AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Darla cocked her head. "No, I think I would remember that."
"Are you fucking serious?"
Darla's jaw dropped, and she nearly dropped the order.
"Olive!" Henry snapped. "Uh huh. No way."
I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but, Darla, I planned my schedule around this. If I don't leave by three, there will be no one to pick up Claire. So I really have to go."
Darla shook her head. "You know what, Olive, you've come in with the wrong attitude today."
I pressed my hands together. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to have an attitude."
Henry glared at me. "We don't curse in this establishment Olive. You know the rules. And you definitely don't talk to my wife like that."
Darla set down her plate and lifted a hand to Henry. "It's okay, honey. Listen, Olive, we hired you out of good faith. And for whatever reason, the customers love you. So we've kept you here even when I've questioned if you're the right fit. We are a family business."
"And I have a family," I smiled. "I'm just trying to do right by my daughter."
Something she would never understand because she didn't have kids.
"And I love little Chloe."
"Claire."
Darla blinked. "Why don't you take the day off, Olive?"
My heart skipped. "Darla, please don't fire me."
"I'm not firing you, Olive. I'm taking a pause. Why don't you come back next week?"
My stomach nearly dropped. "Next week?"
Darla licked her lips. "This will give me enough time to reevaluate the schedule, and I'll see if I can make that shift you want work. And in the meantime, you can work on finding a back up babysitter for your daughter, just in case."
I clenched my jaw. "Can I at least come get my paycheck this weekend?"
"You can pick it up next Monday. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Henry shook his head. "If it was up to me, you'd be gone. But my wife makes the rules."
Yeah, fuck you too, Henry.
Without another word, I spun around, grabbed my purse, and stormed toward the back alley door, my phone vibrating in my hand. Three missed calls from Gerald, my landlord. As a string of texts from him popped up, I quickly opened them.
Olive, I gave you two weeks on last month's rent. If you don't have the money by Friday, you're out.
I stumbled into the back alley, my head spinning. As the door slammed, I clenched my fist around my phone.
"FUCK!"
My scream echoed loud enough that a handful of pedestrians glanced my way.
Somewhere between a panic attack and a heart attack, I forced myself to take a deep breath.
I needed to make moves—and quick.
Sliding down against the wall, I rested my forehead in my hands. I had no choice. I told myself I had left my past behind, but had I really? I'd never deleted Quinn's number...and I guess a part of me had kept it because I'd always feared being in this situation.
