Knight & Day

Closure

-Phoenix-

I paced my kitchen in equal amounts of confusion and frustration. The moment I walked through the door, my phone rang and it was Damien. I figured he was just calling me to offer his apologies for what happened at Lush this morning but to my utter shock, he told me that the asshole he called a boss had decided to give me a shot. Apparently I was on some sort of probationary period where my work would be evaluated over a span of three months to see if I was a good fit. Part of me wanted to tell him to shove that job where the sun don't shine. That, as I had pointedly stated, Lush was beneath me and I didn't need anything from a company ran by a man—no, child—such as Tyson Day.

But another part of me was flushed with relief. The whole bus ride home, panic slowly set in. I spent the entire ride on my last bus trying to figure out the right amount of ass kissing it would take to get my job back at the hotel after telling Catherine to kiss mine when I left. I didn't realize it at the time, but leaving Lush with my dignity meant crawling back to that godforsaken hotel with none of it, and I wouldn't have a choice because bills needed paying. Thoughts of googling the nearest strip club were flashing through my mind just before Damien called, but now that Lush was back in play, I had to really consider what I wanted. I mean, I had also basically told Mr. CEO to kiss my ass as well so either way, I would be eating my words. I figure I might as well go where I'll be paid the most to do so.

With that in mind, I sighed before pulling my phone from my pocket once again. I told Damien I needed time to think about it, to which he responded that he understood. But he and I both knew I'd be calling him back to accept, which is why he answered on the first ring.

"You've made your decision," he spoke, more as a statement than a question.

"Yes, I accept. That is, if this is actually legit this time," I spoke, cautiously. He snickered before he replied.

"It was legit the first time, I just didn't count on Tyson acting like such an asshole this morning. I still can't figure out what his issue is with you, but it doesn't matter because I don't care what he thinks. You've got this, now prove his ass wrong," he spoke.

"Well I appreciate your belief in me and I can't wait to prove myself. Even if your boss is an asshole," I said, causing him to snicker again.

"I'll see you in the morning. I actually need you here a bit early, I have some early meetings and need you to take notes. Can you be here at 7:45?" He requested.

"I'll be there at 7:15. If I try to come later, one of my connecting buses won't come until 7:45 and it'll make me late," I spoke, mentally reviewing my bus schedules so I could plan correctly.

That means I have to be up by 5:30 so that I can be ready by 6:15 and catch the 6:25 bus. Then I'll have to get my connecting bus at 6:45 and get off that one to get on my last bus at 7 and ride it until I get downtown at 7:10, then walk 5 minutes to Lush.

If it sounded like a lot, it was because it was. Life without a car had always made me either extremely early or extremely late, there was barely ever any in between. Unfortunately, I was notorious for always being late but I wanted to ditch that particular bad habit at Lush. I was attempting to better myself so I had to do better. So if it meant I had to be there at 6am to be on time, I'd get my ass up and be on that early bus.

"How many buses do you take to get to Lush?" he questioned, curiosity clear in his voice.

"Only 3," I answered nonchalantly.

"Phoenix, that's crazy... I'm sending you a car in the morning, don't worry about the bus," he spoke matter-of-factly. He didn't give me time to decline or even thank him before he rushed me off the phone.