her personality was fiery and her tongue was sharp. I’d witnessed her reduce grown men to tears when they tried her patience, which she did not possess in excess.
Chris went back into his office, shutting the door behind him, and Chelsea actually skipped to my desk.
“I got the job!”
I smiled at her, genuinely happy for my friend. She hated her current job. Her boss was a complete dick. He piled his work on top of hers, took all the credit, and then criticized her constantly. I knew the only reason she hadn’t cut him off at the knees was because she desperately needed her job. Like me, she had student loans to pay when she graduated and a desire to eat more than once a day. While my loans were paid for, her wages were peanuts by comparison and it was taking her much longer to reach her financial goals. If Chris paid her as well as he paid me, she would be able to improve her quality of life immediately.
“I’m glad.”
She glanced at Chris’ closed door and leaned closer. “You always talk about him like he’s this intimidating, cold man. He seems pretty nice, Luce. I mean, sure, he has extremely high expectations, but he seems pretty fair.”
I wanted to grimace at her over the dreamy-eyed expression on her face, but also had to suppress a smile. She had no clue. Still, she would find out soon enough. While I didn’t think Chris would be verbally abusive like her current boss, I’d been on the receiving end of his cold, disappointed stare and bland, mocking voice on more than one occasion. I couldn’t wait for the first time. I could already imagine the angry phone tirade I would be treated to when he spoke to her like that. I also had a pretty good idea what she would say in return.
I knew without a doubt that Chelsea would do a wonderful job, probably even better than me, but Chris was in for a shock if he thought I was the outspoken one in the group. Then again, she might keep her trap shut until she was sure if she could get away with the back talk. He was going to have his hands full with her.
“We have to celebrate.”
I nodded. “I’ll text the girls. Wanna meet at Tully’s for happy hour?”
She grinned and clapped her hands together. “Yes! Five-thirty sharp.”
I nodded and watched her bounce out of my office, looking more like a Mickey Mouse Club alum than the mouthy woman who swore like a sailor that I knew and loved. I shook my head and started texting the rest of the girls.
Since Chelsea was the last interview of the day, I had to cancel the candidates who were scheduled to interview tomorrow. After that, I read emails and organized paperwork for the BioSign Corp in Fort Worth. Chris was getting closer to figuring out who was embezzling, but they had covered their tracks well, despite the large sums of money that were missing.
I also tried not to dwell on the fact that Chris never left his office before lunchtime and then disappeared for the rest of the afternoon. I also told myself that it didn’t make my stomach ache. My lying skills must have been improving because I almost believed it.
“So, Geordy is standing there, his boss right behind him, and I say, ‘I don’t give a damn if you give me a bad reference. Seeing as Mr. Barden worked with your company a few years ago and remembers you less than fondly, I doubt he’ll believe a word you say.’ Then I look over his shoulder at his boss, John, and say, ‘Every good idea he’s presented to you in the last four years has been mine. Every report he’s handed in was prepared by me. He’s done little more at work than play computer games and search for porn since I started working here.’ And, of course, John starts to look pissed, Geordy’s already livid, so I stick my nose in the air, stomp to my desk and pack up my shit. I have enough money put back that I can take a some vacation time before I start training with Lucy next week.”
Tanya and Yancy are giggling like idiots, likely due to the three margaritas
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