This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff

Author:Jillian Medoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-11-13T05:00:00+00:00

18

In the morning, Rob had a banging headache and queasy stomach. He was never, ever drinking again. He sat in his kitchen, unsure of his next move. In theory, he should eat breakfast and head to the office. He should meet Rosa so she could finish firing him. He should use his last days at Ellery to organize his network, work the phones, and face the next twenty-odd years of his career. If nothing else, he should address the looming question: Now what?

But Rob didn’t place much stock in theoretical pursuits. He was a practical guy who preferred known-knowns, which was why he continued to sit on his ass, suited up in his brown-mouse uniform as per usual, eating Fiber One twigs and trying to appear gainfully employed.

“I’m leaving in five minutes,” Maddy called out.

“Right behind you,” he replied with forced cheer. “Don’t wait for me.”

He had three texts and a voice mail from Lucy, two voice mails from Rosa, and two from Leo, all asking where he was, why hadn’t he called, and in Rosa’s case, what the hell he was thinking. “You can’t just walk out! We have legal issues to discuss, such as”—her voice dropped—“your money.” She seemed afraid he was gone for good, despite knowing full well that no one forfeits severance. At stake was four months’ salary, including unused vacation time (ever kind-hearted, Rosa had written off the days he lost taking care of Allie); but to get all this, he had to give them two more weeks of work. “You’re acting like a child, Robert,” she added.

Rob scraped the last few twigs with his spoon. Maddy stood by the door, buttoning her coat. Yesterday, it had been freezing out; today there was rain. Early spring in New York was always a kaleidoscope of weather conditions that changed without rhyme or reason. Luckily, his wife had a coat for all of them: jackets, blazers, ponchos, slickers, parkas—you name it, she owned it. Today she wore a lightweight coat—a duster, she called it, a word Rob had never associated with outerwear. This year, like all years, he wore his puffy coat until T-shirt season, which Maddy said was nuts. Just buy a windbreaker or leather jacket, she told him. But Rob was adamant. Why muddy the waters with so many choices? One coat or no coat was how he rolled.

“Rob? Are you okay?”

He’d been staring into his cereal bowl, probably for too long, though who could say? Time was elastic, painstakingly slow at one turn, accelerated the next. Rob found himself losing long stretches he couldn’t recall, but his heart was constantly revving up, like an engine in overdrive. “You know what the saddest thing in the world is, Maddy?”

“Poverty? Homelessness? Child abuse?” She picked up the garbage. “I’ll take this on my way out. Rob, I really have to go.”

“An empty bowl.” He held it up, orphan-style. “All gone.”

Maddy tucked her keys in her bag. “So what’s the deal? You going to work or not?”

“Of

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.