Chapter 4 Giselle
Giselle
Giselle sat across from her boss and tried to still her shaking hands. Today she’d find out whether she would get the administrative
assistant position at the marketing firm where she worked.
The woman gave her an indulgent smile as she opened a folder. “Thanks for your application, Giselle. You have some great experience
with the company.”
“Thank you.” She clenched and unclenched her hands, then clasped them together in an effort to stop fidgeting.
“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to go with another candidate.”
Her heart dropped. “I don’t understand. I filled in for three months when Marta was on maternity leave last year without any
complaints.”
Her boss nodded and leaned forward. “Yes, and we appreciate your willingness to step in when necessary. However, we’re looking
for someone with a degree in business or marketing, and Christine has that.”
Irritation clawed at her insides. Obviously my actually working in the position still didn’t persuade them that I could do the job. Giselle had worked there two years longer than the woman who’d been awarded the position, and she had taken a few classes
after being passed over previously, but after barely passing a couple of the courses and failing another, she had dropped
out once again. She’d never been the best student—something her family never let her live down—but the business classes had
frustrated her more than a little bit and shattered what was left of her self-esteem. And after being out of school for so
many years, she feared that she’d be setting herself up for another failure.
No sense in wasting money on college when you’re never going to graduate. You just need to be there long enough to get a good
husband. Her mother’s words after her high school graduation rang in her head, and Giselle bit back her tears.
“Again, we appreciate your work here. Maybe there will be something else opening up soon that will be a better fit for your
skills.”
Trying to keep her professional face on, she forced a brief smile. “I appreciate the consideration.”
The woman nodded, closed the folder, and sat back in the chair.
Giselle stood and left. She headed straight for the bathroom and hoped it would be empty. No such luck. She spoke to the two
women there and immediately locked herself inside one of the stalls.
As soon as she heard them leave, the tears fell.
Why am I never good enough? Everyone else seems to have it so easy.
She stayed in the bathroom a moment longer, but fearing someone else entering, she hurriedly left the stall, cleaned up her
face, then trudged back to her desk. It took great effort for her to make it through the rest of the day, and she was out
the door as soon as the clock struck five.
“Hey, girl. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Giselle dropped her purse on the chair in the bedroom and kicked off her shoes.
“I’m just getting in from work,” she said to her friend Daphne Holt.
The two had met during one of Giselle’s short stints in college.
Her friend had gone on to get a degree in economics and land a great job.
She put the phone on speaker while she changed out of her skirt and blouse and into comfortable sweats and a T-shirt.
“How are things at the office? I thought you mentioned something about applying for a different position.”
“Same ol’ same ol’. And I didn’t get it.”
“Oh. That’s a bummer, but I know something else will come along.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“In the meantime, I’ll treat you to happy hour, and we can commiserate over wine.”
Giselle laughed. “Sounds good. How’s it going with the new guy you’re dating?”
“Okay so far. We’ve only gone out three times, but he’s nice. You know I’m still holding out for one of your fine brothers-in-law,
though. Well, Vincent might be too young, but Tariq and Austin . . . sign me up,” Daphne added.
“You’d better hold on to your guy then, because both of them are taken.” She turned on the oven and took out the chicken she’d
left thawing.
“Wait. I thought you said neither of them was dating anyone seriously.”
“Apparently I was wrong. We had dinner at my in-laws’ a couple of weeks ago, and Tariq brought a woman with him.”
“But didn’t you tell me that whenever Tariq decides to date, his relationships only last a couple of months? So it probably
doesn’t mean he’s serious about her.”
“Proposing during dessert constitutes serious.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow. They’ve only been dating four months, and I just don’t get a good feeling about her.”
“You’d better get your feelings together, because she’s going to be around permanently if they’re getting married.”
It had been the only thing Giselle had thought about since then, and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was about Kamryn
that rubbed her the wrong way.
