Chapter 4
”Hannah!” I heard the call from across the restaurant. ”Hannah!”
I was supposed to wave and look excited; however, I just couldn’t muster up the energy. I could see the girls in a corner already having fun, laughing, tipsy, and I just felt exhausted. I wanted to go home, but it was the first time honoring this kind of gathering in months, so I had to go through with it. Plus, I”d just be sad if I went home and sulked all by myself, so maybe this was just what I needed.
As I neared them, I worked up a smile and eventually even managed to wave, and they received me warmly, scooting over in the booth to make space for me at the edge.
There were five girls, counting me, Rosalie, Madison, Sarah and Faye. All gorgeous, all working their asses off as secretaries and personal assistants all around the city. And they all apparently needed as much of a break as I did.
“The one who never quits,” I was hailed at my arrival, and I didn’t know how to feel about it. It had become something of a badge of honor I didn”t mind wearing, that I could put up with any boss and more or less coax him into a passable form of warm camaraderie with me, no matter how much of a tool they originally were. But given the light of my current work situation and how I couldn’t stop thinking of how to bash my boss’s head in on my way here, I didn’t quite know how to receive the praise. Or maybe it was a mockery after all, that I was simply known for putting up with bullshit.
Being able to survive and take care of my mom as well back in Connecticut always felt like a deserving trade-off, plus there was the dream of moving to a new place.
“It”s all worth it,”I nodded to myself. “It”s all worth it.”
I reached for the nearest glass I could find and poured myself a huge, long drink of whatever wine this was. It was a bit too dry for my taste, but I chugged it down in no time, much to the shock and increased amusement of the girls around.
“Holy shit, no wonder you came. You really need a break.”
You have no freaking clue,the words echoed in my head but I didn”t say them out loud. “Yeah,” I smiled. “Long day. Too long.”
“I understand completely,” Sarah said. “I got fired today from the same boss that fired Faye a few weeks ago. At this point, it should be a group challenge to see which among us here or even any of the other secretaries from the agency he is able to keep. It almost seems personal, like he has a beef with the agency or something, because this absolutely makes no freaking sense. It seems illegal, but you can’t even sue him because good luck fighting the top lawyer in the city.”
All we could do was laugh at her and order even more cocktails to drown our sorrow.
“Anyway, Hannah,” Madison called. “You look good, and you seem to have been blessed with a good boss as usual. What’s working with a marketing agency like? I haven’t taken up a new position and I’m considering heading into that field?”
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about work, but I understood that these kinds of meetings were just as much for encouragement as they were for sharing gossip and establishing connections, so I replied, “It”s good so far. He’s fair and we get a lot of clients, so I get to meet a lot of people. We just wrapped up a project now at Quiver.”
“Oh my God, that”s such a high-end restaurant. He must be a big client.”
“Not really,” I replied as I filled up my glass once again. “My boss just wants to show off because he wants him retained and wants a referral to his contacts. Marketing details a lot of buttering up across the board.”
“Right,” she replied and nodded. “Maybe I should join that field,” she said. “I’ll consider it when going through open positions at the agency tomorrow.”
“So, all in all, everything”s good?” Rosalie asked. “You have no issues whatsoever with your boss? He’s decent?”
I thought of this question and how to respond. If I was with Mandy, I would never have held back. I would have complained till the sun set and rose, but these were colleagues and, in a sense, competitors as well. Plus, I was extremely private and didn’t always need the details of my business shared to be the topic of conversation anywhere, so I simply nodded and smiled.
“He’s okay, I’m just overworked.”
“You fucking need to teach us your ways,” Sarah slurred, now quite tipsy. “I can’t believe I was fired today. I swear I was so careful and learned from the other two not to make any mistakes, but somehow one was made. And I am still furious because I don’t even understand how it happened. I know I couldn’t have been so careless, yet the evidence all points to the fact that I had been. It almost makes me feel as though someone is behind all this because the mistakes so far have been rookie mistakes. So basic that we didn’t even think we could make them, and yet we did, and all lost our jobs with that…”
She couldn’t find a suitable insult for him.
“Monster?” Faye supplied. “Cretin?”
I laughed louder than was needed, but it was genuine. The wine was starting to get to me and loosening me up just in the way that I needed.
“Wow,” Rosalie said. “I can”t tell if that is happiness or pain,” Rosalie said, and I smiled.
“Both.”
Her eyes narrowed then, and I wondered why as I grabbed onto the menu and decided that I needed something even stronger but sweet as well.
