Page 115 of Rich and Bossy

“Would you shut the fuck up for a minute and give this some serious thought? Nothing is easy. This is our move. Yeah, it would hurt, for a while, but we’d shed these fucks. Do an ESOP to fill some of the vacant equity, and have it be an employee-owned portion. The new union would love that if the vote passes, and if it doesn’t, the employees would still appreciate it.”

“I just… Man.”

He folds his arms, and I’ve seen his expression enough times to know he’s not going to give up.

“It’s not going to win her back, no matter what I do.”

“It’s the right thing for the warehouses. For the employees. Remember the guys we used to play football with when we first started? Some of them still work down there. They are fucking scrambling around, all of them are scared as fuck. They’re already miserable. I still have contacts over there, still friends with some people. If we don’t step out and speak, that union vote is gonna get smoked. And you know our next steps. We’re working on automating everything there because of these fucks telling us what to do. All the jobs nationwide are already on the chopping block, but Minnie first. Their days are all numbered if they don’t form this union. I don’t know if I can live with myself if we go down that path. I’ll have to resign anyway. Might as well do it on my own terms.”

“Dude. Just, I need a minute. I know you’ve been thinking about this a lot.”

“So have you. Stop fucking around, man.”

He’s right. I have thought about it. I just didn’t want to throw him under the bus anymore, and it’s difficult, thinking about quitting everything I’ve ever known. Everything I’ve built.

“Stop being a little bitch. Stand up for yourself and do what needs to be done.”

“You can do motivational speaking when we’re out of a job. You’re a natural.”

“I’m being real with you. Make a fucking move and stop hemming and hawing.” He glares right at me. “I can’t look at you like this. I’ve seen you injured before. At least you have a chance to play this time. To go out on your own fucking terms.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“Pussy. No wonder you’re having female trouble. You act like this in front of her?”

Strange. I should tell him to get fucked, that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He doesn’t know Hazel like I do. He wasn’t there, he didn’t hear the things I said to her.

That’d be me just making even more excuses.

My eyes narrow on him. “Fuck it.”

John lifts his brow. “What’s that mean?”

“It means fuck it. Make a fucking move. You’re right. Let’s do what we need to do. Whatever happens with Hazel, happens. But let’s drill these old bastards in the mouth.”

“Thank Christ.” He shakes his head. “About fucking time. And for the record. I think you’ll get her back too.”

“Doubtful. You didn’t see what I did to her.”

“Doesn’t matter. I know how you feel about her. That’s a powerful thing.”

“Now who sounds like a pussy.”

“Eat my ass, bitch. Let’s make a plan.”

CHAPTER 33

Hazel

“You’re goingto do fine. You look great, you have all your talking points laid out. This is going to go smooth and easy.” I don’t know if Campbell is trying to convince me or herself as she paces in tight little circles behind the chair I’m sitting in while a team works on my hair and makeup in my parents’ kitchen.

“I’m good. I promise.” I sit up a little straighter, staring at my reflection in the lit mirror the crew brought. I look like me, but at the same time I don’t. My makeup’s a little more severe than I would normally wear it, but then this is for TV, and because I’ll be live and under a ton of lights, my makeup needs to account for how washed out I would look otherwise. I’d be sitting there and looking like a ghost if it weren’t for the shading and contouring.

It’s all so surreal when I look over at Campbell. I’ll be featuring on one of the oldest and most revered news programs in the entire country. “My parents have been watching this show since before I was born. Every Sunday night, without fail.”

“That’s probably a similar story for most families.” Campbell smiles back.

The truth is, I don’t really care about my makeup. I’m only focused on it to distract myself from my ridiculous nerves. I’veaged years in the past few weeks. I can tell myself I’ll take a big vacation once this is over, but the fact that I’m still a student means that’s not happening either. I just finished midterms and it’ll be a miracle if I pulled Cs. Fortunately, my professors have been super understanding and are rooting for us.

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