I roll my eyes as I turn back to Roy and shrug. “Party’s over.”
I go to my desk and find a box already waiting for me. When I look up, Roy flashes me a smile, and I mouth a thank you to him. I peek around the room looking for Carly but don’t see her anywhere. She had to do some research for her next article today, and she must not be back yet. Quickly packing up all my stuff, I start to feel a little sad that I won’t get to work with these people anymore but when Mr. Klein huffs from the entrance to the bullpen, checking his watch in annoyance, that feeling goes away.
When my stuff is all packed, I grab my box and toss my purse inside before walking over to Roy, who kisses my cheek and wishes me luck. Just as I reach Mr. Klein, Kevin, the officer who runs the front desk, comes up behind him. He glances over his shoulder and snaps his fingers at him before pointing to me.
What a dick.
“Hey, Kevin. How’s your little girl doing? She still in a cast?” I ask, ignoring Mr. Klein and his lack of manners. Kevin has always been so nice to me, and I like to stop and chat with him whenever I get a chance. His daughter is in dance class and broke her leg about a month ago so I’ve been asking about her periodically.
Kevin smiles and nods. “Yeah, for a couple more weeks. She’s already running all over the place though.”
“I bet,” I laugh.
“This is not a social visit. Escort Miss James out of the building now,” Mr. Klein snaps, and Kevin starts to shoot a glare in his direction but I shake my head before I take off for the entrance. Kevin follows behind me, and I’m glad. There’s no reason that he needs to lose his job today, too.
“You all right, Miss Ali?” Kevin asks when we’re far enough away from Mr. Klein. I smile over at him and nod.
“Yeah, I’m good. This was my choice.”
He nods. “Do you want help out to your car?”
“Oh, no. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I can manage. Thank you, though.”
“Anytime. I’ll miss you around here.”
“I’ll miss you, too. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to give me a call, okay?”
He nods before we say a quick good-bye, and I step out into the late morning sunshine, wondering what I should do now. I decide to head to my car and call Carly to fill her in on everything that happened. Once I deposit my box in the trunk, I slide into my seat and dial her number.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asks as soon as she answers the phone.
“Oh, a whole lot. Where are you?”
“I’m at the coffee shop across the street. I wasn’t ready to go back to work yet.”
I frown because I know exactly how she feels. It’s the same way I’ve been feeling for months. This job that I loved wasn’t so fun anymore with Mr. Klein running things. “I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”
We hang up, and I climb out of my car, locking up before walking across the street to our favorite little coffee shop to hide out in. As soon as I walk in, I spot Carly at a back table, and she waves me over. When I sit down, she slides a coffee in my direction.
“When you called me, I ordered your favorite.”
“Thank you. I needed this.”
“That doesn’t sound good. Tell me everything.”
I sigh before launching into the whole story, pausing quite often so she can get her laughter under control, and when I finish, she’s gaping at me.
“He’s fucking delusional,” she says, and I nod. “The man runs a small newspaper in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he thinks he’s Walter fucking Cronkite.”
“I think getting sucked off by Chelsea is inflating his ego a little.”
“I can’t believe you said that to him.”
I shrug. “It was about damn time someone said it. How long has she been on her knees for him? Since she started there? And then she magically gets all these promotions? I don’t think so.”
“You’re my spirit animal,” she says, taking a sip of her coffee, and I laugh.
“Well, thank you, I think.”
“So, what are you going to do now?”
I shrug and look out the window. It’s a fantastic question, and I wish I had an answer for her but I don’t. “That street corner looks nice,” I say, nodding to the corner of the coffee shop, and she laughs.
“Uh, no. You’re not hooking. You’re a talented writer, and you’ll find something.”
“I like your faith in me.”
She offers me a sympathetic look and stands, grabbing her coffee. “Well, I’ve got to get back before I end up next to you on that corner. You want to walk with me?”
I shake my head and lean back in my seat. “No, I think I’m gonna hang out here for a little bit. I’ve got nowhere to be.”
She smirks at my joke and nods. “Dinner tonight?”
“Sure, that sounds good. Bring over some Chinese.”
“You got it.”
I stand and hug her before sinking back down into my chair and sighing. What the hell am I going to do now? It would have been nice to have a little time to plan my future before I quit my job but I can’t regret what happened today. I’m a little angry with myself that it took me so damn long to stand up to him. That’s not me, and I hate that I let myself get in that situation. When Mr. Carlyle ran the paper, he looked out for me. He saw my talent and he wanted to nurture it and help me grow as a writer. And under his guidance, I did. A lot of the writer I am now, I owe to him. When Mr. Klein bought the paper, that all went to hell.
He didn’t have the passion for the written word that Mr. Carlyle did, and I have to wonder why he bought it in the first place. It didn’t take long for all of us to see that our little paper would never be the same once he took over. Sighing, I take a sip of my coffee and look out to the street, watching all the other people bustling past the coffee shop on their way to work or school. What the hell am I going to do?
“Excuse me?”
I startle, and my head whips in the direction of the voice. A gorgeous blonde about my age with piercing green eyes smiles at me, motioning to the chair across from me.
“Mind if I sit?”
“Uh, no,” I reply, looking around at all the empty tables around us. I didn’t think it was possible but she smiles even brighter and slides into the chair across from me before taking a sip of her own coffee.
“I’m Mercedes Richmond,” she says, holding her hand out, and I shake it, wondering what the hell is going on.
“Alison James.”
“Oh, I know who you are.”
My brows shoot up, and I glance around the coffee shop again before looking back to her. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry. That sounded a little creepy. What I meant is that I’ve been reading your work for a while, and I’m a fan.”
I relax slightly and smile. “Oh. Well, thank you.”
“I’m sorry to be so intrusive but I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation you were having with your friend.”
Crap. How much did she hear? Me telling a story about how I chewed out my boss is not exactly my finest moment.
“Yeah, I’m sorry if that bothered you. I was just venting, and I might have gotten a little carried away.”