GABRIELLA
After my blow-up at Jake, I felt ripples of guilt all evening. Thankfully, I had a dinner date with Ainsley in the books for that night, and I was more than happy to throw on a red lip, put some curls in my hair, and head out to one of our favorite restaurants in one of my new work outfits.
I arrived first, and as I sat at our high-top table by the window, a text rolled in from Ainsley that she was running late due to traffic. To kill time I ordered a drink, a bubbly, fruity, pineapple-garnished concoction of some sort that was on special. While I sipped the elixir, I read the email from Jake for the tenth time that night with the list of things he’d expected me to get done for him this weekend.
Where did he get the nerve to expect people to work around the clock for him? Did he think he was as important as the President?
Probably,I thought.
He lacked self-awareness. He thought everyone around him wanted to work as much as he did. He had no concept of how other people lived their lives or how others might be fulfilled by things other than work.
My job was literally the least interesting thing about me. I went there to pay my bills and uphold the comfortable lifestyle I’d grown accustomed to growing up. Sure, I’d sacrificed certain lavish privileges like a personal swimming pool, in-home spa, and a full kitchen staff, but I liked living alone and independently. I didn’t need all the fancy bells and whistles that came with growing up at my parents’ estate. Being in control of my own life and my own destiny brought me way more satisfaction than any of those things ever could.
Maybe all that was missing from my life was my purpose. A long time ago, when I was much younger and more naïve, I thought my trust fund and my hobbies would be enough to make me feel internally rich. I’d been wrong. I grew bored, restless, and unsatisfied. I couldn’t find anything to look back on and feel proud of myself for. Everything I had, I’d been given. I hadn’t earned anything. Hadn’t proven myself.
Would working for Jake really fill my cup?
At this rate? Not a chance.
Perhaps it was time to move on and find something new. I could go to school. I could learn a skill. I could study history or economics. I could try politics.
My thoughts blurred into a haze of boredom.
Nope. School was not for me.
“Oh my gosh, Gabi, I’m so sorry!” Ainsley suddenly appeared at the end of the table. As per usual, her mousy brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun. A couple strands around her face had fallen loose, and as she shrugged out of her sweater, she struggled to peel one of said strands away from where it had gotten caught in her lip gloss. “I was working in the lab all day and I totally lost track of time, and then I only had twenty minutes to get here, and traffic was absolutely ridiculous. How long have you been waiting?”
“Not long, don’t worry about it,” I said. “You’re here and that’s what counts.”
She gave me an appreciative smile before lifting a hip to slide onto the stool across from me. “Beck says hello.”
“Are he and Luna having a movie night like last time we did this?”
Ainsley plucked the drinks menu from an iron stand that held the salt and pepper shakers, flipped it open, and nodded. “Yep, I believe they’re ordering pizza and it’s her turn to pick the movie. Poor sucker. I have a feeling he’ll be roped into watching the Little Mermaid for the hundredth time. It’s her current favorite. The girl has a thing for comfort movies and can watch them over and over. It’s relentless.”
I snickered. “Beck used to watch that with me when we were kids.”
“Shut up.”
“He did. Ask him about it. He had a mega crush on Ursula’s human form chick. What’s her name?”
Ainsley shrugged. “I dunno, but I get that. I had a crush on Eric.”
“Oh, girl, we all did.”
Our giggles were interrupted by our server, who came by to take Ainsley’s drink order. We also ordered some appetizers to share.
Once he was gone, Ainsley clasped her hands under her chin. “So, what’s new? I feel like we haven’t been able to sit down and do this in such a long time.”
“Same, it’s been too long. I mean, not much is new. Mostly the same old, same old.”
“Still plugging away working for that jerk, Cassidy?”
I heaved a long, dramatic sigh.
Ainsley laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes?”
“Yeah, I am. Although I almost quit today. I… well, I might have said a few things worth firing me over.”