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His nostrils flared. “You’d better hope Aiden is available on Monday.”
His unspoken threat hung between us like a foul smell. Apparently, afraid I was too dumb to understand his meaning, he leaned closer and said, “You are dangerously close to losing your job. Do better, Ms. Gates.”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered, the tears pricking at my eyes and my throat so tight I could barely swallow.
“I’ll be out for lunch and unavailable for calls,” he said before, with another look of disdain, he marched away.
I slumped in my seat, feeling sick to my stomach. I’d forgotten my lunch today, but it didn’t matter. My appetite had fled, and I doubted it would return anytime soon. Yesterday and today had been a constant barrage of complaints and snide remarks from Mr. Rainer about my skills. I could pretend it was fine, but the truth was my new boss hated me and was determined to get me fired.
I knew without a doubt that he’d originally asked for the meeting to be moved to Tuesday. His only reason for lying was to have another excuse to fire me. Ella had suggested I speak with Aiden, but I knew it wouldn’t help. It was my word against Mr. Rainer’s, and what chance did I have at keeping my job if my boss would resort to straight-up lying about me? Mr. Rainer was a highly sought-after employee, and I was a nobody. Secretaries were a dime a dozen, and they’d have a replacement in my chair before I even drove Marvin out of the parking garage.
If you lose this job, your mother won’t get her chemo treatments.
I cringed, and the heavy guilt only increased when my phone rang. I fumbled it out of my purse to see my mother’s number on the screen. I thought briefly of not answering it before dismissing the idea. One, she knew I was on my lunch, and two, what if she’d taken a turn for the worse?
I hit the answer button. “Hi, Mom. Everything okay?”
“Hi, Riley. It’s okay. I’m still exhausted from the chemo last week. I haven’t gotten out of bed all day.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s been a very difficult past few days,” she said.
“Is that why you didn’t answer my video call on Monday or Wednesday?” I asked.
I could hear the defensiveness in her tone. “I was sleeping, Riley. I’m sorry I can’t say how high the minute you say jump, but I’m having poison pumped into my body every few weeks, and that takes a toll on a person.”
“I know,” I said quickly. “I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.”
“Aren’t you?” she asked.
“I’m not,” I said. “I’ve just had a bit of a bad week myself because I have a new boss who doesn’t like me, and I’m lonely with Ella living in Australia now. I thought seeing your gorgeous face might cheer me up.”
She sighed. “Riley, how many times do I have to tell you that you can’t look to other people for your happiness? You have to create your happiness. Besides, you’d have more friends than just Ella if you weren’t so needy. This constant desire to be liked by others, to have their approval, is the very thing that drives people away from you. It’s a very unattractive quality, sweetie, and I’d hoped you would have outgrown it by now.”
“I’m working on it,” I said as more tears stung the back of my eyes.
“Are you? Because you’re complaining that I’m not supporting you when I’m going through a very trying time. I have cancer, Riley. My own body is trying to kill me, and yet you expect me to hold your hand because you made a bad impression on your boss by being so blatantly needy.”
“I’m not looking for your support,” I said quickly. “I know how hard it is for you right now, and I don’t mean to upset you.”
She sighed. “I’m sure you don’t, but sometimes I wonder how I raised such a thoughtless child.”
Her disapproval ate at my soul, and I choked back a sob as she said, “How is your second job going?”
“Oh good,” I said.
“Getting lots of shifts?”
“Um, a few. Why?”
“Well, I thought maybe you’d send me more money over the weekend, but you didn’t.”
“Oh, my car broke down, so I had to use the money from my second job to fix it,” I said. “But I have, uh, a shift tonight, so I’ll send you some money tomorrow.”
“That’s the second time your car has broken down in six months,” my mother said.
“Well, it’s on the older side, so it -”
