Chapter 1 #2
But as the limo disappeared around the corner, I couldn’t stop thinking one very irritating thing: Heaven help me… he was hot.
With a quick shake of my head, I turned away from where the limo had disappeared and headed back to the scene of the accident. The limo and shuttle had both been pulled over to the side of the airport-access road, out of traffic.
The limo driver, who moments ago was barely moving with his walker, was now gesturing wildly at a cop, who was scribbling notes on his pad. The driver’s frail act was gone—he looked like he’d just stepped out of a courtroom drama, pointing accusingly at my shuttle.
I barely had time to process that before I saw my boss, Jerry, standing next to them.
Jerry was a short, stocky man with a permanent scowl etched on his face.
His thinning hair was combed back in a way that made it look like he was trying to cover as much of his scalp as possible, and his eyes were narrowed, suggesting I was about to get the verbal equivalent of a slap upside the head.
“Kathleen!” he barked, his voice as gruff as sandpaper. “What the heck happened here? The limo driver says you plowed into him and then took off! Are you trying to get us sued?”
“What? No!” I protested, wide-eyed. “That’s not what happened at all! The limo backed into me!”
The cop, a no-nonsense type with a stern expression, looked up from his notepad. “Miss, you left the scene of the accident. That’s a serious offense. We’re going with the limo driver’s version.”
I felt my stomach drop. “But it wasn’t my fault! He backed into me. And I didn’t leave; I was helping his passenger get to another limo.”
Jerry threw his hands in the air, clearly not interested in excuses. “Helping his passenger? You should’ve stayed put! Now we’re in deep trouble, thanks to you.”
“Wait,” I practically shouted. “The passenger can prove it!”
The cop raised an eyebrow. “And where’s this passenger now?”
I looked around, my heart sinking. The limo driver, seeing my panic, smirked and jumped in. “Busy man, can’t be reached. Looks like it’s just your word against mine.”
“But—”
The cop shook his head. “Sorry, miss, but that’s how it’s going to be. You shouldn’t have left the scene, no matter the reason.”
I felt my face flush with frustration. The limo driver looked smug, and I had to resist the urge to say something I’d regret.
Jerry shook his head, his scowl deepening. “You’d better hope this doesn’t cost us, Kathleen, or you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
I nodded, trying to keep my cool, but inside, I was fuming.
As soon as the cop and limo driver were out of earshot, Jerry turned to me, his grimace set in stone. “Kathleen, you’re fired.”
The words hit me like a ton of bricks. “What? You’re going to fire me just for this? It’s just a little fender bender!”
Jerry crossed his arms, his expression as unyielding as ever. “You abandoned the shuttle. That’s negligence. And let’s be honest, you talk too much. People don’t need therapy when they’re heading to the airport.”
My rising frustration made it hard to keep my voice steady. “I just try to help people relax before their flights! Isn’t that a good thing?”
Jerry wasn’t having any of it. “That’s not your job. Your job is to operate the shuttle and ensure everything runs smoothly. You failed at that.”
My stomach flipped over, and the world tilted just a bit.
You failed. The chorus of my life. But I didn’t have room for failure at the moment.
My debts, my future—it all depended on keeping a job.
And this one paid well. I would not cry.
But I could curse Mr. Workaholic. I hope whatever meeting he was racing to was worth it.
May his PowerPoint crash and his latte be lukewarm.
“Kathleen! Kathleen!”
I looked up to see Mr. Five Hours Early jogging across the road, waving at me. He looked more jittery than ever. “Excuse me,” he stammered, wringing his hands. “Could you… um… help me calm down? I, uh, get really anxious before flights, and you were so helpful earlier…”
I opened my mouth to respond with reassurances, but Jerry cut in with a dismissive wave. “We don’t have time for this. You’re on your own, pal.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could he be so heartless?
I turned to Jerry, my frustration boiling over into something much stronger.
“You know what? No. I’m not going to let you treat people like this.
Maybe people do need someone to talk to before they fly. That’s what made this job worth doing!”
The nervous flyer’s eyes darted between me and the terminal like he was trying to calculate the odds of survival. I stepped closer and gave him my calmest smile.
“Hey,” I said. “You’re okay. Your plane will be piloted by professionals who do this every day. Look, nearly three million people fly in and out of U.S. airports every single day. And around the world? We’re talking almost 100,000 flights a day. And you know what happens on most of them?”
I gestured towards the sky. “Absolutely nothing. Flying is actually the safest form of transportation. Statistically safer than driving.”
I pointed behind me, where anyone could see the shuttle’s dented bumper. “Much safer than driving.”
He laughed—just a little.
I put my hand on his arm. “Take a deep breath, walk back in there, and think of it as your next big adventure. You’ve got my cell phone number. Call me if you need anything.”
He hesitated for a second, then straightened up a little, a spark of determination flickering in his eyes. With a nod, he turned around and marched back into the airport, his carry-on wobbling behind him, but his steps a little more confident than before.
I glanced over at Jerry, who was staring at me like I’d just sprouted wings and started flapping around the airport.
He didn’t get it, but that was fine. What I’d done mattered, even if Jerry never realized that.
His expression hardened into his familiar scowl.
“Well, congratulations, Kathleen,” he spat.
“Now, not only are you fired, but you lose the apartment too. I was going to let you stay another month, but not anymore.”
The world seemed to tilt. The apartment too?
My heart pounded as the reality of my situation crashed over me like a tidal wave.
This wasn’t just a setback—this was my life unraveling.
I didn’t have a family I could fall back on, nor was there a cushy inheritance waiting to bail me out.
Losing my job was bad enough, but losing my apartment was even worse.
That was everything. Where was I supposed to go?
The walls seemed to close in around me, suffocating in their finality.
I had nowhere to turn, no safety net to catch me as I fell.
This wasn’t just a bad day; this was the kind of disaster that could screw up my entire life.
As if to add insult to injury, my phone buzzed. I glanced down to see a text from Ms. Last-Minute: “Thank you so much. I made my flight!” Along with it, a selfie of her grinning on the plane like she’d just won the lottery. I held up my phone. “My passenger made her flight.”
Jerry looked at me like I’d given away the nuclear codes. “You gave her your number?”
I shrugged. “What, you don’t exchange numbers with your airport shuttle driver?”
I stared at the screen. At least someone’s day turned out okay. But Ms. Last Minute’s relief only amplified my own sense of defeat. Everything I’d worked so hard to maintain was slipping away.
Jerry’s voice cut through my thoughts like a knife. “You’ve got until the end of the week to get your stuff out of the apartment.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. Don’t let him see you cry, Kathleen. You’re stronger than this. But deep down, I wasn’t so sure. Losing the job was one thing, but losing the roof over my head? That was a new kind of desperation.
I took a shaky breath and nodded. “Fine.” I hoped my voice didn’t betray the chaos inside. “I’ll be out by Friday.”
As I walked to the bus stop, I tried to focus on the silver lining. Sure, I’d just lost my job and my apartment in the span of ten minutes, but it wasn’t all bad.
I still had Alex. A superhero in scrubs. A handsome doctor boyfriend—every woman’s dream. Right then, all I wanted was to wrap myself in his arms and let him remind me that things would get better.