Zoe looked up at me with pleading eyes. I nodded, and she was off like a shot, her earlier nightmare completely forgotten in the face of Legos and her best friend.
Dani watched her go with a soft smile, then turned back to me. The smile faded slightly. "You look tired."
I was always tired. That was just my default state now. "I'm fine."
"Mmhmm." She didn't believe me. She never believed me. But she also never pried, which was one of the many reasons I loved her. "What time will you be back?"
"I don’t have a shift tonight, so I should be home by six-thirty at the latest."
Her eyebrows rose. "A night off? What's the occasion?"
"The schedule just worked out that way." I shrugged. "I'm not complaining."
"You shouldn't be. You need the rest." She took a sip of her coffee. "She'll be fine here. You know I love having her."
I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just nodded. Kissed Zoe goodbye, made her promise to behave, and headed for the stairs.
My car was waiting in the street by the building, looking even more pathetic than usual in the gray February morning. The Civic had seen better days. Better years, really.
The passenger door didn't open from the outside, the check engine light had been on for six months, and there was a sound coming from somewhere in the engine that I'd been ignoring because I couldn't afford to get it fixed.
But it started when I turned the key. That was all I needed.
The drive to Manhattan took forty-five minutes with traffic. I used the time to run through my mental checklist. Pick up Zoeby six-thirty. Make dinner. Give her a bath. Read her a story. Maybe get five hours of sleep before we do it all again tomorrow.
The Dubois Corporation headquarters rose into the sky like a middle finger made of glass and steel. Forty-something floors of corporate power, reflecting the morning sun so brightly it made my eyes water. Every time I walked through those doors, I felt small. Smaller than usual, which was saying something, given that I was barely five-two in my best shoes.
I'd been working here for eight months. I clocked in at 8:52 AM. Eight minutes early. I was always early. Being late was a luxury I couldn't afford. I was heading for Mr. Huang's office on the fourteenth floor, already running through the day's tasks in my head, when someone stepped into my path.
"Ms. Young?"
I stopped. The woman in front of me was tall and blonde and wearing a black skirt suit. Her name tag said Jennifer Holloway, Human Resources.
"We need to talk."
My stomach dropped. Nothing good ever followed those words. I ran through everything I'd done in the past week, looking for mistakes. I couldn't think of any errors, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. That didn't mean someone hadn't decided I was expendable.
I followed Jennifer Holloway to a small conference room on the twelfth floor. Beige walls, beige carpet, a table that sat six but held only two chairs. She gestured for me to sit. I sat.
"Ms. Young." She folded her hands on the table. Her nails were perfect, painted a muted pink. "There's been some restructuring in Mr. Huang's department. They're consolidating positions, and unfortunately, they no longer need a dedicated secretary for his office."
The room tilted slightly. I gripped the edge of my chair, keeping my face neutral through sheer force of will.
No. No, no, no. I couldn't lose this job. I couldn't. The bar alone wasn't enough. I had rent, utilities, Zoe's school supplies, and the grocery bill that kept climbing, no matter how carefully I budgeted. I had the thousand dollars from last night, but that would only stretch so far. I had…
"However."
I blinked. Jennifer Holloway was still talking.
"There's an opening elsewhere in the company. Given your performance reviews, we'd like to offer you a reassignment rather than a termination."
The breath I hadn't realized I was holding rushed out of me. "Reassignment?"
"To the executive floor. You'd be working as an executive secretary for the new Vice President of Acquisitions." She checked her paperwork. "Starting today, if you're amenable."
"Who would I be working for?"
Jennifer Holloway glanced at her notes. "Mr. Xavier Dubois."
