Page 82 of Our Elliana

I think about Tristan, Noah, and Jackson and smile to myself. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them during this troubling time. Any misunderstandings seemed to have worked themselves out, and any individual issues among us have taken a backseat to us becoming one seamless unit.

A notification chirps on my phone, and I glance at its spot on the far edge of my workbench. Since it’s a text informing me of a new message from Elegance, I lay down my specialty tools, wipe my hands on my apron, and retrieve my work laptop. Only after holding still so the special encrypted site can scan me with its facial recognition software can I see what it says.

The time has come for your final assessment of the services Elegance has provided you. Please give a rating for your overall degree of satisfaction. If you were unsatisfied, please choose one star. If you were less satisfied than you hoped, two stars. Somewhat satisfied, three stars. Satisfied, four stars. Exceptionally satisfied, five stars. If rating less than four stars, please post why in the comment box below.

There’s an easy quiz. I scoot my finger across the screen until all five out of the five stars transform from white to blue and press “Done.” The screen alters and the word “Success” appears, followed by another message.

Thank you for your feedback.

Your current contract will be concluded at 9am on January 15th. If you wish to renew this contract, please choose “Renew.” If not, press “Don’t Renew.”

Be advised. If you renew, you will have the option of renewing with the same terms or you can alter your arrangement however you see fit. Whichever option you choose, your contractors will receive the updated contract which they can then decide to accept or not accept. If you do not renew, this will mean your last full day of service will be January 14th.

Please make a choice by selecting the appropriate button below.

I bite the inside of my cheek and make my decision. The message that comes back asks if I’m sure, and I choose, “Yes.”

I blow out a long breath feeling kind of trembly. But it’s done. Tonight, once I get off work, I’ll talk to the guys about my decision and the reasons why. I want them to comprehend my logic, to understand my rationale. Then, I hope they’ll be willing to move forward on an alternate path.

It’s only about five minutes after this that I receive a phone call. It’s Tristan, requesting Facetime, which is unusual, but I agree to pick it up.

When the screen lights Jackson is right next to him, and each man is wearing a put-out expression. Well, half put-out and half kicked puppy. Dread sours my gut. Surely, Elegance won’t have notified them of my decision this early on. Right?

We still have three weeks and a crucial conversation to have before that final countdown.

Also, where’s Noah? His schedule has him off from the firehouse today barring some major calamity. My palms are instantly sweaty.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” Tristan parrots back at me, his features drawn tight. “That’s what we’re calling to ask you. Why the hell have you canceled our contracts?”

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Apparently information input into the Elegance site updates the second you enter it. If I’d known that, I would’ve delayed.

Too late to cry over spilled milk now, though.

I straighten and square my shoulders. “First of all, I didn’t cancel them, I just didn’t renew them.”

“Are you seriously playing the semantics game with us right now? Seriously?” Tristan snarls at me, shaking his head. I’ve never seen him this agitated, not even with Jackson. “We can’t believe you did this. After everything we’ve... You know what? Never mind.” He twists toward Jackson then stomps out of the frame. “Here, you talk to her.”

Abruptly, only Jackson’s bearded face fills my screen. Inexplicably, he’s wearing his smirk, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to reaching his eyes. He reminds me of a cardboard cutout of a person. A hollow facsimile.

“Tristan’s pissed as you can probably tell.”

“I can.” Kind of hard to miss.

“He even broke some of your plates, which I suppose they’ll dock from his pay.” He draws a finger along the flat side of his guitar pick but doesn’t flick it across anything. Then, I notice his other hand, which lifts his own phone. On the top of the screen are five gold stars lined up in a row, but I can’t make out the rest. “So, five out of five, eh?” His tone sounds nonchalant, but I recognize it as a façade. “Yet you’re throwing us all out with the trash.”

“No one’s getting thrown out with the trash. That’s ridiculous, Jackson. And you have to know that’s not how I meant that.” Jesus fuck. How am I going to fix this? “I care about you all too much to keep you tethered to a paid contract. I want to have more.”

“More men? More as in not us?”

What? How could he think that?

“No. Of course not. Listen, I can’t talk to you about this over the phone.” Time for a change of topic. “Where’s Noah?”

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