Page 26 of All the Right Words
‘OK,’ Olivia mumbled back
There were a few moments of silence while Gina watched the delivery man move closer on the map. She was drooling.
‘We’re stuck, aren’t we?’ Olivia said.
‘Oh, no, no, no, no… Well, maybe.’
‘Oh god, we’re gonna die,’ Olivia moaned.
The dread in her voice made Gina wonder if she was about to listen to a disaster. Until Harper laughed and told her it would be fine, clearly not affected by any genuinely deadly threats. And then, in a pretty audacious gambit, Harper suggested a stroll down Olivia’s romantic history. That caught Gina’s attention. She didn’t really know anything about Olivia’s personal history. She couldn’t imagine that Olivia would be up for spilling. She was proven right when Olivia said, ‘I don’t think I want to…’
Gina supposed this was the moment, what she was here for. ‘No, tell her. You can’t avoid it,’ she instructed her firmly. ‘Give her something real.’
She didn’t know which way this was going to swing. ‘Her name was Cho. She was a human rights lawyer.’ And then she said some absolute bullshit about deciding ‘not to proceed’. Gina was starting to feel very frustrated with Olivia.
She forgot she was talking to her boss. She gave it to her straighter than she ever had. ‘Olivia,’ Gina said. Olivia was quiet, and Gina assumed she was listening. She heard Olivia sigh. ‘Tell her what went wrong. If you don’t, you’re flying a massive red flag. Because ifIheard someone say what you just said, I’d assume they were the problem, and they didn’t want to admit it.’
There was a pause during which Gina wondered if she still had a job. But then Olivia spoke up. ‘Well,actually, we didn’t decide anything. She broke it off,’ she confessed.
Olivia began to explain what had happened. Gina decided this was an excellent time to get a glass of water. She wasn’t too worried about leaving Olivia. It seemed like she was alright now. That burger should be here soon.
When she came back, Olivia was saying something a bit flirty, and Gina took her moment. ‘So, I’m gonna dip now, if that’s OK,’ Gina said.
‘NO!’ Olivia cried. There was a pause, and then Olivia added, presumably to Harper. ‘Sorry, I just stepped in mud, and these shoes are new.’
‘Oh. OK,’ Harper said.
‘Olivia, you seem fine,’ Gina said.
‘I’m just gonna nip to the toilet,’ Olivia said quickly, and then Gina heard the sound of a door creaking open. ‘Oh my god,’ Olivia gagged. ‘This place smells like hell’s arsehole.’
‘Are you talking to me?’ Gina asked.
‘Yes. Please don’t leave.’
‘But you guys connected, right? Surely…’
‘I need a little more time,’ Olivia pleaded. ‘Just till the end of the date?’
Gina sighed. ‘Look, I’m not comfortable-’
‘What if we make that raise five percent instead of three?’ Olivia asked desperately.
Gina frowned. ‘It’s not about the money.’ At least not two percent. Gina was enough of a realist to know that she probably did have a price. But it wasn’tthatlow; she was glad to know.
‘OK, OK, I’m sorry, that’s a pathetic raise. And I know it wouldn’t cover this craziness even if I gave you twenty percent. I want you to know that Idoget that. This is not your job,’ Olivia moaned pathetically. ‘I can’t believe I’m trying to hire someone to help me act like a normal person. I’m pathetic.’
Gina chewed the inside of her lip. ‘You’re not pathetic. You’re just out of practice. I get that.’
‘How could you understand? You’re always so confident.’
Gina sighed. People told her that sometimes. She always wanted to tell them there was a big difference between being confident and simply having lost the will to care what anyone thought. But of course, she never did. Because what was the point? She didn’t care enough to explain. ‘Look, Olivia, you have bags of confidence. You rescued our company from certain death with it. The fact that people believe you can run the company is why we’re all still there. You have to figure out how to transfer those skills.’
‘Well, I don’t know how. I’ve never been able to do that. I think I’m going to go out there and make up some excuse. Leave before I cock it up,’ Olivia said miserably.
‘Olivia, no!’ Gina heard herself exclaim. She didn’t know why the hell she was becoming so invested. Maybe because Gina hadn’t cared about anything for so long, someone having hope touched a nerve. She didn’t want Olivia to stop reaching for what she wanted. Even if it meant she would have to let Olivia stand on her shoulders to touch it. ‘OK, look. I’m going to keep helping you, OK? But you will have to find your own feet at some point. I can’t do this forever.’
She heard Olivia groan with gratitude. ‘Gina, you’re an absolute fucking rock star, and I will never forget that you did this for me.’
