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I missed the warmth of summer as I pulled my jacket tighter against me, shielding me from the bitter wind as it whipped past me. It wasn’t supposed to storm today, but the dark grey clouds hanging above me said differently than the local weatherman, who was overly confident at four o’clock this morning while I was getting ready.
I rushed through the parking lot, eager to get into my office where I could warm up for a few minutes before I would be stuck in back-to-back meetings for the rest of the day. I was supposed to Facetime with Lily tonight so she could show me the Halloween costume that she had been working on with Alice, but I already knew that I was going to miss another one.
Mr. Crawford wasn’t lying when he had mentioned the long hours and possible weekends when I interviewed for this job. I couldn’t remember the last time that I had a day off or when I had gone to bed in my empty apartment without dreaming about a work-related crisis. The worst nightmare that I had was the one a few nights ago when I showed for today’s meeting, completely naked and with no time to find something to wear. As silly as it sounded, I had checked my outfit a handful of times before I left this morning to make sure I hadn’t missed any crucial articles of clothing.
I walked through the door, thanking the front doorman for holding it open, and made my way inside. It was still early, which allowed me to walk through the building without the loud chatter of voices interrupting my thoughts. I sat down at my desk and pulled out the cold bagel that I had stuffed into my purse at the last minute, knowing this would likely be my only meal until I got home late tonight.
It was ironic that six months ago, I was unemployed and lecturing John about working too much and not taking care of himself. Now, here I was, working at my so-called dream job, busting my ass and working more hours than I knew even existed in a day.
John had flown in a few weeks after he had started his new job and worked on packing up the rest of their stuff to send back to New Jersey. While he was busy doing that, I made myself scarce as I worked on unpacking at my new apartment. John hated that I had already moved out by the time that he came back, but I reminded myself—and him—that it was better for everyone.
I don’t know how many times he came back to town after that since I wasn’t at his house to see him. I kept busy at work, and between his new job, the lawsuit against the police department, and getting the house ready to sell, he was probably even busier than me. Every now and then, I would get a text message from Lily, checking to see how I was doing and to give me an update on how things were going in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, Sammy had passed away while they were here for her birthday in July, but John had agreed that it would be fun for her to get another fish, which also meant a bigger tank when she decided she wanted two this time.
Luck seemed to be in their favor because while John was looking for a house out there, Charles and Alice’s neighbor—Mrs. Williams decided to move to Florida. John joked that she gave him a good deal on the house because she felt bad about killing Lily’s fish while she was gone.
By the end of August, there was a For Sale sign up in front of their house. I vowed never to drive by it again after that.
“Emma,” Randall’s voice interrupted my thoughts as I shoved the last piece of bagel into my mouth and looked up. “Did you want me to go ahead and set up for the meeting in the boardroom?”
“Yes, please,” I said around my bite, trying to multitask without being rude. I covered my mouth as I spoke, sparing him the unpleasant view. “I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”
I took a sip of my cold coffee to wash my food down and glanced at my computer. Forty-seven new emails in an hour that I would have to deal with in the few minutes I had between meetings today. Every second of my day had become valuable and was allotted to things that I used to take for granted—like using the restroom.
When I thought back to the day when Mr. Crawford asked me where I saw myself in five years, I should have given it a little more thought before I rushed to accept this job.