Page 132 of Savage Bosses

“My boss.”

“Your evil boss from the fruit water company?”

“Yes, that was Kyle.”

“He looks taller in real life. What was he doing here?”

“I don’t know. He spilled our drinks on me and then acted like an asshole about it. So I slapped him.”

“Did you really slap that man?” Jordyn asked.

“I sure did. He called me a whore.”

Jordyn gasped. “Oh my god, Aerica! I can't believe he treated you that way. What a pig!”

I slowly lifted my pimp hand and felt the stinging. The skin still burned from the force of my slap. His taste buds were gone because I slapped all the taste out of his mouth. If I hit him a little bit harder, I could’ve knocked his eyeballs out of the sockets. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I couldn't believe I actually hit my boss.

“Do you want to go home?”

“No, I won’t have a job on Monday morning. I might as well kick it now.”

“Okay, let’s get some water on your dress first.”

“It’s ruined. I smell like alcohol. I can’t believe I ran into him.”

Jordyn grabbed my wrist. “We’re going to the bathroom.”

When we were able to get in the women’s restroom, I went into a stall and removed the dress. I handed it over the door to Jordyn. She then drenched the alcohol stain with cold water.

I stood in the stall in a bra and a thong. Kyle’s hateful words played over and over in my mind. And yet, through it all, I didn't back down or cower in submission. I felt proud I had stuck up for myself. I felt stupid because I was definitely fired on Monday. Hopefully, Apex Staffing would call me bright and early Monday morning and just tell me not to show up.

I put the dress on and pretended that it wasn’t wet. We left the bathroom and went straight to the bar. I gave the one hundred-dollar bill to Jordyn to buy our drinks, but she refused to take it. She bought us two apple martinis, followed by two more. Somehow, I ended up with three drinks.

I couldn’t stay any longer. I didn’t want to dance with anyone of the men that asked me. I just wanted to go home and lay in the comfort of my bed. Jordyn called an Uber, and we left the club.

The ride home was silent until Jordyn spoke. “Hey, what happens if you walk into work on Monday and he doesn’t fire you?”

“I’m sure I’m fired.”

“Just be prepared for anything. He could be one of those guys that likes being cussed out and talked to crazy.”

“He’s a horrible person. He’ll be horrible on Monday.”

“You know I’m going to text you. I need to know what happened. When you work from home, you miss all the workplace drama.”

“Are you staying over tonight?” I asked.

“Yes.”

The rest of the ride was quiet. I couldn’t wait to go to bed. I had enough of this day. We stumbled out of the Uber and went into my second-floor apartment.

My weekend was filled with anxiety. I debated whether I was going to go into work on Monday. Apex Staffing hadn’t called me. The thought of going in there and being embarrassed by Kyle filled me with dread. I was sure he would do me like he did Josh and Tim. I knew myself. I might cuss him out in front of the entire office. I might not. It all depended on what he has to say to me.

I drove to work listening to SWV. Since I was little, my mama had me hooked on 90’s music. I was trying to listen to something mellow. I refused to come in early, so I pulled into the employee parking lot at 7:50AM. I just sat there.

It took Jesus to get me out of my car. I didn’t want to go in that place. If I waited any longer, I would be late. At this point, I didn’t think it would make a difference.

I scampered into the building and rode in the elevator alone.