Page 8 of Devil in the Details
“Now finish that so I can get you round two.”
I chuckled softly and leaned in to bring the straw to my mouth. I sucked and felt the cold, slushy alcoholic beverage fill my mouth. When I swallowed, I tried in vain not to cough, but my eyes watered and I felt that burn renew and travel down my throat.
“God, Michael.” I wheezed and saw him grin. “What did you put in here, gasoline?”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Drink up, buttercup. The night’s still young.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Olive
Several days later
“Miss Morris, can you give me your day-to-day at your last employment?”
I felt my throat tighten as the woman in front me gave the interview.
“Of course.” I was trying to act professional, but I knew what would come after this. I started telling her about my activities at Brookwood Financial Holdings. I guess I’d been a glorified coffee maker, and a pro at making copies and taking appointments. I swear she didn’t even blink as I told her the rundown.
And once I was finished, she leaned back in her seat and gave me a small smile. “It says on your resume your employment with Brookwood Financial Holdings ended just last week?” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
I licked my lips and nodded. “Yes, unfortunately it did.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“It says here you were only there for about two months. Can you let me know the reason for the short employment?”
I shifted on the seat a little uncomfortably, knowing that as soon as she found out I’d been fired this interview would be over. She’d probably give me this condescending smile and tell me she’d be in touch.
“Well, as much as I enjoyed the position, my employer, Mr. Brookwood, let me go.” My voice was tight at the end, strained.
She didn’t say anything right away, but I could see in her expression she already knew this. She’d probably already contacted them to find out my work history and why I’d left, which meant she wanted to see what I had to say about it. She wanted to see if I’d be honest and admit I got fired.
And I was pretty sure the only reason I was sitting here right now for this interview was because she’d found out about me being fired after the interview had been scheduled.
“So they let you go?” Why she would ask when I knew she was aware? Was this like some kind of sadistic play?
I smoothed my hands down my pencil skirt and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“May I ask the reason for them letting you go?”
I brought up mystay calm and act like your shit doesn’t stinkattitude. “There was a scheduling error, and Mr. Brookwood wasn’t happy about that.”
She nodded slowly. “I see.” She started lookingat my resume again. “Okay, well we have a few other interviews lined up, but we’ll be sure to keep in contact.”
And just like that, I was denied. But I plastered on a fake-as-hell smile and stood, shaking her hand, thanking her, and leaving her office.
Once I was on the sidewalk outside the building, I closed my eyes, wanting to scream. I was so damn frustrated. This was the second interview. And both of them had given me the same look,the same “we’ll be in contact” spiel once they’d found out I’d been fired from Brookwood Financial Holdings.
“Doyou want me to come over and help you get ready?” Michael said from the other end of the phone.
I was currently bent over with my head nearly in the fridge as I looked for that last can of Dr. Pepper I knew was in here. I needed the caffeine. Well, honestly, I needed something a lot stiffer than a can of pop, but I was fresh out of the hard stuff.
“No, because I’m not even going to try tonight, if I’m being honest.” I pushed the jar of pickles to the side and spied the brownish can. “Ah-ha! There you are, you little bitch.”
“You talking to yourself again, Olive?”
I shut the fridge and started laughing. “No, I found my last Dr. Pepper, which makes my day marginally better.” I heard some shuffling on the other end of the phone. “What are you doing tonight?” I could hear David in the background, his voice muffled.
“We’re just staying in, ordering pizza, watching some horror movie David picked out.” A moment of silence passed. “Hey, if the date doesn’t pan out, you can always swing by and join us for a late movie.”
