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“Something came up? That’s bullshit. Just because I’m not in the office today doesn’t mean I don’t know what's going on. You think because I’m not there to watch you that you can just leave early and get away with it?”
“No, that’s not–”
“I knew I shouldn’t have hired a woman. Conniving whiners, the lot of you. Well, no more. I’m not going to be paying you to half ass your job. You’re fired, Miss Summers. I’ll have someone here send you your things.”
My stomach dropped. Even though I had a new job waiting for me, I’d never been fired before in my life. It wasn’t a good feeling, and I still tried to argue, despite having no intention of going back.
“Mr Sanders, I swear I didn’t intend to skip out on work. I–”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear your excuses. Goodbye, Miss Summers. And good luck to whatever poor sop that ends up hiring you next. You won’t be getting a referral from me.”
He hung up without giving me a chance to speak. Taking a step back, I leaned heavily against the wall. My heart was racing and my face burned. I doubted people could hear me over the noise of the office, but I was embarrassed all the same.
“Everything okay?”
Glancing over my shoulder at Luka and Bennett, I forced out a smile.
“Looks like we don’t have to worry about me taking two weeks. I just got fired.”
Bennett frowned. “What for?”
Luka elbowed him. “Why does that matter? She gets to start right away. That’s great news. I’ll go grab the paperwork from HR.”
He strode past me, whistling to himself. I wished I could be as upbeat at him, but my hands were trembling and sweaty and the shame was overwhelming.
“I’m sorry.”
Looking up, I locked eyes with Bennett. He somehow moved in front of me without me hearing a thing. He looked concerned, his eyes searching mine, and a little guilty.
“What for?”
He lifted a shoulder. “You got fired because you were here with us, right?”
I didn't want to lie to him. It didn’t matter anyway. What was done was done. I nodded slowly, and his frown deepened.
“That’s our fault. I’m sorry. Interviews normally don’t last that long. I wasn’t thinking about it. Did you want me to call him? I can smooth things over.”
I shook my head. “No. It won’t do any good. Mr Sanders is not a forgiving man. I appreciate it though. I’m just… I’ve never been fired in my life and even though I’ve got a job lined up and everything, it still feels awful.”
“I get that. Come on, you skipped lunch to come here. I’ll show you the cafeteria, and Luka can meet us there with the paperwork.”
I pursed my lips as I followed him. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you shouldn’t eat and work?”
The small grin came back and my heartbeat stumbled a bit. “Don’t tell Grayson that. I don’t think he’s ever stopped working long enough for a meal.”
I made a face. “That’s just wrong. I’ll check the schedule and see if I can do something about that. He’ll burn himself out if he doesn’t learn to take breaks.”
Bennett’s smile took over his face, and he looked relieved. “I’m glad you’re here. He needs someone like you in his corner.”
“You really care about him, don’t you?”
He nodded, his expression falling a little. “Grayson’s done a lot for me. We’ve been friends since we were kids.” His face darkened and I could see the discomfort coming back like when we were in the parking lot. There was something he was leaving out, but I wasn’t going to pry. I enjoyed talking to him, though, so I kept the conversation on what I figured would make him the most comfortable.
“Since you were kids? Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had a friendship that long.”
While riding the elevator to the ground floor and leading me into the cafeteria, Bennett told me about how he moved to Grayson’s neighborhood when he was in elementary school. He was a military kid and moved too much to have lasting relationships, so he didn’t bother trying too hard to make friends. Grayson marched up to him one day and asked him to play, and they’d been inseparable ever since.
“That’s so cute. I’m jealous. I met most of my friends in college. I don’t know what happened to any of my friends from my childhood.”
