“What are you talking about?” came a man’s deep, booming voice. I looked over in stunned horror to find Harold Richardson approaching. He didn’t look amused.
“I—That is–” I stammered. When did he get here? How much had he heard? I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.
Eliza pressed on, eager to throw me to the wolves to see if I’d survive. She pointed a sharp, perfectly-manicured finger at me. “She’s sleeping with Alex Peterson. I think she’s secretly spying on their behalf to get a leg up on our cases against them.”
Harold looked deeply disturbed by this accusation.
“That’s not–” I scrambled. The pit of my stomach had completely fallen out. I hadn’t even been at work for more than an hour and the day was already taking a terrible, terrible turn.
“I think she should be fired,” snapped Eliza.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I snapped. The words just fell out of my mouth, hot and heavy and desperate. I felt sick, a wave of immediate regret washing over me. That was no way to speak to a superior, and I knew it.
Eliza smirked. “Insubordination will get you nowhere, Tia.”
Harold pinched the bridge of his nose, stressed. “This isn’t working, Tia,” he grumbled.
Oh, God. What’s happening? How did things get so messed up?
“I hired you because my headhunter said you had talent. I didn’t realize how wrong that decision was.”
“Wait, please, I can–”
Harold raised a hand, stopping me from saying anymore. “I don’t think it’s wise to waste any more time and resources training you,” he continued bluntly. Every word was a dagger to my heart and ego. I just wanted to crawl into a ball, knees tucked to my chest while I hid beneath the desk of my cubical. This couldn’t be happening. Why was I blessed with the shittiest luck in the world?
“Pack your things,” he instructed firmly. “I expect my employees to be professional, not bumbling idiots.”
Okay. That hurt.
Harold turned on his heels and left, leaving a mocking Eliza to supervise me as I packed up what little I had set out on my cubical desk. Hot, angry tears welled up in my eyes, but I willed them to keep from falling. I had never been so humiliated in my life. I hadn’t even been given the opportunity to defend myself, to call Eliza out on her bullshit. I totally could, if I wanted to. I could storm into Harold’s office and tell him that I wasn’t the only one with a pre-existing relationship with Alex. Eliza had been in a relationship with him, too –even if it had ended rather badly. Couldn’t I put Eliza in the same position she had placed me?
I shook my head, sniffling hard to fight the tears threatening to pour from my eyes. I wasn’t like Eliza. I wouldn’t stoop to her level, no matter how badly I wanted to. I packed up my things, grabbed my purse, and tossed Eliza my building keycard. The satisfactory smile on her face made me want to punch her. It was just a shame that I was too delirious and embarrassed to think well enough to go through with it.
I returned home, head hung low. My heart was crushed, caving in on itself to leave an empty space where it should be in my chest. I didn’t know what to do. I felt overwhelmed and on the verge of a mental breakdown. First I was kicked out of my apartment, now I was jobless. Was I about to get hit by an oncoming bus, too? Because that seemed perfectly fitting for the week I was having. If a bus came barreling toward me, I probably wouldn’t have even tried to jump out of the way.
I somehow managed to make it back to the apartment, despite the distress clouding my judgement. I slammed the door behind me a little harder than I meant to, listening to the sound echo throughout the entire apartment.
“Tia?” called Alex. He was in the living room. Concern was written all of his face. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I…” The right words failed me. I was dizzy. I wanted to throw up. Everything was falling apart at the seams. “I was…”
Alex stood up from the couch and rushed over to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, ducking down to try and look me in the eye. The contact was a wonderful comfort in light of recent events, warm without being overbearing. It was nice. And then it occurred to me that I was leaning into his touch, craving his undivided attention and soothing words. Alex had been there for me when I was on the brink of being homeless. He had offered me a job without a moment’s thought. He was really quite sweet, more than I deserved.
“Tia,” he whispered. Gentle, caring, heartbreakingly tender. “What happened?”