
“Ugh,” she groaned as her head leaned on the back of the sofa, and she stared at the yellow-tinged popcorn ceiling, considering how pathetic her life really was.
A knock sounded at the door, and Colette went to answer it.
“How did you get into the building?” she asked, chest lightening at the sight of Simone and Cameron holding grocery bags of what sounded like chips and clinking bottles of booze.
“Your building has shit security,” Simone replied. “Some guy let us in.”
Her friends carried the bags over to the kitchen counter. Simone clucked her tongue as she looked at the stack of dishes.
“Stop judging me. I’m going through something,” Colette warned. She searched one of the bags and spotted barbecue chips. With the enthusiasm of a child opening a birthday gift, she tore a bag open and dug in.
“What are you eating? Your fridge is empty,” Cam said, placing the bottles in the refrigerator. “Babe, you need some proper groceries.”
“And a shower,” Simone added, making her way over to the sofa. “But who gives a shit? I don’t have time to judge you. I have news for you.”
Pulling wine glasses out of the cupboard, Colette took the bottle of Pinot Grigio Cam handed her and poured a healthy amount. She didn’t have to worry about hangovers these days; her schedule tomorrow was completely open. She had to come up with a plan. Soon.
“Are you and Roger getting married? Because I called it,” Colette said with a laugh. Cam carried the two other glasses behind her and followed her into the living room, as Colette clung to hers and the bag of chips as though her life depended on it.
It was nice to have something other than the ice cream and takeout she had been stuffing her face with the last few days. Variety was the key to a good life.
“No, stop waiting for that. He’s my forever boyfriend, and I’m very happy with that. I just have to convince him it’s enough.” Simone waited until Colette and Cameron joined her on the sofa. “Roger can be annoyingly persuasive.”
