Page 56 of March

She closed her eyes, silently praying for patience and for her anger to subside.

“Five minutes,” he added as if she could control how long it took her to pee.

Sophie turned then, no longer able to contain herself, and glared at him.

“Are you kidding me?” she spoke. “Youwere late for this meeting. We were supposed to start at eight and didn’t start until 9:30. You rolled in late and without breakfast for people who’d planned to eat here this morning. Not only that, but you got here with the good coffee in your hand. You couldn’t have gotten everyone else coffee, too? One thing of coffee was just too much for you to spend on us? Now, it’s after six-thirty, and we were supposed to be done at five. Pam is allergic to mayo, and every sandwich you ordered had mayonnaise on it. She brought her lunch, but not her dinner; the same as me. You took people’s phones away because I was checking an important message, when I’ve seen three VPs in this room with their phones out and checkingtheirmessages all day. Hell, our illustrious VP of Sales has been playing Candy Crush for the past hour because he’s just as bored as the rest of us. People have lives outside of working hours. I had plans tonight. Not that you cared, but someone flew into New Orleans today for me, and I’ve beenhere picturing them sitting somewhere, thinking I didn’t show up because I can’t get to my damn phone. I’m not a high school student who isn’t paying attention in geometry class. I needed to know that she’d landed safely. I needed to message her that I got caught up, but you didn’t care. Now, you’re telling me I have five minutes to use the bathroom? What if it takes longer than that? Will you just burst through the door to see if I’m texting instead of peeing? What’s wrong with you that you think you can take people’s time like this as if we’re hostages and not employees?”

“Sophie, outside,” he said as he rose, looking angrier than she probably did.

“No, not necessary. I’m done,” she stated and grabbed her phone out of the box. “I’ll pack up my stuff now.”

“You’re quitting?” he asked, looking shocked, which said a lot.

“Yes. I won’t take this anymore. We’re all adults here, yet you treat us like children. This place is terrible, and I’m done putting up with it.”

Sophie turned and briskly walked out of the conference room toward her cubicle. Then, as she stared at it for a moment, thinking about the fact that she had just quit her job without another one lined up, she thought about going back in there, claiming she’d made a mistake and giving them some excuse for her outburst, but she had too much pride for that.

She didn’t have much of her own stuff at her cubicle, but she had some items she wanted to make sure to take before they got to it. Not finding a box by her cube, she looked around and found one by the printer. Tossing the two reams of paper onto the floor, she carried the empty box back to her desk, where she started loading her things in.

“You need to be supervised so that you don’t steal anything.”

Sophie turned and saw the president of the company watching her with his arms crossed.

“What would I possibly steal? There’s nothing here. We barely have a coffee machine that works. You got rid of the water delivery and the vending machine in the breakroom. I can’t exactly carry the printer out of here without being noticed, and I don’t need any paperclips, so just give me a minute, and I’m gone,” she said.

“You won’t be getting a letter of recommendation from anyone here.”

“Obviously,” she said. “And I wouldn’t want one.”

Sophie grabbed her jacket and purse and lifted the box off her desk.

“Here; check for yourself: this is all my stuff.” She held it out for him to see. “Nothing that belongs to this place is in there. I’m leaving now. Have my final check direct-deposited into my account.”

“We don’t do that. You have to come in for it,” the president replied.

“You’ll do it because I’m not coming back here ever again, and if it’s not deposited with payroll on time, I’ll file complaints.”

“What complaints?” he looked at her incredulously.

“I’ve been here for five years now. I know things you don’t want me to know. So, just deposit my check, and you’ll never have to see me again,” she said.

He stared at her as she walked past him and toward the front door of the office, which she pushed open. Greeting her was the muggy night air, but it felt fresh on her skin and in her lungs. She’d never quit a job without giving notice before. She had never yelled at her employer before, either. Sophie took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs completely before she let it back out and smiled. She’d done it. She was finally finished with this terrible place. She wished she had more than a coupleof interviews lined up, but taking her phone away when Bryce was waiting for her was the last straw.

“Shit,” she said. “Bryce.”

Sophie turned the corner and practically ran to her car before she placed the box with her stuff on the trunk and pulled out her phone.

Bryce Wilburn: I’m running late. I can’t find it. What’s the name of the bar? Is there a cross street I can reference? Can you maybe just come outside if you’re already there?

Sophie read the next message.

Bryce Wilburn: Soph? I can’t find you. Are you here? If you’re still at work, can you let me know? I’ll kill time somewhere, but I can’t find the bar. There are too many people here. I can hardly get inside some of them, and it’s getting worse. Just message me back when you can, please.

“Fuck,” she said and opened up her voicemail.

“Soph, it’s me. I’m at some restaurant in the Quarter. Where are you? Did you get scared? It’s okay if you did. Please just text me or call me or something. I’m getting worried.”

Sophie couldn’t believe this had happened. She should have demanded her phone sooner. She should’ve quit sooner; like, years ago. She quickly dialed and stood there waiting in the parking lot of her now-former employer.

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