“Heyyyy! That’s what the fuck I’m talkin’ ‘bout! My girl ‘bout to be Cali paid in the Cali shade!” Lauryn cheered, prompting the bittersweet reminder that I hadn’t spilled all the tea about where the job was actually located.
“About that…” I muttered before closing my office door behind me for privacy.
“What?”
“It’s more like New York shade.”
“Girl, what the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“The job is in New York, Lauryn.”
“Now what now?” she asked.
I heard the sadness in her voice, and I immediately found myself choking back tears. “I know it’s not ideal, but…”
A whizz of air expelled from her lips. “No. No. The devil is not going to steal my joy today! This is a good thing! This is so, so good, Cass! You gotta do what you gotta do.”
I bobbed my head before kicking off my heels behind my desk and taking the first bite out of my warm panini. “You’re right, I know. It’s like I know I should be excited and be jumping at the chance, but I don’t know. California has always been my home. I don’t know how I’ll adapt to New York, let alone moving there in the cold.”
“I get it, but it ain’t nothin’ to buy a winter coat. I bet you’d look cute in some fur,” she joked.
I smacked my apple red lips at her. “Look, I’ve got another meeting to get to in like twenty minutes, and I need to finish my lunch. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, we’ll finish this conversation about this big opportunity this weekend at my baby shower.”
“Yup, sure. I’ll be there bright and early Saturday morning to help Shauna and Brielle with the decorations,” I promised her.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
The moment I ended the call, I closed the door and started chowing down on what was left of my panini. Lauryn was right; the promotion was a good thing. As happy as I was to have a win to celebrate, it killed me not to be able to pick up the phone and tell the one person I wanted to share the news with. Everything outside of my love life seemed to be falling right in line. After savoring the last bite of my lunch, my phone vibrated against my cherrywood desk. I quickly flipped it over to see the nameMomwritten across the screen. Although my mom and I barely had what I would call a “good relationship,” I’d been dodging her calls for a few weeks to prep for my interview. I didn’t need her negative ass fuckin’ up my headspace, but since the job was in the bag, I decided to pick up.
“Hey, Mom,” I answered, slowly praying her response wouldn’t make me want to hang up in her face.
“Well, if it isn’t my long-lost daughter.”
I let out a sigh-growl. “Sorry I haven’t gotten around to calling you back. It’s just things with work and everything have been a little crazy for the past few weeks.”
“Last I heard from you was aMerry Christmastext at eleven o’clock at night. What’s been going on? How’s work?”
“A lot has been going on, and work is good. I actually have something to tell you.”
“I have something to tell you, too, but you go first. What’s your news?” she inquired.
“I got offered a new job, the director of operations at a new office my company is opening.”
“Wow, director of operations. That’s a strong title. It better come with the salary to match.”
I pressed my lips together tightly, careful not to say the first thing that came to mind. I’d literally said five sentences to her, and she already had something critical to say. I didn’t know why there was a part of me that still required her approval. I was a grown ass woman, yet I felt like I still wasn’t good enough in her eyes. “It does,” I confirmed.
“Good. I taught you well.”
“Well, the thing is, I don’t know if I’m going to take it,” I confessed.
“Why wouldn’t you take it, Cassidy?”
“Because it’s in New York.”
“Oh, wow.”
