Page 26 of Power

“I’ll be in meetings the rest of the day. I expect the filing to be completed by the time I return.”

As soon as his back is to me, I cover my face with my palms and groan. My phone dings, and I see a text from Mindy.

Mindy: S’up, girly girl! We still on for tonight?

Me: Yep. Bring champagne. Lots of it.

Mindy: Duh. My specialty. How’s the hot boss workin’ out? He have you doing naughty little assistant things yet? *insert cupcake GIF*

Another groan leaves my lips.

Me: Negative. He’s actually with someone so you can knock that off.

Mindy: Boo-hoo. Maybe there’s a hot single guy in your building. Nothing like neighbor sex. Super convenient.

Me: Sounds messy. I’ll pass. I’ll be off by five. Meet me at my parents? I don’t have much. Maybe we can be one and done. No time to waste when champagne is involved.

Mindy: You got it, buttercup. See ya then. Xoxoxo

“Holy cow, remind me to ask what floor you’re on next time I volunteer to move you.” We both throw ourselves onto my free couch, courtesy of my mom’s church group, and huff out an exhausted breath. “Did you see the guy in four-A? Not bad.”

I wipe the sweat off my brow. “No, I was too busy fighting for my life getting the mattress up the stairs. I’ve always wondered how I would die, but being smashed by a mattress never came to mind.”

Mindy chuckles and slaps her thighs. “Right? Okay, time for the rewards.” She stands, walks to the boxes, and grabs two coffee mugs. “These will have to do until the fancy china arrives.”

More like secondhand thrift shop dinnerware and stemware. I get up and help with the champagne. The cork pops and shoots out, slamming against the wall. “Opa!” Mindy hollers and hurries to pour the overflowing liquid into the mugs. I take a much-needed sip and keep going until it’s gone. Mindy dumps more into my cup, and I sip slower, taking in my new place. It definitely needs a lot of work. Some TLC. A strong deodorizer. But it’s mine.

“Cheers to finally being able to masturbate without worrying your mom or dad will walk in.” She clinks her mug to mine.

I shake my head. “How about, here’s to me getting a call back so I can quit my job and pursue the career I was meant to have.”

“If you did that, you’d have to quit the bar too, and I would never get to see you.”

“Wouldn’t my mother love that.” Mindy’s brows raise. “No, I don’t mean it like that. My mom loves you. What she doesn’t love is her daughter working at a bar. I think it gives her church friends something to whisper about behind her back.”

“Oh, the travesty of selling booze to the dregs of society.”

“Right?” I snort. “She’s convinced I need to settle into a cookie-cutter life—get married, give her tons of grandbabies, blah, blah, blah.”

Mindy groans. “That sounds atrocious.”

“Tell me about it. I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to be there someday, but I don’t see that for me right now. I have this burning desire to do something great. But here I am, stuck in a stuffy office with a stuffy boss, living for every ding from my phone and hoping it’s a potential job interview.”

“Girl, it’ll happen, I promise. Maybe you should go to the restaurant to talk to your old boss? Explain what happened.”

I walk over and plant myself on my couch. “Trust me, I tried. I couldn’t even get past the snooty hostess.”

Mindy sits next to me. “Want me to come with and distract her while you run for the kitchen?”

I snort. “If it were only that easy. The damage is already done. It’s that punk’s word over mine. And honestly, no matter who’s truly at fault, it doesn’t change the fact that it ruined their chances of another Michelin star.”

“There are other things in life.”

“Not for a chef.” I down the rest of my champagne, and Mindy fills me back up.

“Okay, fine. So, you keep at it. Something’s gonna fall into your lap. Meanwhile, what are you going to do about your current job?”

The million-dollar question. “Who knows? Keep my head on straight, my mouth shut, and be a compliant employee?”

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