Page 59 of Cocky Counsel

“I got the job!” She screamed excitedly, doing some awkward cheerleader pose as I laughed and joined her in the elevator. I pressed the button for the lobby before reaching over to hug her.

“That’s amazing, Lucy, I’m so happy for you!”

“Thank you for recommending me for the job,” she said as her cheeks continued to split with her grin. “Now, I can finally quit the hospital and work a real job, with real hours.”

The elevator jerked before it stopped, and the doors slid open to the empty lobby. We got off and walked arm in arm to the front of the building where a security guard was waiting by the door. I smiled and nodded hello as he opened the door and held it for us.

“Thank you, have a great weekend,” I said to him as we left the building and walked down the sidewalk. “You have a real job, it’s just recently turned into a sucky one.”

“Yeah, but it’s been the same thing for years. I started there with little office experience, so it was a great way to learn, but after eight years I haven’t been promoted or moved up. It’s time for a change, and I can’t just stay because I’m comfortable.”

“I get it,” I said as we walked down the street. “It’s hard to want change when you’re used to doing things a certain way.” I stopped and opened my arms for a hug goodbye so I could go on my way back to my apartment while she went wherever she was going. Either way, I knew she wasn’t taking the same train as me.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at me.

“This is where I leave you,” I sighed playfully, raising my brows and opening my arms wider for her to get the not-so-subtle message.

“This is the train you take to your apartment,” she said dryly. “Which means that you don’t have plans after all.”

I waited for a moment and took a deep breath. If I could pull in enough of whatever positive energy I had left in me, maybe I could muster the older sister vibe that usually worked with her.

“I do have plans. I’m taking time for myself tonight. Self-care. I have a date that’s long overdue and includes pampering and relaxation.”

“I don’t think so. You’re going to dinner with us, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you like a four-year-old having a tantrum,” she warned sternly.

“Are you comparing me to your child?” I pulled my head back and eyed her suspiciously.

“You’re the one acting like him…” She tapped her foot impatiently on the concrete in front of her.

“Why can’t I just go home and enjoy my night by myself? It’s been a long week and I really don’t feel like being social,” I whined. When that didn’t work, I stuck out my bottom lip and pouted.

“Because Eva, you know as well as I do that you’re not going to go home and do anything productive. You’re going to attempt to make dinner but then realize that you don’t have any groceries, so you’ll try to make toast and catch your apartment on fire. While you’re eating your burnt dinner, you’ll try to convince yourself that you’re going to watch something happy and uplifting, but instead, you’ll sit and binge watch true crime shows while making lists of everyone that might be trying to kill you.”

I rolled my eyes and blew out a breath. She was right and she knew it. The only part that she had wrong was that I would make toast and that was only because that was my attempted dinner last night. The joke was on her because tonight I had a full menu planned with multiple courses involving Ben and Jerry’s.

“I really don’t want to go.” I quirked a brow and challenged her to a stare down.

“Yeah, and I really don’t want to go home when we’re done and fight with Jackson about why he can’t take his pet goldfish to bed. We all do things we don’t want to Eva, but at least this leads to you having a full tummy with real food and some girl talk to get all of that stress off your shoulders.” She stepped closer and reached her hands out to hold mine. “Is it really that bad that your sisters and best friend want to spend time with you and make sure you’re okay?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. She was good.

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “I will go. But I’m having a margarita. Or two.”

She laughed and jumped excitedly before looping her arm in mine again as she dragged me down the sidewalk. “You can have as many as you want, tonight we are celebrating new beginnings! And Lord knows, I need one.”

“Things haven’t been that bad for you, have they? I mean, aside from Lance,” I said his name warily, a taste of hatred heavy on my tongue.

“No, they haven’t been bad, per se, but I realized that by staying complacent, I wasn’t living my life. I wasn’t happy. With my marriage. With my job. It’s time to make changes and live a life that I actually want to live.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

“No, nothing like that,” she said dismissively and waved her hand at me. “I’m not talking about being suicidal or anything like that. I just meant that I’ve been so unhappy for so long that I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t happy. That’s not fair to me or Jackson. He deserves a mom who can teach him how to enjoy life and I wasn’t doing that.”

I reached down and squeezed her hand.

“Everything is going to be alright,” I assured her.

“I know,” she whispered with a smile.

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