Page 8 of Falling for My Boss

“All of that is true, but you were also hired under the table. The owner found out I did that a couple of times, and she’s been breathing down my neck about it. She said she can’t have that going on in her business. So you and George have to go,” he said.

“So, because you did something you knew you weren’t supposed to do, we get the short end of the stick?” I asked, feeling angry now. “George is the hardest-working dishwasher you are ever going to find. He has been with you for years.” I stood up, my eyes stinging as I glared at him.

“I’m sorry it came to this, Jodi. Like you said, you’re a great employee when you’re punctual.”

I rolled my eyes, letting out a sigh. “Can’t pass up an opportunity for one last parting shot, can you?”

“That wasn’t my intention. This isn’t an easy decision for me,” he insisted.

“Somehow, I don’t believe that.”

“Jodi, this is the way it is. There’s nothing that can be done about it. If you leave now, I’ll make sure you get a good recommendation wherever you end up next.”

I nodded and walked out of the office without another word. I was furious and hurt, but there really wasn’t anything I could do but accept it. I had some money put aside. Not a lot, but enough to carry me through a short time. I had also just paid my rent, so I had the room for the rest of the month. Utilities were included, so that was pressure off.

If those weren’t the case, I might have decided to just move on. But because I had those things in place, I decided to find more work in town and try to keep going the way I had been. Rather than heading back to the room I worried I was going to be spending a lot of time in over however long it took to get my next job, I made my way to the library.

I was sitting at one of the tables with the local newspaper spread out in front of me, scouring the help-wanted ads, when someone dropped down into the chair across from me. Glancing up, I saw it was Ally.

“Hey,” she said. “I thought that was you.”

“You would have just sat down at a table with a stranger?” I asked.

She let out a little laugh. “Possibly. Anyway, I’m glad I saw you. I wanted to apologize again for the way Derek acted. That was really uncalled for, and I can’t believe he did it. He’s usually not like that. I mean… okay, he’s kind of like that. But he’s also really nice when you get to know him. And I didn’t expect him to just come right out of the gate like that.”

“Usually he takes his time before being a raging jackass?” I asked.

She opened her mouth, then closed it and nodded. “That’s a fairly good assessment, yes.”

“Well, you have no reason to apologize,” I said, going back to looking through the ads. “You’re not the one who acted like that.”

“I still feel like I put you in that position. You went out of your way to help me. Speaking of which, are you looking at help-wanted ads?”

I nodded. “My boss just informed me because he hired me under the table, the owner of the diner was getting on him, so he fired me to get back in her good graces.”

“Ouch,” she said. “Find anything promising?”

Dropping back against the chair, I let out a long breath and shook my head. “Nothing. It seems all the positions available right now are for people with extremely specific skills. And I don’t think I’m going to spontaneously be able to operate complex machinery or do construction in the next day or so.”

I usually didn’t think of myself this way, but I was feeling fairly useless. I still didn’t regret the decision to leave Rhode Island, but this was one of those times when I couldn’t help but let my anger toward my family for putting me in that position tick up higher.

“You look like you’ve had enough of this,” Ally said, gesturing at the paper. “Come get a cup of coffee with me.”

I nodded and gathered up the paper, tucking it under my arm so I could bring it back to the rental with me and continue to search. Just in case I’d missed something, or a new job magically appeared on the pages.

We got our coffee and sat down at a table near the window of the coffee shop.

“Thanks,” I said, lifting my cup of coffee to indicate her buying it for me. “I think you were right. I needed this.”

She took a sip of her complicated coffee drink and dropped her shoulders resolutely.

“So, I think I have an idea,” she said. I quirked an eyebrow questioningly. “You should come work at the vineyard.”

I nearly choked on my coffee. “The vineyard?”

“Yeah. It’s growing fast, and it always seems like we’re understaffed, or someone is asking for time off. We need more waitstaff. You should come and apply to be a waitress,” Ally said.

I gave a mirthless laugh as I took a sip of my coffee. “Derek would just love that.”

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