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She went behind the counter and reached for a pot.
“Is that fresh?” he asked.
“Yes, just brewed.”
“I like my coffee hot and wet, like my women,” he leered at her.
Cara stepped back and glared at the man with alarm. He looked like a total creep. She glanced at his phone and saw her face on the screen. It was more dirty pictures of her face on someone else’s body. Gary had been very busy. She set the pot back where it belonged and rushed to her manager.
“This guy is being inappropriate,” she said in a panic.
“What did he do?”
“Just make him leave, please,” she begged.
“I have to know what he did before I can talk to him about it.” He moved in the man’s direction.
Cara thought better of it and grabbed his arm to stop him. She was afraid the guy would show him the fake pictures. Even though they weren’t real, she didn’t want anyone to see them.
“Never mind.”
Seeing the sheer panic on her face, he said, “Now, I have to go talk to him.”
He approached the man and Cara watched as he showed her manager his phone. Instead of standing up for her, he smiled, and they shared a laugh. She had no choice but to leave.
She didn’t want to text David. They’d just spent a bunch of time together, and he shelled out a lot of money for the hotel. Instead, she called Marissa.
“I need to quit my job.” The lump lodged in her throat made her voice warble.
“Quit? Why? You’re not drinking are you?” she asked.
&n
bsp; “No. People here are looking at those pictures of me. The manager is too. They're pointing and snickering. I can’t stand it. I have to get a new job.”
“Don’t act rash. Just ask the guy to let you go and then complain about him to the company. I’ll meet you. We can hit a meeting. There’s a new one called Just Before Midnight.”
“Okay,” she said. “You’re the best.”
Cara had just enough time to go home and change before the meeting. She was early and waited in the parking lot for Marissa to show. She did a dumb thing and searched herself on the internet. Her face showed up with an image search engine. However, her ex had managed it, she was now featured on pornographic sites. He must have had some kind of app that allowed him to fix up what seemed like hundreds of pictures.
There in the parking lot, she broke down and cried. It was really hard to be sober—to face the fact that she had to work harder to get to a place she should have been ten years prior only to have her life feel like it was ruined all over again. This wasn’t going to be a thing she could fix by making a change. It happened and there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes and recited the serenity prayer.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.
This was something she’d couldn’t change. It was out of her hands.
Marissa tapped on her window. Cara let her in. She sat on the passenger side.
“Oh, baby,” Marissa leaned in for a hug.
“Ruined,” Cara replied. “I’m so dumb. What the hell was I thinking? First, I won’t let go of a guy who’s bad for me, and then I slept with a famous person on the first date. No wonder the word whore is now synonymous with my name.”
“You’re not a whore. As for sleeping with David, it was more than a few nights stand. He really likes you.”
“He told you that?” She drew in an unsteady breath.
“About a million times.” She pulled gum from her bag. It was Marissa’s go-to when she was nervous. Better than a gin and tonic.
