Page 1 of One More Weekend

1

JENNA

I couldn’t tellwhether it was sweat or tears streaming down my face as I walked through the steamy subway platform at Myrtle-Wyckoff.

Eight hours ago, I was so confident that the agency I was interning for would give me a full-time position. And now, I was dodging pedestrians with salty tears blurring my vision. As I took the stairs up to street level, I took a look down at my outfit.

A simple white, button-down and fitted black trousers was a perfect outfit: simple, understated, professional. But something had gone wrong.

What did I do wrong?

My mind went back to the moment as I walked.

Clicking away at my laptop,I’d been in the middle of reorganizing my lead agent, Tommy Creed’s digital contacts. They’d gotten completely out of hand and I’d already gotten through the emails I needed to send.

It was my last day as an intern and I'd been waiting all day for any sort of news about being kept on full-time.

Just as my heart rate started to rise, Tommy poked her head out of her office and smiled at me. “Hey, Jen. Can we talk?”

“Of course.” I shoot out of my seat, probablytooeager. But I didn’t really care. Was it so bad for Tommy to know I wanted the job?

As soon as we walked into her office, the glass door closing behind us, Tommy cleared her throat and shook her head. Her usual professionalism seemed to be crumbling as she took a seat.

Fuck.

“So look, I’ve been in meetings all day, as you know. I’ve been trying to fight for you to get a permanent position here but the partners aren’t having it.” Tommy cupped her hands together on her desk.

Nodding, I sighed. “Right.”

My chest was growing tight and my face started to flush. But I had to keep it together.I’m a big girl. I can handle this.

Tommy bit her lip, annoyed. “I’m really sorry that today is the last day of your internship. There’s no doubt in my mind that you are the best intern this place has ever seen.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.” Clenching my jaw, I forced a smile.

Waving me off, Tommy laughed. “Jenna, do me a favor and let those walls fall for just a moment. This shit sucks and I’m heartbroken for you.”

My shoulders dropped and a huge breath left my throat. “It really fucking does.”

“Promise to stay in touch. I’ll be passing out your resume like candy on Halloween.” Tommy stood from her desk and walked around it to shake my hand. “If anything opens up, you’re my first call, understood?”

Swallowing hard, I stood from the plush, brown leather chair and shook Tommy’s hand back. “Got it.”

With the handle of her glass door in hand, Tommy shrugged. “I really can’t emphasize enough how much this isn’t about your performance. I know you’re going to go home and analyze every second of every day you spent here, but I swear you outpaced every intern we’ve ever had. Myself included.”

It was hard to imagine someone as put together as Tommy as an intern, a scared post-grad just hoping for work. I tried to let the image steel me enough to get the fuck out of these pristine offices. If Tommy was like me once upon a time, I could be like her one day.

It had takeneverything in my being to get out of that building without sobbing. But I’d said my goodbyes, gathered my things, and headed downstairs at 5 pm sharp.Fuckers can’t take any more of my time.

As soon as the warm air of the city streets hit my face, the tears burst out. I didn’t even care that the other business people strolling down the Midtown streets could see me.

And I stayed like that until I got off the L train in Brooklyn.

I’d texted Clay a warning that I was upset before I even got on the train. I didn’t want my sweet girlfriend to be completely blindsided by my tear-streaked face.

As I walked down the residential streets of Bushwick, I wiped away the rolling drops of water.

Maybe Clay will have something reassuring to say.

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