The shouting gets so much that eventually Lottie just hangs up.
“Telemarketers,” she jokes, rolling her eyes.
An awkward silence lingers in the air. Katie leans into Jonesy, who has his arm around the back of the couch, his fingers dipping down to stroke her shoulder.
“I’m going to go,” I say before the tears really start flowing.
“Wait, come with me. I had a gift for you. Well, I hope it’s a gift, anyway.”
She sweeps me into the kitchen, leaving Katie and Jonesy to conspire in the living room.
“It’s not really something I can wrap.” She leans across the kitchen island between us. “How would you feel about coming on as a clinical psychologist at my practice?”
What?
Working withtheDr. Charlotte Buckingham. People would kill to be in this position. I didn’t even know there was a position available.
“Why me? I mean…yes, obviously. I would love to work for you.”
“With me,” she corrects, and my grin doubles in size.
“With you,” I parrot. “But why me? There must be lots of other candidates that are more qualified or have better experience with the work you do.”
“I do similar work to Alfie. I just have a bigger profile.” She shrugs. “I would need you to start as soon as possible. Alfie gave the okay for you to start in a week, giving you a week off.”
I frown. I don’t have a week off. “Was this arranged before tonight?”
She hesitates momentarily. “Partly. The job was yours before you walked through the door.”
Then, it must be the timing that’s changed. Alfie doesn’t want me to work with him again. Fuck, how can I be so elated and so devastated simultaneously?
“It’s over, isn’t it?” I whisper.
“I don’t think so,” she says softly, reaching out for my hand. “I think he’ll need some time, and then he’ll pull his head out of his ass. But whether you want to wait for him is up to you.”
Why is she so wonderful? Alfie is her friend, not me.
“I want to say yes, but I think I should think about it first. I want to talk to him. I want to tell him that he can’t push me away like this.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for your call. I’m not going to hire anyone else in the meantime, so would you let me know?”
“Yeah, thank you, Lottie.”
She walks me to the door, and I wave goodbye to Katie and Jonesy, who seem to have melted into each other on the couch.
My Uber arrives a few minutes later, and I head toward Alfie’s house. I would go straight to mine, but most of my things are there now, so I at least need to pick them up.
???
The light is on when I’m back, so I know he’s not at the hospital. I take a deep breath, pushing the door in and slipping down the hallway.
“Alfie?”
I hear a groan coming from the living room, and I make my way there. Alfie is slumped in the chair, a half-finished bottle of whiskey with the cap off in one hand, the other pushing back his hair from his face.
“Alfie?” I repeat, and his head lifts.
“I’m drunk.”
