“Liz, I have another client I need to touch base with,” she lied. If she didn’t cut Liz off, she’d get the entire family history. None of which had anything to do with why she called.
“Sorry. Got carried away again. Guess I get bored without Rosslyn in the office to keep me busy. Thank you again for the confirmation call. I’ll be the one meeting with Bobbi in the morning and getting her set up. Can’t wait to get help on this project.”
“Wonderful. And please call me if there are any issues. Have a great night Liz.”
“You too Gianna.”
Gianna didn’t have any facts on what the project was, just the skill set required to do the job. She didn’t rely on someone’s resume. Gianna actually tested each applicant to ensure they met the criteria. Bobbi was an excellent typist. The only problem was not having any actual prior work experience. Her gut was to give Bobbi a chance to prove herself. Gianna hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. Rosslyn had cut her some slack, but eventually, her luck would run out. And if Rosslyn was dealing with a sick child, she surely didn’t need any office issues as well.
She called Bobbi’s number and her mother answered.
“Hello Ms. Ionnetty. You just missed Bobbi. She’s out trying to find something to wear for work tomorrow.”
Gianna hadn’t even thought about the upfront expense Bobbi was going to incur. Without ever working in an office before, she probably didn’t have the business casual attire in her closet.
“Is there a way I can reach her?” she asked.
“Oh no. Please Ms. Ionnetty, don’t tell me you changed your mind. Bobbi is really excited about you giving her this opportunity. Everyone else said she needed work experience. How is she supposed to get if it no one will let her?”
“That’s not why I’m calling. I was actually going to go out shopping at this consignment shop and wanted to know if she wanted to join me.” Gianna really just wanted to get home and soak in a hot tub until she wrinkled like a prune. It’d been a long day and she didn’t want to talk or think about work.
“That’s very nice of you, but I don’t think she can shop where you do,” she sighed. “We don’t have much money. As you know, Bobbi just graduated from high school. She’s trying to earn money for college. She won’t touch her college fund money for anything,” her mother said firmly.
That was just another reason why Gianna needed to help this girl. She had dreams and wasn’t afraid to work to make them happen. But everyone needs a helping hand along the way. For her, the college money came in for of a hocked diamond ring. Now it was time to pay it forward.
“I have all this clothing that I was going to give to the consignment shop, but really, it’s too much work to go through it all. I was hoping that Bobbi might be interested in taking some of it off my hands. And whatever she doesn’t want, maybe she can bring to the consignment shop for me.”
“We don’t take charity,” she stated flatly.
“It’s not. Trust me, it’d take me hours to go through everything and get it in order. I don’t have that kind of time. So I need someone to do it for me. Her payment would be she could keep what she wants for free.”
“Oh, that’s different. Does she have your number?” Gianna gave it to her and she said, “Let me see if I can reach her and have her call you.”
“Thank you. Have a great night,” Gianna said.
While waiting, she packed away her laptop and headed home. There were positive things about working in the city, but the transportation home wasn’t one of them. At the end of the day, all she wanted was peace and quiet. That wasn’t going to happen for at least another hour or two.
Just as she was walking into her apartment, her cell phone rang. “Hello, this is Gianna.”
“Hi. This is Bobbi. My mother said you called and needed my help.”
“That I do. Are you free tonight?”
“Yes I am.”
“Did your mother explain what I needed?”
“Yes. I can’t believe you’re going to let me pick first. That’s so cool. I mean, kind. I saw how you dress. Your stuff is so nice. I can’t believe you want to get rid of it.”
“I’d rather give it away than let it sit in my closet. Here’s my address. I’m also going to order pizza. Do you feel like joining me?” She didn’t know a nineteen year old who ever turned down food. At least they didn’t when she was that age.
“Sounds great. And my Mom just made brownies. I’ll bring them with me for dessert,” Bobbi said.
When the call ended, Gianna no longer was tired. If anything, she was almost as excited as Bobbi. But the clothes that she was passing along really should’ve been given away a long time ago. These weren’t things she’d purchased. It was the wardrobe that Marvin had purchased for her. She’d kept it all these years as a reminder never to be blinded by bling again. It was time for her to close that chapter in her life for good now. And by giving it to Bobbi, that was yet just another positive thing coming out of her stupid mistake.
Looks like my day just turned around for the better.
She called and placed the pizza order. Hawaiian. It had become her favorite since the night Jordan had brought it. Although she had to admit, none of them ever tasted as good.
Gianna’s cell phone rang again, and she looked at the caller ID. It was Mary-Lou. Oh how she missed her friends. Answering it she asked with a laugh in her tone, “What’s the drama of the day?”
“Oh you’re not going to believe who I just saw.”
“Mary-Lou, I don’t have time for guessing games. I have someone coming over.”
“Please tell me it’s a date,” Mary-Lou pleaded.
Gianna rolled her eyes. “You date enough for the both of us.”
“I know. I hope you see the problem with that,” she said. “If you don’t pick up the pace, there won’t be any guys left in Queens for you to date.”
“Unless you’ve forgotten, I don’t live in Queens any longer,” she reminded her friend.
“Well you’ll be glad you’re not when I tell you who I saw. Marvin came in the bar. I can’t believe he had the guts to show up here.”
“Mary-Lou, it’s been twelve years. I think it’s time for you to let it go. I have.” That didn’t mean her stomach didn’t turn when she heard his name. Gianna hadn’t seen or heard from him. The anger behind it faded with the hope of receiving any apology from him.
“Gianna, you know me better than that. I mean he just walked in and sat down as though he’d never hurt my best friend.”
“Please tell me you didn’t assault him.” She still couldn’t believe Marvin even went there. He’d stopped in once when they were pretending to date just so it looked believable to even her friends. But she had to hear his whining for hours afterwards about how he didn’t frequent places like that. Gianna never told Mary-Lou because it’d only have pissed her off even more.
“I wouldn’t say pouring a beer on his head was assault,” she laughed. “You should’ve seen his face. He was livid. Marvin started mouthing off, which isn’t wise in that place. You know how these guys are.”