I am back with a new effort in a different category from my first series. Hopefully some of the readers who enjoyed that series will still enjoy this story.
I want to add a
trigger warning for mild body/weight shaming
that takes place in this chapter, in case that's a major turn-off for anyone. The story in general deals with/will deal with abusive (physically, emotionally, and verbally), misogynistic undertones, so if that's not something that you enjoy, you may want to read something else instead. All that being said, I hope that you enjoy this opening chapter!
***
What had begun as a normal, hum-drum Friday had slowly turned into one of the worst days of Bella's life.
She'd gotten into work early, spent a half hour reorganizing her desk, then met with a client promptly at eight. At nine she had made coffee for her boss and his associates, then settled down to file paperwork until lunchtime, which she'd spent socializing with her coworkers. By two everything had been going swimmingly. Then her boss called her in for an unexpected meeting at three -- and announced that she was being laid off.
It was some of the worst news of her life. Architectural consultation, and more specifically architectural consultation at Francy & Francy, had been her dream job since a fateful career fair her freshman year of college had put it on the maps. She'd been overjoyed to land a junior position a little over a year ago. Since then, she'd worked her tail off, stayed late whenever her boss needed extra help around the office, befriended all her coworkers, and put her best foot forward when it came to her small but growing portfolio of clients.
But when it had come time for layoffs, which had come out of the blue as they often did, she found herself the first cut, due to an ambiguous 'lack of potential' that her boss laid out without much sympathy in his big glassy corner office. They were keeping the guy who'd started alongside her instead, and that, to her, said everything.
Now she was carting everything that had lived in her desk into the parking lot in a cardboard box, squinting into the July sun and fighting tears. She had no idea how she was going to afford rent this month. Getting into her Jeep, secondhand from her parents, she pulled the gold bracelet off her wrist and flung it into the passenger seat in frustration. When she'd bought it the week before, it had seemed like a perfectly safe purchase, a great treat for the woman who had everything. In retrospect, it had been completely frivolous, and that two thousand dollar expense was also about to see her evicted from the luxury apartment complex she'd moved into just three months ago. How was that going to look on her credit record?
She gritted her teeth. It was so unfair. She'd only just paid off the last of her credit card debt, and she'd been making good headway on her student loans ever since she'd gotten this job. Of course things had to start going wrong now, just when everything seemed to be going right for a change. She put her head down on the steering wheel and let out a frustrated sob, her tears darkening the collar of her blouse.
Then she remembered that she'd scheduled a date with Jamie, her boyfriend of two months, for that evening, and she sat up and found her phone to call him. There was no way she could go out. Not in a state like this.
And if her bad luck held, he'd take it as a sign of disinterest and cut the cord.
She listened to the dial tone, her heart sinking a little with every ring. She liked Jamie -- a lot -- and things had been progressing quickly with him. She thought he might be the one. That didn't change the fact that he sometimes made her feel bad about herself. It wasn't anything he did or said, exactly, just
him
. Nearly a decade older than her, he was a well-established banker who worked in a big glass building in the Financial District in Boston. She'd just been fired by the guy in the corner office. In his building, Jamie
was
the guy in the corner office. She couldn't help but feel less than sometimes.
Now his voice filled her ear.
"Hey, baby."
It was mostly a relief. She gave a big teary sniff to indicate the turn the day had taken.
"Baby, are you okay?" He immediately sounded concerned. That was one tick in the 'good Jamie' box. "You sound like you're crying. What's wrong, Bella?"
She sniffed again.
"I got laid off," she said. Her voice broke. "I'm sorry. I can't go out tonight. I'm a total mess."
"My God, of course you are. How could they do this to you? After all the hours you put in, all the slack you picked up..." He sounded angry for her. 'Good Jamie' was winning. "Listen, I'm not going out without you. I'm gonna swing by your place when I get off. I'll bring you tacos and a big bottle of tequila, and I'll commiserate with you. How's that sound?"
She gave a watery smile.
