Page 52 of I Saw You First

“Well, if you hadn’t abandoned your shift⁠—”

“I didn’t abandon! I left for a little while, and I’m sure that Sam handled the department⁠—”

“No, actually, he didn’t. We had an unscheduled delivery, so I had to move Stacy from the registers to cover so we were down a cashier, and then I called Kevin in early⁠—”

Oh, no. Kevin wasn’t supposed to come in early today. And Stacy from the registers? That’s bad. I love Stacy, but she doesn’t know U2 from UB40.

“Wil—”

“You might think that it’s not a big deal to leave for a couple of hours, but do you see the domino effect it had? What if—uh, Mr. Wilshire had stopped in, or Felix, or Kelsey? You put your teammates—including me—in a terrible position.”

Oh, crap. He called his dad Mr. Wilshire.

“I’m so sorry, Wil. Please don’t write me up. I promise, I’ll stop looking for jobs—” I slap my hand over my mouth.

“So, you admit you’ve been looking for a new job.” His tone is even, calm, so very disappointed.

He takes the clipboard back and crosses out some of the words, then scribbles something underneath it. When he hands it back to me, I can hardly see the words through the tears threatening to spill.

Reason for disciplinary action: Abbey abandoned her 6-2:30 p.m. shift at 9:20 a.m. and left the department without coverage during open hours. Unexcused absence, 9:20 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. Gave a false reason for leaving. Additional unexcused absences and/or false statements will result in further disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

He’s even good at writing people up.

I sign my name and shove the clipboard into Wil’s chest, pushing past him. I need to find a way to salvage this day in these ridiculous shoes.

Aurora’s at customer service when I clock in for my closing shift the next day. She reeks of cigarette smoke, strands of platinum hair have escaped her tiny rhinestone clips, and her nails are bitten down to the quick.

“Thank all the gods you’re here,” she says. “Today has been a complete disaster. I think there’s a full moon. The people have been so much today.”

“Which people? Fans or teammates?”

“All of the people.”

We walk toward the media desk, but she stops when we’re in the software section, grabs my arm, and looks at me with panic in her eyes. “I have some big news. Like, really big.”

“Okay.” I hope she’s being overdramatic.

“You didn’t hear this from me,” she whispers, “but Cesar got offered the media TC position at Riverview without an interview. They called him this morning. He’s telling Wil today.”

My stomach drops. I don’t think I can do this without Cesar’s charm and sense of humor, especially in stressful situations. “Good for him, even though it sucks for us.”

She nods gravely, then bites at her thumbnail. “There’s more. You can’t tell anyone.” She lets out a long breath. “I’m quitting. Like, today.”

My mouth falls open. “Wh-what?”

“We’re buying a house. In Houston. As in, Texas. We’re moving to Texas. So, I’m done. I’ve got an apartment to pack up and a wedding to plan. My last day is Tuesday.”

Tuesday. As in five days from now. “But—but—you can’t leave! Also, you told me two days ago that you weren’t leaving!”

“I totally lied. Amir’s uncle found us a house, and we need to jump on it. You know what the housing market’s like.”

“Uh, no, I actually don’t.”

She ignores me. “He’ll stay here to finish school while his mother and I get the house ready in Houston. His mother, Abbey.” She says this like it’s the worst part of this situation, not the fact that she and Cesar are abandoning me. “This wedding will be, like, impossible to plan from Texas.”

I take a deep breath. She can’t go, not with Cesar leaving, too. “Are you sure you can’t stay another month or two? I mean, with the holidays coming? Please?”

She reaches out and grips my wrist—hard. I know she’s not doing it intentionally, but it burns. “Abbey. What am I going to do? I can barely stand to have Sunday brunch with the woman.” It’s like she didn’t hear what I said. “How am I going to survive weeks and weeks with that woman, without Amir?”