Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“Do you guys want food?” Jenny asks.
Kerissa forces a smile and turns to her, still processing my revelation. Take your time. I haven’t fully processed it either, and I’ve had all day.
I should be on top of the world tonight. I should’ve gone home, set up this dinner with Kerissa, and then called my mother—and left a message because it’s not like she’d actually answer—letting her know that I’m the new department head at work. She’d dismiss it and act like I was promoted to head pudding taster or something equally pointless, but at least I would know that she knew.
I should be reveling in my success and taking a moment to appreciate it. To start preparing for my new adventure. To celebrate the huge step I made toward purchasing my own home someday—a goal I’ve had since my parents walked out of my college apartment and told me they would not be supporting my life if I bailed on med school. I would be on my own.
But I’m not doing either of those. I’m not partying in delight. I’m fretting over a situation that I have to control, yet I feel like I have no control over it at all.
“She’s going to have to eat something if she’s drinking,” Kerissa says, pointing at me. “But we need a minute to get her life in order, okay? She’ll be two sheets to the wind in about fifteen minutes because she’s a lightweight, and in the meantime, I have to figure out how to get her married and divorced by next week.”
Jenny laughs. “If you pull that off, I have some shit I could use some help with by Monday.”
“I’m here to assist,” Kerissa says, shrugging. “But I don’t dig holes, and I can’t afford your bail. Just keep that in mind.”
I take a sip, choking on the tequila. “Damn, that’s strong.”
“You ordered an extra shot,” Jenny says as she walks away.
“If only ordering an ex-husband was that easy,” I say, sighing. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Kerissa. My promotion basically hinges on this. Bridgit wants me to try the retreat—experience it—before we go balls-to-the-wall implementing a whole department around the concept. That makes sense, but I can’t go. I understand the assignment, I just can’t complete it.”
Kerissa breathes in and out, motioning for me to follow along.
But I don’t. I don’t have time for that.
“I can’t lose this job. I love it,” I say. “To be the director of this whole division? That’s huge.”
And it’ll be a real—in your face—to my parents.
“But I also have mounting guilt about lying in the first place, and my conscience is nagging at me that this will come back and bite me in the ass because that’s what happens to liars.”
If Kerissa gets quiet, a problem exists.
And Kerissa is silent.
A ping-pong ball volleys in my brain. The ball slams into one side of my head and then the other repeatedly.
I don’t know what to do. I have no clue how to effectively extricate myself from this situation and keep my new job. And not give Chuck the Schmuck an opportunity to steal it out from under me.
I almost hate that I was chosen. It’s a big-level setup for disappointment, and if this falls through, I will be at fault. There will be no one to blame but myself.
Thank God I got the extra shot. I take another long drink and feel the heat of the tequila pool in my stomach.
“Here are chips and salsa,” Jenny says, sliding the containers onto our table. “I’ll be back. I haven’t forgotten you.”
I press my forehead with my fingertips in a futile attempt at relieving the pressure in my skull.
“Tell me about your day. Give me the gossip from the mayor’s office,” I say to Kerissa. “Distract me from my woes.”
She scoops salsa onto a chip. “Well, Mayor Chamberlain campaigned and got elected with a promise to bring more businesses into Kismet Beach. Jovie Rey from the tourism board—do you know her?”
“I know of her.”
“She’s been helping us try to recruit potential employers to the area and found this super cute boutique that’s opening shops along the East Coast. Halcyon. Have you heard of that?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “I’ve bought a couple of their things from ads online. It’s an upscale Always Thirty-One, if you know what I mean. For those of us who can’t quite wear teenager clothes anymore.”
She snorts. “Yes. That. Well, Jovie and I have been collaborating on ways to lure them down here. I had lunch with her this afternoon, and we plotted. It was fun.”
“I’m glad someone had fun today,” I say, downing half the drink.
“That’s a smooth transition into the gossip part of my day.” Her eyes twinkle. “The mayor had a lot of fun at work today too.”
I furrow my brow. It takes me a second to sort through the rising fog in my brain to read between the lines. My jaw drops. “With whom?”