2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Addie
T his is fine. Totally fine. I repeat this to myself until my nerves settle. Not having control of a situation or my emotions is a little foreign to me. I am Adaline Hunter and I am a badass. The job was no longer serving me, so the universe set me free.
I unlock my door, kick off my shoes, and walk through the front door. My eyes glance over the apartment, checking our gray couch for signs of my roommate. There are no sounds coming from the hallway past the living space either. Relief hits me when I realize she isn’t here. I’m ready for a tall glass of wine and a FaceTime call with my bestie. I sent her the code red, 911 emergency text on my way home.
Dropping my purse and box of stuff on the kitchen counter, I drag my feet to the fridge and pull out my favorite wine. My kitchen is pretty small. Only two beams and a countertop separate it from the living room, which is also small. I’ve never minded small spaces. They feel cozier and keep me from hoarding random shit. The decoration we have is minimal—enough to make it feel like a home, but not so much it feels busy. Clutter makes me feel itchy.
Turning, I open the cabinet and grab my largest wine glass. The matching one beside has me wishing my best friend was racing to my house after the 911 text instead of answering via FaceTime.
Plopping down on the couch, I rest my head against the back. What a drastic turn of events. How I went from a promotion to jobless in a matter of minutes is beyond me. What am I supposed to do now?
My phone rings, pulling me from my pity party. Disappointment floods me when I realize it’s not Isla, but my mother.
My mom is amazing. She is the best mom I could ever ask for. I was always the golden child—strong-willed, always had the best grades, and was overly ambitious. Telling her that her golden child was just fired will be, well, unpleasant. She will be kind and supportive, blah, blah, blah. But deep down, I know she will be disappointed. And there is nothing worse than disappointing your mother.
“Hey, Mom. How are you?” I ask, putting the phone on speaker and resting it on my lap.
“Oh, well, I am fantastic. Have you heard the news?” This stumps me because I genuinely have no clue what this woman is talking about. If it has to do with family, I haven’t seen them as much lately. We usually have monthly dinners, but I had to skip out on the last one due to the flu, and I wasn’t home for Christmas.
“I’m guessing I have not. Is everything all right?” A small dose of worry enters me. Surely, if this was an emergency, she wouldn’t sound excited.
“Oh, yes! More than okay! I am going to be a grandma! Your sister Sarah is pregnant!” My mother’s glee seeps through the phone.
“Oh, wow! That is so exciting. When is she due?” I ask, surprised that Sarah hasn’t told me this news herself. Maybe she just called Mom and told her to do the phone tree.
Having three siblings can sometimes be a lot to try and call each person. I give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she isn’t feeling well. We have a pretty tight-knit unit between my two sisters and younger brother, but as we’ve gotten older and settled into our lives, our check-ins with each other have become more sporadic and usually just in our group chat.
“Well, she is eight weeks now. They are thinking sometime in August, beginning of fall. I am just glad one of you is finally giving me a grandchild.” The hint isn’t missed. She forgets that I need a partner to make a baby. My history with men isn’t always great. I either pick the losers or end up as a flight risk when I find a good one. The good ones are almost always too sweet, and I need a little bit of rough around the edges to smooth me out.
“Don’t hold your breath on my end. I am a single pringle, and don’t plan on changing that until someone knocks me off my feet.” My mother sighs at my response. If she thought that was disappointing, I can’t wait to tell her I lost my job.
My phone vibrates, letting me know I am getting another call. Pulling the phone, I see Isla’s face light up on the screen. Saved by the bell.
“Hey, Mom, sorry to cut this short, but Isla is calling me. Do you mind if I call you back later?”
Knowing her love for my best friend, I am not surprised when she answers, “Of course not. Give her my love. Buh-bye.”
I hit the button to accept Isla’s call. “Hey, bitch!” My usual pep returns to my voice.
“So, what was the 911 about? Are you okay?” Isla’s voice sounds almost breathless.
“Well, get ready to buckle up for the ride I am about to take you on. You know Maggie from work?” I readjust on the couch, tucking my legs underneath me.
“The one who is always late and doing the bare minimum, but is super nice?” Isla asks. Her memory is impeccable, but we have to do a bit of an edit on Maggie’s personality traits. She’s a lot of things, but super nice isn’t one of them.
“Yup, that is her. Guess who got the promotion? Not me. But little ole, backstabbing Maggie after stealing my ideas and taking them to the big wigs.”
She gasps on the other end of the phone. “You’re joking? This is like an early April’s Fool’s joke, right?”
“Nope, and that’s not all. For an extra dose of ‘Fuck you,’ the company laid me off today. So, now I am not only promotion-less but also jobless.” A sigh leaves me. I wish it would take some of the tension in my head with it.
