The Wild Child (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 18

Hailey's POV:

Sometimes the days run so well together that you forget when they separate into the next. Those are the moments where I find myself struggling; struggling to stay afloat with the many responsibilities I had.

The constant act of micromanaging everything wasn't anything new, I have done it since I was sixteen and became a mother to Charlie, but it didn't mean it became any easier or normal. If anything, it became more intense, from keeping track of how much I made and where every penny went, to planning what I do every hour of the day.

The only difference however was I now had a job that provided a constant paycheck that never falter. For the past month or so, every Friday, without fail, I received a paycheck that Riley was more than happy to hand to me. She would do her usual crook but, attractive smile that lifted more to her right side, as she told me she was happy with my work.

It was something I noticed that she did with all of her employees, despite some of them receiving their pay via direct deposit. She made sure to go up to them and mention how proud she was of them for helping her maintain her gym.

It was easy to tell that many of them appreciate her words, and having spoken to a few of them, I knew that at times, it was something they looked forward too. Similar to me, several of her employees were still in college, trying to stay afloat, and using this opportunity to help ease their financial burden. From the few conversations I had with some, I could tell it was a new ordeal they faced; having someone tell them how proud they were of them and how amazing they were doing so far in life.

Riley, for all accounts, was a caring boss, choosing to act more as a friend than an employer. She never put someone's job before them, telling her employees that if they needed a break to advice her; whether it was to study, or for personal reasons. Riley always made it known, that she knew her employees weren't trying to continue to work for her after college and that this was just a job that was a means of surviving the constant burden of bills. There was very little that affected our pay check, with Riley telling us that at the end of the day, whatever she promised to pay, she would fulfill. If we gave her a good enough reason, Riley would excuse our absence and still pay us, even if we didn't use a sick or vacation day.  For her, it was better to give someone the benefit of the doubt instead of questioning every little thing someone did or didn't do. As long as you took into considerable her position then she was more than willing to work with you as well.

That was why, her gym worked as fluent as it has; whenever there was an issue, everyone tried to resolve it before having to go to Grace about it.

She unlike Riley, wasn't as generous and understanding, choosing to be stern about how she wanted things done, even if Riley wasn't bother about how we approach things. Despite this though, as the manager, Grace didn't ease up, resulting in many people not wanting to go to her for issues, but instead coming to me, whenever I was in the office. I would then either pass it on to Grace or Riley directly, choosing to go to latter as sometimes Grace could be harsh. That was why lately, if I wasn't talking to Kelly while watching Charlie during my breaks, I was in Riley's office working on resolving some of the issues other employees had, or working on homework.

There was rarely a moment that I spent my time on the clock outside of Riley's office and because of this, I rarely spoke to my boss when she was here. Instead, we kept a rather business like relationship when at the gym, with her spending time working out and me reviewing paper work. Riley would come by the office, spend a few minutes checking up on Charlie and I before starting with her training. It was only when I was finally off the clock did Riley and I's relationship go back to being full of banter.

Today, however, was an exception to that routine, with Riley telling me her parents were swinging by to see her. We had been back from Puerto Rico for roughly a week and unfortunately, Riley hasn't be able to step away from the city to go see them; a new project taking up most of her free time. It was the first time in roughly three months that Riley wasn't doing anything related to Lost Maps, informing me that when we first met she had just started working on the film. Accounts to Riley, movies could take any where from three month to eight, depending on the franchise. That was why she had decided to take a chance with this new project that was advised to her, despite her having to act, as she would soon be done with Lost Maps. The only scenes left to film dealt with the new character Houdi, who had yet to be cast, as they were still holding auditions. Charlie was one of the last people they wanted to have seen and even though I wasn't comfortable with the idea of him being in a film, after several conversations with Dan, I ended up agreeing to take him to see the casting director. Riley, as usually, was very supportive of my decision and promised to be there every step of the way, whether I decided to go through with it or not. That was why Riley agreed to help me with Charlie, teaching him how to act when he went into his audition. We weren't given an accurate script of Houdi's line but instead handed some that were similar to how they wanted the actor to act like.