Chapter 2
Kaden
It’s barely been two weeks since I returned to work, and I’m already being summoned to the HR office. The moment Martha’s email landed in my inbox this morning, I didn’t have to open it to know what it was about.
My performance lately has been downright sloppy.
I’ve shown up late nearly every day, sometimes by an hour, and I managed to screw up the most recent vehicle allocations across several of our Sydney locations, leaving customers waiting for car rentals that either never arrived on time or never showed up at all.
I can’t even offer a valid excuse because the truth is, my mind has simply been elsewhere. And now, as I walk down the long corridor towards Martha’s office, the knots in my stomach tighten with each step, dreading for what’s to come.
I’ve worked for Nova Car Rentals for more than eleven years, climbing the ladder faster than anyone in the company to finally earn the role of Operations Manager.
Not once in all that time have I ever messed up this badly.
Even right after my ex-wife left me, I still managed to do a fairly decent job.
But with everything that’s happened since, I keep making mistake after mistake, and I can feel everyone’s patience wearing thin, especially Rick, our CEO, who warned me to get my act together or risk my future with the company.
Today, I have this awful sinking feeling that my time has finally run out.
I knock on Martha’s door and anxiously wait. Not even a minute later, it swings open.
She stands there with the same stern expression that has reduced more than a few employees to tears on their last day.
She gestures for me to step inside, and the moment I do, I see Rick seated behind her desk, leaning back in the chair with his arms crossed like some medieval king who’s about to deliver my sentence.
Taking the seat across from him, I hear the door click shut, followed by the sharp tapping of Martha’s heels as she approaches Rick’s side, looking every bit like a united front.
“We’re going to get straight to the point, Kaden. You’ve been called in because your performance lately has fallen way below our expectations and now requires immediate action,” Rick says with authority, folding his hands on the table.
“Your punctuality and professionalism have slipped significantly, and the recent car allocation error has cost the company thousands. We’ve received numerous complaints, and some of our most loyal customers have now stopped using our services,” Martha adds, her arms now crossed over her chest.
I lower my gaze to my hands resting in my lap, my fingers twisting and fidgeting nervously. “I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for my poor performance, other than that I’ve been incredibly distracted lately.”
“We understand that you’ve been dealing with some personal issues, but when you returned after six weeks of leave, we expected you to come back ready to perform,” Martha says with a clipped tone.
Rick clicks his tongue and shakes his head, making no attempt to conceal his frustration and disappointment.
“I was willing to overlook the first mistake you made after your return, but now it’s clear they’re becoming a recurring issue.
And now, it’s cost me money and customers.
I can’t ignore it anymore, Kaden. I’m giving you your official final warning—your one last chance.
If you screw this up again, you’ll find yourself out of a job, effective immediately. ”
I nod slowly, my stomach churning at the thought of losing the job I’ve worked so hard for over the years. “I understand completely,” is all I manage to say. What else can I say to them? I’ve screwed up tremendously, and I have no one to blame but myself.
Martha suggests I see one of our onsite counsellors, handing me a business card and a pamphlet. I take them without looking, then shake Rick’s hand, apologising once more and promising to do better before walking out of the office with my head hung low.
When I get back to my desk, the first thing I do isn’t reach for the flask of whisky stashed in my top drawer, like I usually would do. Instead, I grab my office phone and dial the number I’ve been avoiding for the past two weeks, the number of a therapist.
No more excuses. No more delaying. It’s time I finally get my shit together.
I make it back to Jason’s just after seven, having stayed late at the office to catch up on the work I’ve been falling behind on, and to prove to Rick and Martha that I’m still committed to my job.
After our meeting earlier today, I can’t afford another slip-up. The last thing I need added to my growing list of losses is my job. Perhaps, though, this is the wake-up call I need to start making some real changes in my life.
As soon as I ended the call with my therapist, I scheduled my first session for the following week and added it to my calendar. Then I started making a list of everything I needed to sort out over the next few weeks, including finding a place of my own.