“You work for one of the most successful offices in Colorado. Why the hell do they need to lay you off? Did they fire a lawyer?”
“Nope, just little ole me.” I make my way to the kitchen, deciding I might just need to drink straight from the bottle tonight. “Yup. So, tonight, I will be drowning my sorrows in cheap wine and adding some pizzazz to my résumé. Also, I may have accidentally let my inner bitch out for a few seconds. So, I can't really say they will be giving me a strong reference.” I stoop into the chair, feeling every bit of the shitty day I am having crash into me.
Ugh, I probably should have kept my mouth shut, but it’s just in my DNA to let people know they’re being idiots and making a horrible decision. However, I am feeling like an idiot now. Mouthing off might have caused me to have a random four-year gap in my résumé. That’ll be fun trying to explain.
“Oh no. How bad did you go off?”
“Um, well, I told the HR lady to shut up in a way that HR might consider to be a little hostile, and then I insulted their decision-making skills. Which, honestly, who could blame me? They picked Maggie. Oh, and then I thanked them for setting me free from the dumpster fire that is their office.”
I hear crickets on the other end of the line, followed by laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.
“I’m sorry,” Isla says between fits of laughter. “Well, friend, you really went out with a bang. I would advise against putting them on your résumé at all costs. Or only giving them a specific name and number to call.”
“Yeah, I told my boss's secretary that she's going to have to pretend to be the boss when my next job comes calling. Not sure how believable that will be, but it is worth a shot. We can laugh about it together in a couple months! I am so excited to see you. It’ll be a good get-a-way after this shit show.”
“Yes! Also, you aren’t the only one with a shit show today. My wedding planner has completely ghosted me. Like, I haven’t heard a peep from her since she said she would start booking things. We were supposed to do a video call this week, but she never showed up and hasn’t responded.”
“Oh no! Do you know where she was at with booking things?” Knowing next to nothing about wedding venues in Maine, I immediately put her on speaker and start googling.
“I have a list of vendors she planned to contact, but have no idea where we’re at with that. So, I sent an email that I will be terminating the contract and seeking legal action if she doesn’t respond. Literally, nothing. I’m so pissed. As if planning a wedding isn’t stressful enough.”
“That is awful. Well, if you want me to hunt her down and egg her car or something, just let me know. I’m already on a war path. She will never even see it coming. I wish I was there to help you more.”
“You will be here soon enough. And, realistically, I’ve been engaged for, like, what? Two weeks? I’ve got time to figure it out. The wedding isn’t ‘til June. Anyways, Cal will be home any minute, and I need to finish dinner. Poor guy works late and comes home to bland, burnt chicken. I need to take some cooking classes or something before I set our freaking condo on fire. Are you good? I can leave you on speaker while I cook.”
“Yeah, I am good. I’m probably better off than Cal is about to be, anyways.” Jabbing at her lack of cooking skills is just too easy.
“Ha-ha, you’re so funny. I hope you step on a Lego. I’m going to go before you can insult my culinary finesse anymore. Bye, bitch.”
“Bye, bitchier bitch.” I hear her chuckle before the line drops.
Well, at least I have that trip to keep my spirits up. Now, to go search for a job. Without a job, my degree is just a really expensive piece of paper hanging on my wall.
A wave of sadness hits me as I think about the fact that I will probably never find a job at a law office again. Well, I could, but not with the office management position. I love law. I love the snark of legal battles, and the skill and knowledge that you have to have.
I never had any desire to be a lawyer, but I love being immersed in the office. It may not seem like it, but even as a legal assistant, if I drop the ball, there is a good chance shit will go south really quick. You have to have your wits about you and be organized and efficient. All things I thrive at.
More than that, I love to lead. Hence, wanting the management position. I want to lead the team, help the lawyers when needed, and finally move up in the world.
My phone dings, and a text from Kelly, my roommate, comes through.
Hey girl, I won’t be in tonight, I will be staying with Kyler.
Well, at least I don't have to tell her about my mortifying day. Probably won’t have to tell her tomorrow, either. We are friendly enough, but we were somewhat closer before she started dating Kyler. Her life changed and mine stayed exactly the same.
We initially started at the same office together, but she literally lasted two weeks. Which was probably for the best, thinking back. Living and working with someone sounds like a bit too much. She moved on to a different job, but stayed here with me.
Everyone else around me is moving forward, and I feel like my feet are glued where I am. Shit, even Isla had the balls to move across the country, and she's usually the shy one. I’m starting to feel like one of those kids who peaked in high school. I just need a sign from the universe on where I am supposed to go next. Not a subtle one, either. I need to be slapped across the face with it.