Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 81584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Refusing to let my entire afternoon get derailed, I forced myself to focus on the tasks I needed to finish before I could leave. Scott and I were surrounded by people, so even if he was acting more unhinged than normal, it wasn’t as if he could do anything. I’d have plenty of witnesses.
By the time I packed up my bag and headed out of the office that evening, my shoulders and neck were so stiff that I could barely turn my head from side to side. I’d only left one thing on my desk I’d have to finish early Monday morning, but I wasn’t willing to stay late for any reason.
I met Linda and another coworker, Sharon, as they waited for the elevator.
“Hey, girl,” Linda said kindly. “All done for the day?”
“All done,” I confirmed, smiling at them both.
Sharon looked behind us. “I figured Scott would be with you.”
“Why?” I asked bluntly.
“Well,” she hedged, glancing at Linda, who just stared back at her. “It’s Friday night. I figured you guys would have plans or something.”
“I’m not with Scott.”
“Sure,” she said, shrugging.
“I’m not.”
“I mean, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” she said, lowering her voice. “If you were, I mean. There’s nothing in the employee handbook that prohibits it.”
“I’m not with him.”
Sharon shrugged again, and Linda let out a sound somewhere between a snort and a scoff.
“Good grief, Shar,” Linda said, shaking her head as she stepped onto the elevator. “Just because the guy’s panting after her, doesn’t mean she likes it.”
I shot Linda a look of gratitude.
“I’ve seen you two together,” Sharon argued primly. “I don’t know why it has to be a big secret, but don’t lie about it.”
“You’re right,” I conceded, following them onto the elevator as I weighed what I should say. “But I broke up with him last month. He’s just not letting it go.”
Sharon’s head spun to look at me. “Last month?”
I nodded.
“But he’s—”
“He’s not leaving it alone,” Linda said disapprovingly.
“Not cool,” Sharon muttered under her breath, shaking her head.
“That’s what you get for dating someone from work,” I said, trying to lighten the conversation. “He’ll get over it eventually.”
“I would hope so,” Sharon said, wrinkling her nose.
“He needs to pull his head out,” Linda said, nodding to me.
“One can only hope.”
We exited the elevator, and I waved to the women as I walked over to the Tahoe. The day hadn’t been as bad as it could’ve been, at least Scott had been gone the first half of the day, but after his little performance that afternoon, I was jumpy. I climbed in and locked the doors before turning on the engine.
Lou had texted me a list of groceries to pick up, and I let my hair down and ran my fingers through it as I drove to get them. I was looking forward to not having anything to do all weekend. Maybe I’d hit up some garage sales or something—though, I’d started being really careful about what I was spending, even more so than usual. If I had to quit my job without finding something new, things were going to get tight, even considering my savings.
My phone rang through the car speakers, startling me, and I grimaced when I realized who was calling.
“Hey, Dad,” I answered.
“Hey, baby girl. How you doing?”
“Not too bad. Just working hard and playing harder,” I joked. “What the hell have you been up to? I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”
“Oh, nothing too exciting,” he said with a sigh. “My hip’s been acting up again, so I haven’t been getting around all that well.”
“That sucks. Have you been to the doctor?”
“Appointment next week. I’m sure it’s nothing. Jules says that it’s probably just arthritis.”
I rolled my eyes. My father’s wife had been a vet tech for about ten minutes years ago—she wasn’t exactly a doctor.
“Well, it’s good you’re getting checked out.”
“We’re thinking of coming up for Christmas this year,” he said, abruptly changing the subject. “How’s that sound?”
“Sounds great, Dad,” I replied, infusing enough excitement into my voice that he couldn’t hear the disbelief in it. “For how long?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he hedged. “Maybe a week or so.”
“That would be awesome.” I pulled into the little discount grocery store down the road from the office. It sat in a strip mall that was slowly but surely gentrifying. A couple of empty spaces sat between the grocery and a nice bar and grill. Next to that was a laundromat and a small tobacco store. On the furthest end was an art gallery of all things.
“Well, I’ll let you know when we’ve got the tickets booked,” he said gruffly. “You could come down here, you know.”
“I know,” I replied, parking the Tahoe. “But work just doesn’t slow down.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hey, Dad, can I call you back? I just got to the grocery store. Lou’s waiting on me to start dinner.”