Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I don’t want to just leave her like this, but there’s something I have to take care of in the office today. I plan on making it a short day, though.
I get to the studio and go straight to Robert’s office.
“Hey,” he says cheerfully. I close the door behind me, and when he sees my face, Robert changes his tune. “Is everything okay?”
“Did George come in? George Thompson?”
“Uh, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him, but I also haven’t been down to the editing suite.”
“Okay. Can you let me know when he gets in? If he gets in?”
“Did something happen, Brick?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need to tell me about it?”
“Just be ready to tell HR we might need to start looking for a new editor. I’ll explain later, okay?”
Robert gives me a look, and I’m worried he’s going to ask me more questions. I ready myself for the onslaught, but he just nods, and I leave his office. If George quits now, the company’s not going to suffer. We’d actually started putting out feelers for candidates before but had halted those after we decided to keep George on. Well, I guess it was more my decision.
Now, it looks like we’re going to have to start up that search again. I can’t see George coming back to work here, not after everything that happened last night.
Talking to Robert was really the only thing I needed to do today. I take a quick trip to my office to look around. There’s nothing I need to grab, so I let my secretary know I’m leaving.
“Nancy, I’m heading home early. Please let Robert know if he needs anything just to call me, but only if it’s an emergency. There’s some stuff I’m taking care of at home, so I’m going to be disconnected for the most part.”
“No problem. If the people from the Clark group call, should I let you know?”
“You can just forward all of that stuff to Robert. He can take care of it.”
“No problem. Will I be seeing you tomorrow, Brick?”
I take a second to think.
“I’m actually not sure. I’ll make sure to check in every morning if I’m not going to be here.” I’m about to leave when I hear Nancy clear her throat.
“Is everything okay?” She seems genuinely worried. I’ve never called out of work like this before. Sure, I have taken days off before, but they were always planned well in advance. Nancy probably thinks this must be some kind of an emergency, which it kind of is.
“It will be. Thank you, Nancy. For all of your hard work.”
“Of course. It’s my job. I hope everything works out.”
I say goodbye and head home. Tammy hasn’t called me yet, so I’m guessing she’s either still asleep or didn’t see my note. Either way, I’m sure she’s okay.
I get back to my apartment and find it just as silent as it was when I left. Quietly, I walk through the apartment, looking to see if Tammy is doing anything, but I find her in the bedroom, lying in the bed just like I left her.
“Tammy, baby. Are you okay?” I kneel by the side of the bed. Her eyes are open, and she looks at me.
“I’m fine, Brick,” she sighs.
“Have you gotten out of bed at all?”
“I did before you got here, but I’m tired. I don’t really want to do anything, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine. Take all the time you need.” I leave Tammy to process things the way she wants.
Over the next week, we get into a routine of her doing the basics while I make sure everything else is taken care of. I’ve never had to watch after someone’s wellbeing so thoroughly before, and it’s a lot of work, but I do it for the woman I love.
At one point, I see her phone and notice someone named Abigail has called a bunch of times. She calls again, and this time, I answer.
“Tammy! Thank God you finally answered! Where in the world are you?! You haven’t been to work for days. Do you even care about this job?” This must be her boss. Tammy has told me a little bit about her. Mainly that she’s quite demanding and very unappreciative.
“Hi, this isn’t Tammy.”
“Okay, who are you?”
“I’m her boyfriend. Do you need something from her?”
“I’d like to talk to her. She hasn’t been coming into work or answering any of my calls. If she doesn’t want to get fired, I’d suggest she find her way to the phone.” This woman is asking for a lot and not even wondering if Tammy is okay. Shouldn’t that be her first question if her employee hasn’t shown up for a week?
“I’m sorry, but she can’t come to the phone right now. There’s been a family emergency, and there’s a chance she won’t be coming in for a while. You might even want to start looking for someone to fill her position.”