Prologue
“You’re a good employee, Elena. This isn’t your fault. I just can’t afford to keep everyone on with how slow business has been the last few months.”
Elena stared across the desk at her boss, too shocked to speak. She hadn’t expected to come in this afternoon and have him call her straight into his office, let alone have him tell her she was getting laid off. She had never been let go from a job in her entire life.
“I’m really sorry,” he continued. “I wish I could find a way around it, but I have to give priority to Sandy and Dara, since they’ve been here longest.”
“Uh… Yeah, of course.” Elena tried to rally, but her heart just wasn’t in making Hank feel better about firing her. “Um. So, when is my last day?”
Hank looked sheepish as he lifted a hand and scratched at the back of his neck. “Well, I’ll pay you through Friday, but why don’t you go ahead and go at lunch? I just didn’t want to do this over the phone.”
“Oh.”
When Hank got up, Elena followed suit. The older man came around the desk, motioning toward the office door. “This way, you can start looking for a job while you are still getting a bit of money.”
Elena gave him a half-hearted smile. “Right. Thanks.”
Hank clapped her on the back, smiling kindly. “You’ll land on your feet. You’re a good girl. You can pick up your check Friday night. If you need a reference, you have ‘em call me, okay?”
“Sure.”
Once she was over the threshold, Hank closed the door. Elena blew out a sigh, staring across the bar in a daze. She felt helpless, confused. She’d never dealt with sudden changes very well, and though Hank had told her this wasn’t her fault, it was hard not to feel a little hurt.
“Hey, sugar, you okay?”
Dara, the thirties-something bartender, startled Elena out of her brooding. The look on the woman’s weathered face told her Hank had already discussed letting her go with the other employees.
“Just in shock, I guess,” Elena muttered.
“I’m real sorry,” Dara said. “Times are tough.”
Elena tried not to roll her eyes. Yeah, times were tough all right, just not for Dara—she got to keep her job. “He said I should stay through lunch.”
“Don’t worry about it, hon. It’s been slow today, and no one wants to work after getting that kind of news. Why don’t you go ahead and take off?”
Elena had to admit trying to work for the next couple hours sounded awful. She knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
“Yeah, okay. I think I will. See you, Dara. Nice working with you.”
Elena gathered her things from her locker and said her obligatory goodbyes to the other girls.
It was a sunny day, but its brightness was lost on her as she trudged down the street to the bus stop. To make matters worse, there were almost a dozen people waiting for the next bus. Everyone was enjoying the weather, listening to too-loud music on their phones or chatting with other riders.
Normally a cheerful, social person, today Elena chose to stand a little further down the sidewalk, far enough away that no one would try to talk to her. She was still trying to process what happened and she was barely keeping it together. She really, really wanted to cry.
When the bus finally came, she slipped in the handicapped entrance and took up residence in one of the pair of single seats flanking the double doors. She dutifully ignored the other passengers and stared out the window.
On the twenty-minute ride home, she tried to find a silver lining in the situation. The bar hadn’t paid much and the hours were crappy. She’d been filling in for Dara and the other bartender more than doing her own job lately.
She’d been hired as a waitress, not a substitute bartender. Friendly and detail-oriented, waitressing was a cakewalk for Elena even when it was busy. She liked the hustle and bustle of it. Tending bar was harder.
She wondered if her lack of ability to move seamlessly from one position to another was why Hank laid her off. It seemed like Dara was always absent, but Hank sure wasn’t in a hurry to fire her. Elena thought she had an inkling as to why, but she’d never say that out loud. Hank was married, after all.
At least now she wouldn’t be doing two peoples’ work.
She could try to get another waitressing position at one of the restaurants down the street from her apartment, or maybe even look downtown. Her boyfriend, Jack, was always harping on her to let him get her a job at his communications company, but Elena didn’t want to do that. Not only did she think sitting behind a desk answering phones all day would be boring, but she didn’t want to owe anyone anything, either. Jack was already paying all the bills—he’d insisted on it so that she could save for a car and stop riding the bus—and that was all the “charity” she could stand.
She couldn’t rule the possibility out yet, though; not until she’d exhausted all her other options.
By the time she got off the bus, she had a plan. Starting tomorrow, she’d canvas the neighborhood and apply at all her favorite restaurants. If she couldn’t find anything in her neighborhood, she’d head downtown to the arts district where all the fancy new bakeries and restaurants were popping up. Hopefully she’d have a job by the end of next week.
She started to feel a little better as she walked the three blocks from the bus stop to their building, even going so far as to force encouragement on herself as she ascended the two flights of stairs. Everything is going to be fine. It’ll work out just like it’s supposed to.
Elena paused with her key almost to the lock of the apartment door when she realized there was music coming from inside. She frowned. No one was supposed to be home. Jack worked a 9-to-5 downtown, and she’d been the last one out of the apartment that morning. She was sure she hadn’t left the radio on.
More cautious than before, she slipped the key in the lock and eased the door open.
The living room was empty, and a glance to the left told her the kitchen was too. The music was coming from the bedroom.
Elena swallowed hard, her stomach twisting with dread. The likelihood that a robber was jamming out while he ransacked the place was pretty slim, especially considering all the electronics were still where she’d left them. Sometimes Jack let friends from out-of-town stay over when they were passing through, but he always told her beforehand. Unless her landlord was riffling through her panty drawer, that didn’t leave many other reasons for someone being here in the middle of the day.
Only one that she could think of.
She crept down the hall, tiptoeing even though the music was so loud no one could have heard her coming, and stepped into the bedroom doorway.
Jack was fucking a stranger in their bed.
He was on his knees with his back to Elena, plowing into a redhead sprawled beneath him with her knees hooked over his shoulders. Beside them, another naked man was watching him and palming the woman’s breast.
Elena froze, staring in morbid fascination. A year together, and she’d never seen any red flags. Jack had never lied, that she could tell, and had never behaved as if he were unhappy. For all intents and purposes, he had seemed like a great boyfriend. They had an active social life. They always had fun together. Hell, even their sex life was pretty decent.