I didn’t respond. It was too late for an apology—much too late.
My phone vibrated again, and I saw another text from her. “I know you don’t owe me anything and you have every right to be angry with me, but can we PLEASE get through this dinner without incident? He won’t talk to me anymore if you tell him what’s been going on or make a scene...I’ll do whatever it takes to repair what I’ve messed up. I take everything I said back...Can we please start over? I think we could be good friends if we tried.”
No response.
I kept watching the waves roll over one another, trying to prepare myself for this terrible dinner.
By the time Jonathan and his mother finally arrived, I’d had enough time to think things through, to make up my mind about this impossible relationship: I decided that I would get through dinner without incident. I would be polite to Denise and make sure that Jonathan never left my side, but after tonight, he and I would be over.
August 15, 2013
Dear Journal,
There are two ways to write a Two Weeks’ Notice.
If you want the traditional going away party with stale cake, cheap punch, and terribly recited poetry, you need to include the following lines in your letter: “I’ve learned so much from working with this company and I hope to apply my knowledge to my new position. Thank you for having me on your team throughout the years and I hope my contributions have been as meaningful to you as yours have been to me.”
If you don’t give a damn about the company you’re leaving and the thought of a going away party with your co-workers makes you want to jump out the window before you can officially quit, you can simply sum up your letter in two short sentences: “As of [insert date] I will no longer be working for this company. Effective immediately.”
Last week, I received a call from Signature Advertising—the premier advertising agency on the West Coast. They’d saved my application from four years ago, keeping it in an “Over Budget” folder since they thought my salary request would be too high. But now, they were “willing to spend whatever [they] needed to,” so they offered me the job over the phone—no interview necessary.
I was thrilled, but I told them I needed forty eight hours to think about it.
I was actually going to turn it down. I was going to tell them that I was enjoying my work at Statham Industries and would keep their offer in mind for the future. Yet, but right before I could make that phone call, one of my associates brought the top idea for the sPhone red into my office: “First it was blue, like the skies above your head...Now it’s full of love that will never go dead...Coming soon, the new sPhone red.”
I’m done with this shit,
Claire
Chapter 26
Claire
One month later...
I dabbed the corners of my eyes with my sleeves and swiped another pile of crumpled Kleenex into the trash can. I was sitting in my expansive corner office at Signature Advertising, bored out of my mind.
As the regional chair, all I had to do was make sure the directors were getting their jobs done and host a weekly mentoring session with a few associates. I’d thought that I would at least get a good laugh from those sessions, but the associates here were completely different from the ones at Statham Industries: They actually knew what they were doing.
Their ideas were amazing—way beyond their years. They could write ad copy within minutes, something that took my old associates hours to do. They hardly ever knocked on my door for assistance, and when they did, it was only to show me another remarkable idea that they’d come up with.
In fact, they were so perfect that I spent all last week in my office with the door closed and watched movies.
So much for having more responsibility and fulfillment...
Since I had so much free time, all I could think about was Jonathan, and I couldn’t help but cry. I was missing him. Terribly.
Each time my phone rang, each time my doorbell sounded, and each time there was a knock on my door, I hoped that it was him—telling me to come away with him, telling me that he wasn’t going to let me walk out of his life so easily.
I even woke up this morning reaching out for him, thinking we’d fallen asleep together.
It was for the best, Claire...It was for the best...
“Miss Gracen?” My secretary called my line.
“Yes?”
“There’s someone here demanding to see you. I said that you don’t have any appointments scheduled for the day, but—”
Jonathan?! “Send him in please.” I wiped my eyes and stood up, straightening my dress. I prepared myself to say “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of it. Let’s just pick up where we left off” as soon as he walked through the door.
The door opened; in walked Sandra and Helen.
Oh...
“Well, it’s good to see you too!” Helen laughed. “Could you try not to look so disappointed to see your two best friends?”