“So I’m being punished because Reece isn’t performing?” I grew instantly angry. “He can’t fire me for that! I’ll sue his ass!”
Christopher winced. “He’ll say he’s downsizing. He’ll outsource your job. He’s got an arsenal of excuses for letting people go. You won’t have a leg to stand on, and I’m not saying that to be cruel. I’m telling you how it is ‘cause I want you to be realistic. Start looking.”
I seethed. “For?” But I already knew what he meant.
“You know what for. Look, I’m telling you this because you’re my friend,” Christopher said. “And I care about you.”
“I’ve been with this company for six years,” I said slowly.
“I know, Bailey. I know.”
“And I’m that expendable, huh? The work I do here isn’t nearly as important as creating ad campaigns, is it?”
“Bailey . . .”
“Did they talk?” I asked abruptly.
“Who?”
“Dan and Reece.”
Christopher cleared his throat. My heart sank.
“Did Reece give him an ultimatum or something?”
“What?!”
“You know what! Did Reece tell Dan he had to make a choice?”
“No! God, Bailey, this is Reece we’re talking about! He’d never do that. He threatened to quit if Dan fired you!” Christopher’s eyes darted around the room, and then he pulled me into the corner and spoke softly. “He stuck up for you.”
I believed him. Of course I believed him. I knew Reece’s nature. It wasn’t sinister. It was genuine and transparent. If he plotted with Dan, I would have known it. I would have felt it without even looking at him.
“Dan’s a jerk,” Christopher whispered. “I won’t deny it. I mean, when he’s great, he’s great. When he’s not great, well . . .”
“I didn’t catch the ‘autamotive’ misspelling,” I confessed. I needed to tell someone.
“Huh?”
“I haven’t been doing a good job lately either,” I said. “Maybe this is all for the best.”
Christopher squeezed my shoulder.
“But I’ll be damned if he’s going to fire me,” I added. “That’s humiliating. I’ll just quit. Hand in my two-weeks notice tomorrow.”
“This is so unfair,” Christopher said. “Reece would leave for you. I know he would.”
“I don’t want him to,” I replied. “And anyway, Dan wants him, not me.”
Christopher hung his head.
“This has been a disaster, hasn’t it?” I asked after a moment.
“I don’t know, Bailey.”
“Are you still gonna be my friend?”
His head shot up. “What kinda question is that?”
“I won’t ever see you,” I replied.
“Girl, we got surfing to do this summer. What are you talkin’ about?”
I smiled.
“I got your number. You know I’ll keep in touch with you. And I’m not just sayin’ that.”
“But it’s a conflict of interest,” I pointed out. “You’re Reece’s friend, too.”
“Okay,” Christopher confessed. “You put me right in the middle of it, but I’ll handle it ‘cause I care about both of you.”
“Will you share our conversations?”
He smirked. “Only if you want me to.”
“Like high school, huh?”
“All day long,” Christopher said.
I giggled. And then I remembered that I wouldn’t have a job in two weeks. I cleared my throat.
“Chris, I’m scared,” I whispered.
“I’m gonna help you look,” he said. “Don’t worry. I ain’t working on anything but that for the rest of the day.”
He went in for a hug. And then he thought twice.
“Bad idea,” I said, and he nodded.
At 5:52 P.M. I received an email from Christopher. He attached applications for eight proofreading jobs. They could all be completed online, but I printed them out anyway, using company paper and company ink. In fact, I printed each one several times. One hundred times, to be exact.
I snickered as I walked to the copy room.
***
We had a good long run of it, but I couldn’t avoid him at the end of the day. He walked into the copy room, completely oblivious to me, eyes fastened to some papers he carried. I moved aside quickly before he smacked right into me.
“Oh gosh, sorry!” he said.
“I’m almost finished,” I replied.
There were several copy machines in the room, but what I meant was, “I’m almost finished so that you can have the entire room to yourself since this is really awkward.”
“I’ll use this one,” he said, pointing to his right.
He started the machine, then stood shuffling his feet, every now and then glancing in my direction. I knew because I was doing the exact same thing. When we caught each other’s eye the third go-around, I spoke up.
“I know about Dan.”
He tensed. “What about him?”
“His plans to fire me.”
“Bailey, I have nothing—”
“I know you have nothing to do with it. Well, I mean you have something to do with it. He needs you back to your old creative self, or something like that. And I get it. I really do.”
“Bailey, I told him I’d walk out that door if he fired you,” Reece said.
“I know, Reece. It’s okay. I know you’re not in cahoots with him,” I replied.
He relaxed some.
“So I’m gonna quit. Save Dan the trouble of coming up with some bullshit excuse for letting me go. Save him the trouble of having to pull me into his office and all that. Save myself from the embarrassment.”
Reece’s face fell. “Please don’t,” he said before he could stop himself.
“I think it’s the wise thing to do,” I replied. “I don’t think we can work like this anymore. I don’t think it’s healthy.”
He said nothing. Just stared.
“You’re really creative, Reece. And you’re kickass at your job, and you’ve gotta get back to that.”
“Your job matters, too,” he said angrily.
“Oh, I can find a proofreading job anywhere,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.
“I can find a marketing job anywhere,” he countered.
“But I don’t want you to,” I explained. “And anyway, you’re not the one Dan wants to see go. I am. So I’m going.”
“Please wait until you find another job, Bailey. You have a house and a mortgage and bills.”
“It’s all right,” I replied.
“Please,” he insisted.