I emailed the same real estate agent who helped sell the house I shared with Skylar, and booked an appointment to view some properties. I’m extremely grateful to Jason for letting me stay with him, but if I was going to work on myself, I need my own space.
I’m thirty-five, and it’s about time I stop acting like an out-of-control juvenile.
I find Jase out the back, firing up the grill with a plate of seasoned steaks in hand. His head snaps towards me as I slide open the glass door, his eyes instantly locking onto mine.
I give him a brief nod in greeting, which he returns with one of his own.
“What’s for dinner, honey?” I joke, gesturing to the plate in his hand.
He chuckles and shakes his head at me. “Steak and mash,” he says as he lays the steaks on the grill, one piece at a time.
“Are we eating out here or inside?”
“We’ll eat inside. The Panthers and Cowboys are playing tonight, so we can eat in front of the TV.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We make small talk while the meat cooks, chatting mostly about our work week and Jake staying with his other grandparents for the next two days. I leave out the part about my meeting with HR because I really don’t need another reason for my best friend to be disappointed or ashamed of me.
Once the steaks are cooked to a perfect medium rare, Jason transfers them onto our plates, each already piled with mash, and we head back inside.
On the way to the living room, I stop by the fridge to fetch two beers, then pause, thinking better of it. Instead, I pick up a can of cola for myself and a beer for Jason. If I’m going to start getting better, I might as well begin with small changes like this.
I set our drinks on the coffee table as we both settle onto the couch, plates of food on our laps. For the duration of the game, we sit and watch, scoffing down our meals like wild boars and yelling at the TV whenever the Panthers score another goal.
The mood is pleasantly light and easy, and there are even moments when it feels like the good old days, right before everything fell apart, when Jase and I would just laze on his couch with a beer, watching footy.
I miss those days, and sometimes I catch myself wishing this were all just one long, terrible nightmare, one I could wake up from and find everything exactly the way it used to be. Before I cheated on my wife.
“What’s up?” Jason asks, his deep voice breaking through my thoughts.
“Nothing. Why?”
“You looked like you were thinking really hard about something just then.”
I shrug casually. “I was just thinking it’s been so long since we did something like this.
It almost feels like the old days.” I reach for my cola and take a long, deliberate sip before setting it back on the table.
“It also makes me realise how shitty of a friend I’ve been not spending more time with you and Jake. ”
“No use dwelling on the past, mate. What’s done is done. You can’t change what’s happened. What matters is how you’re going to spend your time from here on out,” Jason says, giving me the truth I need to hear.
I nod in agreement. “Yeah, you’re one hundred percent right. In fact, I finally called a therapist today while I was at work and booked my first session for a week from now. It’s been long overdue.”
Jason smiles widely, the first I’ve seen in a long time. “I’m proud of you, Kaden. And if there’s anything you need, just say the word.”
“Thanks. Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What is it?”
“I’m thinking it’s time for me to find my own place.”
Jason’s brows shoot up, clearly taken aback. “Are you sure you’re ready for that? I’d hate to think you’re only leaving because you’re uncomfortable living here.”
“No, not at all. I’ve loved staying with you and Jake, and I really appreciate you taking me in when I had nowhere else to go.
But if I’m going to be serious about moving forward, I need my own space to work on myself.
Of course, I can’t do this completely on my own and will still need your support, but I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet again. ”
He lets out a long exhale, then, slowly nods. “Wow. This is a surprise—a good one, nonetheless. And I’ll admit, I’m going to miss your lazy stinking arse wandering around my house, but I trust you know what you’re doing.”
“I do. And this time, I’m serious about seeing it through,” I say honestly. “Besides, you’ll finally be able to have your girlfriend over whenever you want, without me making things awkward or uncomfortable for her.”
It’s still pains me to know that Mila and I will never be close again after I betrayed her sister, Skylar.
That only makes things harder for Jason, who’s caught in the middle, with me being the reason Mila hasn’t been around the house as much as he’d like.
She’s been doing everything she can to avoid running into me, and, in a way, I’m almost grateful.
The last thing I want is for her to see just how far off the rails I’ve fallen.