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Bingo. Paydirt.
He’s scared of being a quitter. He’s scared that if he’s a quitter, he’s a shitty, worthless person. “Your guilt about your grandmother is different than this job. Whatever’s going on with your ex-wife is different than this job. You’re letting it all spill into the same stew. It’s bubbling up within you. It’s shutting you down. It’s acting out in anger and anxiety.”
“Damn,” he says. “You might be right.”
“Don’t look at leaving this job as quitting. Reframe it as graduating. Moving from high school to college. Do that right now with me, Andrew. Do whatever you want with me.”
He kisses me, touches me, sinks his cock inside me and a few minutes later he comes. The bitter belief is revealed for what it truly is: a hoax. And once the hoax is called out and confronted, like any bully it loses its power.
He drops me at the airport the next morning and we hug. “I can’t believe I’m letting you leave a day early,” he says. “But Hailey wants to hang out. I’m going to take her to the mall. Shopping. Then we’ll go to a movie. Dinner wherever she wants. Probably pizza.”
I smile at him. He’s sweet. “You should hang out with Hailey the whole weekend.”
“I already talked to my ex about that.”
“What will you do when Hailey leaves?”
“Work on my resignation letter. Thank you, Evie.”
“You’re welcome.”
“This might sound weird. Feel free to say ‘no.’ You really helped me. Do you mind if I refer a friend to you?”
“No. As long as he’s as honest and hard working as you.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you for being sweet. Gotta go.”
“Go,” he says.
The flight home is uneventful. Madame summons me to her office the next day. “You did a great job, Evelyn,” she says. “Mr. Courtland is pleased.”
“Good.” I practically topple off my chair because I’m not used to her praising me. “You called me into the office to tell me that?”
“Amongst other things. One. We’re raising your rate. I thought you should know.”
“Great.” Did someone secretly replace Madame with a person who cares?
“Second, we have a new client for you.”
“Excellent. FYI, I’m back to working weekends and nights. I’ve taken enough time off work.”
“About that. Ma Maison pulled your financials.” She clicks her tablet, swivels it toward me, and voila, there’s my credit report. The score is low, the debt is high, and I break out in a sweat.
“You can’t, that’s not right, I, I…”
“Hear me out, Evelyn. I have a proposition for you. Ma Maison can help you wipe out all this debt quickly,” she says. “How quickly is up to you. Will teaching kindergarten do that?”
“I love teaching. I will not quit being a teacher.” I stand up. “You can’t make me quit my day job.”
“What if Ma Maison is your day job? Teaching kids can be something you do in Sunday school, or volunteer for an after school program at the library. You could have the best of both worlds.”
“But I went to college. I have a Master’s in Education.”
“Yes, I can tell that by looking at your student loans. Andrew Courtland called me after he dropped you off at the airport. He couldn’t have been happier. He’s referring a friend.”
“I know. He told me.”
“The man already called. He’s in St. Louis. He owns five breweries and a racetrack. We’re in the process of vetting him.”
“Okay.”
