Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“I can’t believe you and Callie both are involved with two guys each.”
“I know. I never thought I’d be so lucky, and I think that’s why I’ve used such poor judgment.”
My roommate looks thoughtful for a moment before saying, “I understand why you’re so conflicted, but I guess I do agree that since it’s a temporary position, you can look at it a bit differently. It’s a big gray area, of course, but it’s not like you’re sleeping with them to get ahead.”
“I tried really hard not to take the job, truly I did. But then they offered me a lot of money, because they really were in a predicament.” I’ve already told Marissa a lot about the hiring and retention issues at Community Bean, so she knows that part.
I also know she’s just being kind by not telling me that what I’m doing is horribly unprofessional. I appreciate her support, even though she’s just helping me lie to myself.
“You said your bosses are unpleasant, but I do recall you saying you had a thing for grumpy men. If they weren’t your bosses, do you think you’d want to date them?”
“They’re really not the kind of men you date, Marissa. They’re the kind who bend you over a desk and —”
She holds up her hands, waving them around to distract me. “Okay, okay. I don’t need to know any details about that. I have a hard enough time hearing about the books you read sometimes, let alone what’s happening in your real life!”
My real life. In a way, it doesn’t feel at all like my real life, and maybe that’s why I keep doing things I never thought I’d do.
CHAPTER 23
ANA
One day, later in my first month of working for Community Bean, there’s a heavy rainstorm following an unusually long dry period.
My morning commute becomes complicated when I turn on my windshield wipers and they stutter across the glass, not making contact well enough to keep the window clear. After they squeak along for half a minute or so, a piece of the rubber comes loose, causing even more of a distraction, and making me worry that my windshield is getting scratched.
The rain is so heavy that I have to pull over at one point, but because I left the house early, I manage to arrive at work only ten minutes late. It turns out I’m not the only one who had a difficult drive in, because when I drop off my lunch in the break room, a group is gathered there, talking about the weather. At one point, I mention my wipers, asking if anyone knows the closest place to buy new ones, and I’m given a couple of recommendations from different people.
When I leave work in the evening, it’s still raining, but it’s more of a misty drizzle, which is a relief. Afraid that it might get heavy again, I still plan to buy new wiper blades on my way home, but when I get to my car, shiny black metal catches my eye. There’s no sign of the loose piece of rubber that was flopping around this morning, and when I turn my car on and flick on the wiper blades, they glide smoothly across the glass.
Someone replaced my wiper blades for me.
I think back to this morning when I talked about the damaged blades. There were several people in the room during the conversation, most of us huddled around talking, but there were also people coming in and out to make coffee or put food in the refrigerator.
I run through my memory, picturing the faces I remember, and I land on Owen from marketing. Maybe he did it? I think Charles from IT was in the room at one point, too, and maybe it’s something he’d do without saying anything?
I’d like to be able to thank whoever did it, because it was a really kind gesture, and I’m not good at fixing things, so I was hesitant about replacing the blades myself.
The next day, I’m hopeful that someone will take credit for the favor they did for me, but no one does, even when I try to give openings for it when I talk to both Owen and Charles. It seems that it’s going to remain a mystery, though it has me looking at people differently in the office.
CHAPTER 24
DEREK
“Now I got one.” I push into Jansen’s office without knocking, something I’d typically never do.
“Got what?”
“An anonymous email like the one you got a couple of weeks ago. Have you received others?”
He shakes his head. “What’s it say?”
“Similar stuff. Lies and threats. Bullshit stuff about our business practices.”
“Does it look like it’s from the same person?”
“Yeah. It’s from a different address, but the language is basically the same.”
My partner is quiet for a long moment, his face gray as he thinks. “The first one came right after Ana started.”