Maybe it’s because you’re a little jealous, a mocking inner voice said. Giselle dismissed it and decided it had more to do with her questioning whether she could plan
a wedding. She tuned back in to the conversation.
“Was Austin’s date another soldier?”
“No. She’s his best friend from high school. Shawn said they aren’t dating and never have, but the way Austin kept staring
at her said something completely different.”
“Aw. That’s so cute. Is she nicer than . . . what was her name again?”
“Kamryn, and Taylor is okay, I guess. We didn’t really get a chance to talk much.” More like Taylor and Kamryn spent a good
portion of the afternoon talking as if they’d been friends forever, but didn’t include Giselle in their conversation. She
didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Girl, I need to get off the phone. Shawn should be home in a little while.”
“Okay. I probably need to do the same. I’m glad at least one of us found a great guy.”
“Yours is coming soon, and I’ll be there clapping and screaming at your wedding like you did at mine.”
Daphne had been so excited that she let out a loud whoop after the minister’s pronouncement.
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” Daphne asked with a little laugh.
“Not in this lifetime. You had the entire church glaring at you.”
“Yeah, I know, but hey, I was happy for my bestie. Anyway, text me some dates for our happy hour meetup, and we’ll coordinate
our schedules.”
“All right. I’ll probably send them tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Later, girlfriend.”
Giselle disconnected and smiled. Daphne was one of the few bright spots in her life, and Giselle was closer to her than to
her own two sisters and her mother as well. She pushed the thoughts of her irritating family out of her mind.
She’d just come back from the bedroom when she heard Shawn coming in from the garage.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Shawn dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “You seem a little down. What’s up?”
“I didn’t get the position.” She really didn’t want to rehash her disappointment, but she shared the same information as she
had with her friend.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I know you’ll get the next one.” He hugged her.
She nodded. Needing to change the subject, she asked about his day.
“Not too bad. Just a bunch of meetings, going over specs and troubleshooting a couple of issues.”
Giselle opened her mouth to comment, but her phone chimed. She walked back over to the counter where she’d left it and saw
a text from her older sister. Not again.
Patricia texted only when she needed something, most often money.
Her family seemed to think that because she’d “married up,” she should always be able to loan them money they never paid back, or fund some new thing they wanted.
Her younger sister, Lisa, tended to be the same way, but not as often.
Growing up, the two always tried getting over on their mother, even more so after their father walked out.
Giselle read the text asking for three hundred dollars to help cover Patricia’s rent. The calendar had just turned to May,
and it was the third time this year that she’d asked. She sighed.
“What is it?”
“My sister.”
“Asking for more money, no doubt.”
“Yeah.”
Shawn came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I know they’re your family, but at some point you’re going to have
to let them bail themselves out.”
He was right, but they always found a way to make her feel bad when she said no, and she’d eventually give in. It would be
different if they weren’t out wasting money on one frivolous thing after another. Giselle stared at the phone in her hand
for a long moment before replying: I don’t have it.
Two months ago she’d given in after being badgered by her mother for three straight days, but this time she wasn’t going to
cave. Her bank account had dropped considerably because of her inability to remain steadfast in her decision. Shawn had purchased
a new refrigerator for her mother shortly after their marriage, and he had helped Lisa with the down payment on her car. Lisa,
who was only working part-time, had the nerve to get upset when he refused to bankroll the three thousand dollars needed for
the more expensive car she wanted. After that, he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t be using any of his hard-earned money for
handouts. If she or any of her other family members wanted something, they’d have to work for it like everybody else. Giselle
couldn’t be mad and wished she could be as strong.
Shoving the phone in her pocket, she walked over to the refrigerator for a bottle of water and headed to the bedroom.
A few minutes later, Shawn entered. “My mom just called. We’re having dinner on Saturday to celebrate Tariq and Kamryn’s engagement,
so you’ll need to work out whatever tension I noticed between you and her sooner rather than later.”
Great. “I’ll be fine.” Or she would be by then.