“Let”s make a wager,” Rosalie said, leaning forward in excitement. “Sarah, Faye, and Madison were all fired from the same boss. Why don’t you go to work with him as well and see if it will be the case? You’ve never been fired by a boss, right? So, this way, we could find out if whatever happened was actually their fault or if he’s the one being a tool. And if that’s the case, then maybe we can even file some unlawful termination lawsuit against them. It’s a law firm, right? So that’s even more wonderful. The four of you combined might even make a class-action lawsuit. He can’t escape then. What do you say?”
The other girls looked at her in shock as they tried to process all that she had just said, and then it was as though a light bulb went off in their heads.
“Holy shit, that’s a great idea,” they slurred. I gave them a look and then turned to the waiter who had come over. “Cosmopolitan,” I told him. “But a little less on the cranberry and orange and double the shots of the schnapps and vodka.”
“Got it,” he replied and went on his way, while I, on the other hand, was met with curious and expectant looks from the other girls. I looked between all of them and only had one answer in response.
“No,” I said, holding my arm. “Maybe you all have savings or are extremely wealthy, but I have a mom to take care of and a rusty apartment to move out of, so no. I need stability right now, not a class-action lawsuit or a prank.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not a prank,” Sarah said. “This is actually serious. I mean, why the hell would he fire all three of us in under three months? It makes no sense. We’re not newbie secretaries, and we’re all saying the same thing here, that we didn’t make the mistakes that caused us to get fired, or at least we were sure we didn’t make the mistakes and couldn’t understand how it happened. There’s obviously something going on here. And if we find out, it could help. Plus, his salary for secretaries is the highest in the city, you know. If you succeed, you’ll be earning, I’m sure, almost double whatever you’re earning now, and if you don’t, we have a class-action lawsuit to file for wrongful termination, which will be very difficult for him to beat. And even if we don’t file the lawsuit, you can always get another secretary job from the agency. I mean, there is no shortage of opportunities for us. Madison, how long did it take you to get a new job?”
“Six days.”
“Exactly,” Sarah said. “Six days. No matter what, I don”t see how you could lose. Plus, you’ll be getting an additional thousand bucks if you find out that we were all the ones at fault, and you, on the other hand, are just better at your job and can keep that monster happy better than all of us could. I’m really struggling here to see the con in all of this.”
I listened to all that they were saying and had to admit to myself, with what was still sober of my mind, that I agreed with them, however, I didn”t reply. Not until my drink came over.
I took a long sip of the enhanced cocktail and couldn’t help the smile that came to my face.
“So what do you say, Hannah?” Faye held my arm. “Deal?”
“Don’t say yes yet,” Rosalie said as she turned to retrieve her wallet from her purse. “Don’t agree until the money is on the table and you can see it. You know how these other girls can be.”
Actually, I had no clue how these other girls could be, since I wasn’t too close to any of them, but seeing the money piled up on the table was inspiring, to say the least. After it all, everyone turned to Faye, and she held out her hand.
“I only have twenty dollars on me. Why are we using cash, and why do you all have cash? Let’s pool it somewhere digitally to be sent over to Hannah if she wins?”
“I have no idea how to do this,” Rosalie said.
“Neither do I,” I said, and all the girls stopped in shock and excitement since up to then I hadn’t actually given my approval or rejection.
“Oh my God!” Faye”s eyes glistened with excitement. “Does this mean that you”re at least considering it?”
“I”m sure everyone would consider something for a thousand dollars,” I said, and they nodded in agreement.
“Well, employees like us,” Madison said. “The bosses probably don”t care.”
“They always care,” Sarah replied as she took a sip of her drink. “No matter how wealthy they are, they always care, and I’m even sure their friendly bets cost a lot less than a thousand dollars. So, you can say we’re being quite generous, don’t you agree, Hannah?” she asked.
I listened to her words, gave it a bit more of a consideration, and nodded in response.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, you need to call the agency right now and tell them to slot you into the position for some considerations. You need to do it now before it’s too late.”
It was already past five, making me understand that it was definitely too late, but I guess it wasn’t too difficult to try. I reached into my purse, pulled out my phone, and began to call the temporary agency. But before I finished dialing the number, something occurred to me right then, and before completing the call, I leaned forward to Sarah and stared into her eyes.
“What is the pay for the firm? Let me know what I’m jumping off this cliff for, and if it is worth it.”
She smiled, and then she leaned forward to whisper the amount into my ear.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, we all already know,” Madison complained, but Sarah continued on excitedly.
After she was done, it felt like my heart skipped several beats. They truly hadn’t been kidding when they made the claim that it was nearly double what I was selling my soul for currently, piece by piece.
I gave it all one last thought, and with the encouragement of the other girls, I picked up my phone once again and made the call.