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I went down the hall and knocked on the door to the conference room, where Ziff sat. He motioned for me to come in, and the second I sat, he said, “Avril, your little game is over.”
He sat back and crossed his arms. I froze. “What’s going on?”
He was unreadable as he said, “You’re fired.”
I tried to rationalize what I’d heard. “Excuse me?”
He folded his hands. “The game is over now, and you’re fired.”
So I hadn’t misheard anything. Heat rushed through me. “Can I ask why?”
He stared out toward security and nodded at them. “You lied to us. Goodbye.”
The guards I passed every morning came in, and I jumped up. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but this was a disaster. I had no job and no income, and I was being kicked out like a thief.
My shoulders slumped. Security directed me to my desk and watched me as I collected my things. I’d never had much but a change of shoes and some coins for the snack machine. I carried my old black flats and headed out.
Once I passed the gates, I was left alone. I tossed the old shoes and grabbed my phone from my pocketbook.
I wasn’t sure what I would do, but I realized school was over, so I quickly called my friend, who worked not far from my office building. “Kelly, are you done for the day?”
“Yeah. What’s going on?”
I gazed up at the high-rise buildings, and tears formed in my eyes. “I’ve been fired.”
“Is it because of that stupid blog post?”
I half hugged my waist and walked toward her work. I hoped she could come out and we could talk for a few minutes. I needed someone to think for me because I was numb. “I don’t think so. Ziff said I lied.”
“Did you read this afternoon’s gem?”
My heart raced. I gazed down the three blocks I needed to walk as I flipped my phone to speaker so I could read while I talked to her. “On my way to your work, so come out, but I’m reading now.”
“I don’t believe you were faking. And there is no way you’d ever be paid to be his sexually. That’s not you.”
In the middle of the sidewalk, as people passed me, I rocked back and forth on my feet. “My sister could read this.”
“Does it matter?”
Tears washed down my face. Some of the messaging was true, and the world now knew I’d asked Kir to help me get ahead at my job. I swiped my face as I read the clear lie. “It’s horrible. I traded myself to Kir for sex with more evidence coming later.”
“Total bull. I’m sure Kir’s brother Jeff is working with Miley on the case.”
At least my friends believed me. My shoulders slumped as I stood outside her school building. I saw her coming out and said, “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m studying for a job change myself. Go home. Talk to Kir. He seems really into you.”
I lowered my face. I’d ruined everything. “He… said he loved me.”
She walked with me toward Central Park. “So you and Hope are both ending up happily ever after.”
I met her gaze. It was time to tell the truth. “I didn’t say it back.”
She bumped into me, and her gaze was piercing. “Why not? It’s obvious how you feel, and as Britney would say, ‘We don’t tell trillionaires no when they offer us everything.’”
I laughed. She had Britney down. I shook my head. “Because I don’t want to depend on him and everything he has to offer.”
“Why?”
