Page 7 of The Love Chase

Two Weeks Later

Dread sat on my shoulders like the weight of the calf I once tried to pick up when he—AKA my ex-best friend—dared me to as a kid. All my muscles spasmed and tensed, my stomach roiling.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that please?” I asked my boss, Mr. Puny.

His last name was ironic considering he was a short man with a bald head who very much emulated the word puny. I forced myself to ignore the way the fluorescent lights in the office glared off his shiny head as I tried to make sense of the words he had just uttered.

Emotionless eyes behind thick glasses attached to a long, narrow face blinked at me several times before he sighed, his own shoulders rising and falling dramatically. The back of my neck ached from looking down at him.

“I said, this isn’t going to work out, Emma. Due to budget cuts, we’re terminating all paid internships for the remainder of the year. I’m sorry.” The bored way he continued to blink at me told me he wasn’t actually very sorry at all.

“But—”

“I’m sorry.”

I opened my mouth to protest, hoping there was something I could do to change his mind, but nothing would come out.

No no no.

I had fought so hard for this internship, beating out thirty other candidates. Never mind the fact that this was my sole source of income and I had recently taken out a loan to buy my own storm chasing equipment and a truck. I had wanted to prove to the Midwest Storm Research Center that I was dependable and serious about this internship, and I thought if I came with my own gear, it might put me ahead of everyone else, and make me more appealing to them.

And it must have, since I had gotten the coveted spot.

I just never imagined I’d then lose the internship.

I tried again. “Is there anything—”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, his tone firm. A drop of spit sat on his bottom lip, and I suppressed a shudder.

“The decision has been made. I’ve been asked to help you gather your personal effects and escort you from the building.”

“Now?” I squeaked. Hold on, I need to breathe. I can’t lose this.

Mr. Puny gave a single nod of his shiny head, still blinking slowly as if I was boring him to death.

“I—”

He swung his arm in a dramatic gesture toward my tiny desk tucked into the corner next to the trash can and coffee maker. The walls spun around me as I put one foot in front of the other, each of my legs trembling. My hands shook as I took the small box Mr. Puny offered and began packing my minuscule number of things into it.

My top-of-the-line laptop—which I had bought with the loan—a small succulent that said “little friend” on the pot that I was pretty sure was dead despite my best attempts at keeping it alive, and a notepad that said “Emma Beck” on the bottom of every page, which was a gift from my mom when I started college. I snatched the power cord from beneath the desk and threw it in the box, then stared at the empty, wooden surface. The scent of burnt coffee filtered into my nose.

That was it. There was no longer any sign that this slim piece of wood on too-thin legs was ever mine, no sign that I’d ever earned an internship with the Midwest Storm Research Center.

Now I was jobless.

And broke.

With a giant equipment loan the size of Texas.

I felt numb as I carried my box through the long hallway, past two conference rooms filled with giant TVs, and down to the entrance. Mr. Puny was two steps ahead of me, shoving open the front door as if he couldn’t wait for me to be gone.

“Best of luck, Miss Beck,” he offered through a sigh as I stepped outside into the sweltering June heat. I squinted at the sudden bright light.

Before I could even say thank you, or goodbye, the door snicked shut. The lock clicking behind me echoed in my now-empty heart.

My feet glued themselves to the dilapidated carpet outside the apartment I shared with my roommate, Denise. After graduation a couple weeks ago, I had been scrambling to find a place to live and this had been my only option on such short notice, especially when Meridel proved to no longer be an option. I had wanted to move back home while I got everything set up to start chasing, but then I ran into him at Maya and Oliver’s wedding.

I moved back to Meridel.

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