"Good. Especially the tequila part," she whispered. "Thanks, Jamie. You always know how to make me feel better."
"Anything for my baby girl," he said. "You're welcome. I'll see you around six thirty. Chin up, okay? I love you."
"I love you too."
"Bye."
"Bye."
He hung up before her. She dropped her phone into the passenger seat next to her discarded bracelet and flicked her key in the ignition. On the twenty minute ride home, she put down all the windows and cruised with music blaring out of the speakers. By the time she pulled into her complex parking lot, she felt surprisingly relaxed. Almost free. She didn't have to worry about going into work on Monday. Of course, she had much bigger fish to fry.
She stopped off in the mail room. The electricity bill had come. She went online and promptly paid it out of the few hundred dollars she had sitting in her account. It was probably better to settle up little things like that. She still had two weeks to make rent. Two weeks to raise three thousand dollars.
She was realizing now that she would have been in a bit of a pinch even
with
her job. But there were always shifts at the bar where she'd used to work in college. Her manager had said she was welcome back anytime, and that was how she usually rounded out rent in situations like this. Well, there hadn't exactly been a situation like this before, but she guessed it was worth a shot. Plopping down on her sofa, she called up Abigail.
"Hey, Abby," she said, trying to keep her voice as cheery as possible. "Any way you think I can make three K working over there before the end of the month?"
"Jesus, Bella." Abigail snorted. "I know you can be a little careless, but that's pretty bad. How'd you leave three thousand off the books? And as for your question, not till hell freezes over, unless you intend to strip for the customers."
"No, of course not," Bella said, heat spilling across her cheeks. She sighed, her heart sinking. "Well, it was worth a shot. What do you have for me, anyway?"
"Actually, we're completely booked," came the reply. "I hired a new girl last week. I meant to call you, to let you know there wouldn't really be any more opportunities, but I never got around to it. Well, you know now. I can let you know if someone bails."
"Yeah. Sure," Bella said. Her voice faded with every word. Worse, she could feel new tears welling up, and she hung up on Abigail before they could come out. That was bad, but crying in front of her ex-manager was worse in her books. It had been hard enough telling Jamie she'd been laid off, and he was the most important person in her life. She didn't want to tell another soul.
She heated up a frozen pizza in advance of his arrival with tacos and chugged a beer, the last of a six pack she'd bought earlier that week. Gee, had she really drunk five already? She counted bottles in the recycling. Yup, five.
It was five minutes before six thirty when there was a knock at her apartment door. She jumped up from the sofa, where she'd been pondering over the last two slices of pizza, and ran to open it. Jamie stood in the doorway, holding a brown paper bag in one hand and a big bottle of tequila in the other. She flung herself into his arms, beginning to cry.
"Okay, baby," he said. "I have to walk here."
"Walk with me," she said, her voice muffled by the collar of his suit jacket. He looked great, like he always did. She might have had a shit day, but she could still salivate over her gorgeous boyfriend.
They made it into the living area. He eyed the frozen pizza on its platter.
"I see someone got started without me."
She pouted at him.
"Don't make me feel fat. I had practically the worst day of my life," she said. She grabbed one of the remaining slices and shoved it into her mouth and kept talking with her mouth full. "I'm still hungry, see? I can eat the tacos too."
He might have rolled his eyes, but she wasn't completely sure. In the kitchen, he set down the brown paper bag, doffed his coat, and poured shots of tequila into her two mismatched shot glasses.
"Salt, please," she said. She'd followed him. "And lime."
"Anything for you."
She punched him in the shoulder.
"Don't be sarcastic. Was that sarcasm?"
"No, Bella, that was not." He swung around to face her. "I'm just waiting till the time comes when I find out the extent of your woes. Remember, like with the credit card story? I know I wasn't there, but I sure played a pivotal role in helping you pay them off. So am I supposed to expect now that you have six months' rent sitting in your savings account for emergencies like this?"
She hung her head, blood rushing to her cheeks.
"Hey, it's okay," he said. He patted her on the shoulder. "Everything will be taken care of."
