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I sat down with aplop, folding my hands in my lap and sitting ramrod straight. “I’m sorry I was late—” I began.
“You’re fired.” She leaned back in her chair, a cruel smile playing on her lips. “You’ve been late, insubordinate, and sloppy. You collect a lot of overtime, and you’re a drain on the store’s resources. The COO has tasked me to get rid of one of the three sales associates because we simply cannot afford to keep all three of you, nor does it make sense. So as the weakest of the three, it had to be you.
“Empty out your locker. By the time you finish, I will have your last paycheck ready for you.”
She turned away from me, toward her computer, and that was that.
With a body that felt like lead, I stumbled out of the chair and shuffled out of the office. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I packed my meager belongings in a shopping bag I had stuffed at the bottom of my locker. When I made my way back to Daniella’s office, she simply held out the check, a satisfied smirk on her face as I took it.
I carefully placed it in my bag and made my way out of the store, unable to even meet Estelle’s eyes as I took my shameful walk. When I got to my car, I let the tears fall, feeling them hot and heavy as they made their path down my face. My chest tightened, and I couldn’t catch my breath as I thought about all the bills that were already overdue, the disappointment from my dad that I’d have to face, and my own sense of work ethic and ability to take care of things, which hadn’t made a difference in my job security.
But after a moment, a sense of calm stole over me.Everything happens for a reason,I told myself.Something better will come along. It must.
I nodded to myself, starting the car. There was no way I could allow me and my father to be destitute. Not after everything we’d been through after Mom’s death.
The drive home was quiet and torturous. I used the time to get my thoughts in order so I could tell my dad the bad news.
I dumped my stuff just inside the front door when I got home, dragging myself to my room. As I pulled out my phone to check my bank account again and reassure myself that not all was lost, an email notification popped up. It was an email from the dean of the college I was applying to. My heart stopped.Please let this be good news,I thought.
Dear Scholar,
It is with great sadness that I write this letter to you. Enrollment numbers in our animation and graphic design programs have gone down, so we will be phasing out the programs. Our fall class will be the last one, and then we will start our teach-out, which involves gradually closing out the programs.
You are on our list of scholars who have expressed interest in our animation program. If you would still like to apply, please act fast. No applications will be accepted after the deadline extension date of April 15th.
I thank you for your interest in George Washington College of New Jersey, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I hope to see you on campus in the fall.
Best Regards,
Jamie Westbrook
Dean/CAO
George Washington College of New Jersey
Iclosed my eyes, hearing my phone drop to the floor. Stomach acid bubbled within, causing me to run to the bathroom and empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I stood on shaky legs and shuffled toward my room, falling onto the bed when my legs gave out. When I had woken up late, all I thought I would have to worry about was a tongue-lashing from Daniella. Now, not only had I lost my job and didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills, but I had to apply—and get into—my dream animation program with little time to prepare my application…or else I wouldn’t get to go at all.
As I opened my computer and navigated to the web browser, the first window that popped up was the other dating site I had been considering before I met Nathan. I sighed; it looked like now, I had no choice. Any hesitation I had about getting married to him fled with each passing second.
I was going to get married to Nathan Hemingway. Hopefully, this didn’t blow up in both of our faces.
ChapterEight
NATHAN
Iwoke up the morning after the froyo date with a smile on my face. Though I wished I could take back my initial reaction to her—I was positive she saw me cringe at her outfit—from our first hug, I knew I wanted to protect her in some way. It infuriated me that she took such disrespect and lack of care from her boss as if she deserved it, somehow. I couldn’t stand it.
It was with this thought that I stopped by HC Bookstore at lunch. I just wanted to feed her, provide kindness where she had experienced so little. Not to mention, I was also curious to see if the spark I had felt the night before would hold up in the daylight.
But when I walked in and asked for her, Estelle told me she wasn’t there.
Estelle looked around furtively as if she didn’t want to get caught talking to me. “She was fired this morning,” she whispered.
I raised my eyebrows, stepping back with the force of my shock. “Fired? For what?”
“Well, she came in late this morning.” Estelle eyed me as if I had something to do with this. “I don’t know much else other than that. I tried texting Ciara, but she hasn’t responded.”
I felt my mouth tighten as I turned away from Estelle. Anger burned white-hot in my chest. I may not have known much about Ciara, but I could see that she took her job seriously. As she outlined all she did at the bookstore, and all she was expected to do this week, I sensed pride under the grim resignation and exhaustion. From that, I guessed that she did whatever was asked of her, probably with a helpful spirit. After all, she had exhibited those same qualities in our agreement to get married.
