Chapter 2
Paige spent most of Friday afternoon at work scrolling through old photos of her and Nadia on her phone and Facebook account.
She wanted to find the perfect pictures to use in her congrats gift for the big move.
Paige had the idea of creating a custom label she could wrap around a bottle of wine.
She was putting together a collage of their best roommate moments to print out at work and tape on the bottle she had gone out to grab at lunch.
The girls were meeting for happy hour after work to have one last roommate hurrah before Nadia started packing up.
Earlier in the day, she had taken more time to revisit her budget and evaluate her bank account to see just how much impact Nadia’s departure would have on her goals.
She had to replace her washer and dryer in August, which did a number on her savings.
Right now, she had enough to make it three months without an income while she started seeking clients.
But when she factored in the cost to buy a new laptop, it teetered closer to two months.
The bonus check from her company would hopefully buy her extra time to get her business more established. She wasn’t sure she was willing to take the risk without this extra cushion.
Paige glanced at the time on her computer. It was just past four now, and she figured she should probably wrap up her wine label project and attend to actual work before the end of the day.
She clicked over to her email tab and saw a company-wide message from the CEO, sent just two minutes before, with the subject line: Update on Holiday Bonuses.
This was the email Paige had been waiting for, and she opened it immediately.
Her excitement was short-lived, and her stomach sank as soon as she started reading the first line.
Due to unexpected financial challenges, we will be unable to give out bonuses this year.
“This can’t be happening,” Paige grumbled to her computer screen while rereading the message again to make sure she hadn’t imagined it. But after her fourth time through, she realized that the floor had indeed fallen out from under her.
She could hear the whispers from colleagues around the office as everyone read the email. She definitely wasn’t the only one who was pissed.
How could this be? She thought. The company is getting a consistent stream of new clients.
Are they mishandling their finances that badly?
Sure, their Christmas parties are always over-the-top, and when A-list clients come in for meetings they splurge on catering, but surely they wouldn’t be doing those things if money was tight. Right?
No amount of speculation could change the fact that she wasn’t getting her bonus—the bonus that motivated her to stick it out at a shitty job where her ex and his new girlfriend worked for a year.
How could I have been so stupid to rely on this?
Her mind kept spinning and running the numbers from that morning again.
The lack of a bonus on its own was devastating, but on the heels of Nadia’s move-out notice it was downright catastrophic.
In addition to losing the daily routine she loved with her best friend, her financial situation just went to shit, and her plans for quitting and going freelance were now on an indefinite pause.
As much as she wanted to leave her job, she wasn’t willing to do so without a realistic financial safety net.
Paige sat in her cubicle with her head in her hands.
She had always prided herself on being an optimistic person who could take blows in stride.
Supporting evidence being the fact that she stuck it out at her awful job while her ex paraded around with his new girlfriend like their breakup didn’t phase him at all.
But the last twenty-four hours felt like one bomb after another, leaving nothing but wreckage behind.
She did her best to regain her composure and think through her options.
Option one, I just stay put and continue to stash what I can from my abysmal paycheck.
And heck, maybe another promotion will come up.
Hmm, can’t bank on that. Option two, I polish up my resumé and start applying elsewhere like I should have done four years ago.
But nooooo, stupid Chance had to show up and distract me from leaving.
This isn’t the worst idea, but the application and interview process could take a while, meaning I’ll be stuck here regardless.
Plus, it’s always a risk working in corporate.
Who knows what other companies might be like.
Could they be worse than here? Okay, option thre–
Paige’s phone chimed next to her. It was Nadia.
Hey! Just heading out of the office. I’ll head to Cruz and grab us a table.
Paige checked the time, sent her photo collage document to the printer, and gathered her things. What better way to numb the shock than with a margarita . . . or five, she thought.
Plus, Nadia was the type of friend who was always in your corner. She’d know exactly how to cheer Paige up.
Packing up now. Oh, and order a pitcher.
***
“Oh good, the pitcher is already here,” Paige groaned as she slid into the chair across from Nadia, pouring herself a full glass.
“Your message made it sound like a code red, so there are also chips and queso and guac on the way,” Nadia said. “So, what’s going on? Did you get passed over for another promotion? Did they assign you a new client from hell?”
Nadia never missed a beat. After more than fifteen years of friendship, she knew how to read between the lines of Paige’s messages.
Paige proceeded to fill her best friend in on the last hour, showing her the email all the employees received.
“Oh, screw them!” shouted Nadia across the table. “Those bonuses are the only ounce of appreciation they ever show you. Ten bucks says they are still giving pay raises to the top executives. Who are all men, I might add.”
Knowing the pricks that ran the company, she probably wasn’t wrong.
“What am I going to do, Nads? I’m so done there.
I keep getting the bottom-of-the-barrel clients, and lately it feels like Chance and Diana have upped their office PDA, if that is even possible.
I think if I stay there much longer I will actually go insane,” Paige said.
“You know I’ve been itching to do my own thing, but I just can’t get myself to go through with it if I don’t have a safety net. ”
She finished the entirety of her first margarita and poured herself a second, following it up by stuffing a chip topped with guacamole in her mouth.
“I know, Paige. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this,” Nadia said. “I can’t help but feel like my announcement last night makes it all worse.”
Paige reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. Nadia had done so much for her over the years—especially in the wake of her breakup. And as much as Paige wished Nadia wasn’t moving out, she knew it was time for Nadia to take the next step in her relationship.
“Nadia,” Paige finally spoke. “Nothing you do or say could ever make my life worse. It’s long overdue for you and Linus to live together. I will be fine, just after I complain over a few margaritas.” She clinked her glass against Nadia’s and took a big sip.
“And besides,” she continued, “I barely charged you rent. Your continuing to live there wouldn’t have really made a big enough difference.”
It was true. Paige felt weird collecting a massive rent check from her best friend—she only asked for half of her mortgage payment so they paid equally.
“Wait a minute. Paige, you just gave me an idea!” Nadia said, perking up.
“You are—I guess were—barely charging me to rent out your second bedroom. With me out of the picture, you can charge a new roommate way more and actually save some cash. We are in a great neighborhood, and your place is way nicer than half of the places that pop up in rental Facebook groups. You have a cash cow!”
Nadia had a point. Paige hadn’t even considered this as an option when she was spiraling in the pit of doom . . . well, her cubicle.
She was perfectly content splitting her mortgage payment if it meant Nadia was in the room across the hall, so she’d never considered how much money she could make from properly renting the room out.
An hour ago, the news about not getting a bonus felt like a knockout blow after an already tough week. Now, Nadia was painting a clearer picture of how she could stay on track to making her dreams a reality.
Nadia continued, “I can help this move along ASAP. I’m already planning on getting my things moved over to Linus’s this weekend, so I can help spruce up the place for some photos so you can start bringing in the mon-nay.”
Paige wasn’t sure if her newfound optimism was warranted or if it was just the margaritas talking, but she had a good feeling about this new plan.
“Well, it seems that we need another round to celebrate!” Paige said after using the last of the first pitcher to top off their drinks. “To your next adventure in love, and my padded savings account.”
“I can certainly drink to that.” Nadia looked around to get the server’s attention, pointing at the empty pitcher.