Chapter Seven
CHAPTER SEVEN
At a wobbly pavement table, over bubble tea, Quinn confronted Kya. ‘Tell me everything.’
Kya went very still. ‘Regarding?’
‘Please,’ Quinn said. ‘I wanted to spare your dignity earlier, but there’s no point in that. Tell me the whole story.’
‘What story?’
‘You got sacked. Tell me about it.’
Kya looked around to make sure no one had overheard. ‘How do you know that?’
‘How do you think?’
‘He told you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is he telling everyone at the gym?’
‘I promise you he’s not,’ Quinn said. ‘Even if he were, what would it matter? Who cares what people think?’
‘ I care! I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You live in a glitter-filled snow globe.’
‘Do I?’
‘No offence, but you kind of do. Parties at night, jam sessions all day, no normal person lives that way. No normal person looks like you.’
‘What do I look like?’
‘A goddess.’
It was hard to be cross when Kya was so earnest. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened or what?’
‘You want to hear about the job I lost?’
‘Yes.’
‘The job I spent years bragging about and built an online community around, only to get fired without notice then ghosted by all my work friends?’
‘Is there another one?’
‘Nope.’
‘Then yes, tell me what happened.’
‘That’s it. That’s what happened. I devoted myself to a job and the minute I stepped away from my desk they fired me in an email.’
Quinn tried to unpack her statements, one by one. ‘First, it’s okay to be proud of your work. It’s not bragging.’
‘Hugo says I couldn’t shut up about it. He says I was obsessed.’
‘Not obsessed. Passionate. But I’m not gonna lie, checking email while on holiday is rather obsessive.’
‘I did it for content!’
‘I can respect that.’
‘I planned a series about staying connected while away. It was all mapped out.’
‘That might’ve been your first mistake,’ Quinn said. ‘Why not a series about unplugging while away? Setting boundaries with your boss? Living life?’
Social media was integral to building Quinn’s platform, but there were ways to go about it.
‘That’s my story. Could we drop this now?’
‘It might help to vent.’
‘Will it help me get my job back?’
The question shocked Quinn. ‘You’d go back?’
Kya seemed equally shocked by her response. ‘In a heartbeat!’
‘Why?’
‘It was my dream job.’
What dream chewed you up and spit you out? That sounded like a nightmare. ‘What do they even do at this magical place that you don’t want to leave?’
‘E-commerce software. If you’ve bought or sold anything online, chances are you’ve used one of our platforms.’
Quinn shrugged. ‘Chances are I don’t care.’
‘That’s the point,’ Kya said. ‘You shouldn’t have to care. It should be a seamless experience on the user end.’
‘Fine,’ Quinn conceded. ‘I do shop online quite a lot.’
‘Look us up. Ex-Cell is one of the top three tech companies to work for.’
‘Not if they don’t want you.’ Who would tell her there was no more ‘ us ’? Ex-Cell had severed ties. Like after any brutal break-up, it was time for her to move on. ‘Kya, it’s over. There must be a small part of you that’s happy to be free. Admit it.’
‘No part of me wanted to be free,’ Kya said, stubbornly.
‘That’s sad.’
Quinn watched her expression darken. She hadn’t meant to make Kya even more miserable than she already was. Still, Quinn had one last question for her. ‘Who called earlier? Why were you so upset?’
‘It was one of the guys from work,’ Kya replied. ‘Turns out, they knew for some time I was about to get axed. They might’ve even offered me up as a sacrificial lamb to save their own sorry asses.’
‘Repeat after me,’ Quinn said, holding Kya’s gaze. ‘Those boys are trash, and I deserve better.’
‘Those boys are trash,’ Kya repeated, but stopped there.
Quinn had lost her. ‘I want to hear you say it,’ she said, wanting desperately to refuel Kya’s rage with her own.
‘I might have deserved it.’
‘How?’ Quinn cried, outraged. How could she possibly have deserved to be betrayed?
‘Adrian says I chose a cut-throat industry,’ she said. ‘You’d think I could smell blood in the water, right?’
This was something Quinn could relate to. ‘My industry is no better. You think it’s a party, but you’ve met the people I work with. There are no darlings there. Say nothing of the trolls.’
Kya gave her cup a shake, rattling ice cubes and tapioca balls. ‘You’ve got trolls?’
‘Just one very active one at the moment. That’s a record low for me.’
Already, Kya was reaching for her phone. ‘Let’s have a look.’
Quinn was quicker, snatching the phone before she got to it. ‘Never mind that! Let’s head back. You’ve done enough wallowing for today.’
‘Don’t fool yourself. I can wallow all day.’
‘Consider wallowing in my recording studio, then. It’s more comfortable.’
Back at her studio, Quinn eased Kya into her favourite chair, brushed her braids back, and slipped headphones over her ears.
‘Play your Solstice set for me,’ Kya said.
‘You and your requests!’ Quinn said. ‘Could you just relax?’
‘Play it!’ she said. ‘I won’t be here for the concert.’
‘It’s new, and needs time to breathe,’ Quinn explained. ‘I shouldn’t even have recruited Ivy. It’s my sound. I’ll know when it’s ready.’
‘Aw!!’ Kya cried. ‘I’m so proud of you. That’s growth!’
‘Shut up!’ Quinn said. ‘Now close your eyes. You don’t have to listen to noise to relax. That’s what music is for. Let me show you.’