Page 2 of I Changed for You
The house decor changed every other year. This time, my mother used pastel purple and white. It was the luxury that made it pop. I hated that she used my favorite color too. Of all the colors in the world, why did it have to be my favorite one? My parents lived in a mini mansion. It was just the two of them in the house, but they wouldn’t downgrade. There were six bedrooms. Each had its own bathroom. If I wanted to live at home, I could, but I would never come back.
The kitchen was connected to the dining room and living room. We didn’t eat in the dining room. My parents used that for their dinner parties only. I didn’t mind sitting in the kitchen, but Erin made such a big fuss about it, especially when the chef was cooking or cleaning while we were there.
I needed to leave before they asked me any more questions. I had a meeting with a new client today and didn’t want to be late. My friends could handle it, but I also liked to be in attendance.
When I stood up, all eyes were on me. “I’ll be heading to work now.”
No way would I be telling them the reason. That would give them a reason to give their input on what I needed to do for the meeting. I had my friends to help with that since we helped each other out.
My father inclined his head. “Okay. If you need us for anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
I pressed my lips together. “Sure.” They should already know I wouldn’t do a thing like that. “Talk to you all later.”
I strode out of the kitchen and headed down the long white hallway that would take me to the front door. My black heels clicked on the brown tile flooring of the house, making an echo sound as I walked.
Once I settled in my black Telluride, I sighed deeply, resting my head against the headrest. It was a relief to get out of the house. That drained me to sit there with them as they interrogated me. Today, it felt like they were being extra, which made me very irritated.
I pushed the button to start my car and then fastened my seatbelt before backing out of the driveway. On the way to work, I had an Usher playlist playing. My parents’ neighbors always stayed outside regardless of the time of day, so I blew my horn many times before I got to the top of the road. Only rich people stayed on my parents’ side of town. All they did was flaunt their wealth. Since they had it, they wanted others to know too.
On a Wednesday morning, the city was busy and packed early. People were rushing to get to work or somewhere else. I hated being out on the road on my way to work, and when I got off. That was when people acted like they didn’t know how to drive. It was too hot to be playing around on the road.
It was the middle of August, and the heat was intense. I couldn’t wait for it to cool off. I couldn’t handle this heat, and we weren’t getting any rain. As much as I wanted to stop by Crème Coffee Café for a latte, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep it down. I tried drinking coffee before I went to my parents’ house, and it didn’t work out.
When I arrived at work, I dreaded going inside. It had felt like a chore to come into work now. It was almost like I didn’t want to do this anymore. I needed a change in my life. With a deep exhale, I turned my car off and grabbed my purse before I exited it. From my car to the front of the glass door that readEJC Law Firm, I wanted to turn around and go home.
“Good morning, Miss Eli,” the security guard, Leon, greeted me.
I smiled and greeted him with a nod. Before I entered the conference room, I needed to go to the bathroom to get myselftogether. One thing I disliked was not having a bathroom in my office. That was how someone could go back and tell my parents about my being sick at work. Although my friends and I owned the law firm, my father had helped pay for it. My assistant was someone my father knew. It was probably her going back and telling my father things about me and what went on in the law firm. If so, I was going to fire her.
After getting myself together in the bathroom, I headed into the conference room where my friends were. Since this was where we met with our clients, there was no need for me to go to my office.
When I entered the room, they were having a conversation. I loved being in the conference room. It overlooked the parking lot and the highway. I could see the grocery store and the gas station from the window too. In the corner, a refreshment table was set up with chips, cookies, bottled water, and soda. We also had a coffeemaker. Someone came in every three hours to refresh the table. With only my friends and me plus two more women working in the building, we all had assistants. Some days were better than others, as we all had our off days.
Jada turned to me with a smile. “Miss Late Bird is in the house.”
On the table, they had their notebooks and pens, along with a brown folder. I guess that was the file we needed for this appointment.
I waved her off. “If only you knew why I’m late. Good morning, ladies.”
“Mornin’,” they spoke in unison.
“You went to your parents’ house, didn’t you?” Camila asked, shaking her head.
I gave a quick nod of confirmation before I took a seat, putting my purple and gray purse in the chair next to me.
“I did, and they were on me like always. Someone at this law firm is going back and telling my parents’ stuff. They told them I was sick.”
Jada and Camila exchanged looks. “But you were,” they insisted in unison.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what’s going on with me. Then Erika and Erin kept saying stuff too. You know they think they’re my mother too.”
Jada shook her head. “It’s always the siblings. My sister and brother are like that. I hate it.”
I grunted with a shake of my head. “Tell me about it. They need a man in their life.”
“We all need a man in our lives,” Jada shot back.
She wasn’t lying when she said that. All of us were single. I didn’t know about them, but I wanted a man. I’d been getting lonely lately. It was no fun being single, especially when I’d been single for so long.
