Snap Out Of It || Ashton Irwin

13

"What was so urgent that you pulled me out of my lunch to see me?" Mel dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkins, removing remnants her short-lived lunch.

"I want out of the contract with Ashton."

"It's a contract there's no way out until your time is up." She snorted and I hoped whatever food she was still chewing in her mouth would come flying out of her nostrils or got stuck. I would pounce Mel and slap her silly, but I was aiming for professionalism. "You signed on for a 5 year plan."

"If I learned anything useful while working for my father it's that you can get out of any contract. Think of it as a tree with your name carved into it that can eventually be knocked down."

"I could very well sue you Miss Kozma." She didn't miss a beat with her response.

"Do you really believe that court has time to deal with a fraudulent relationship when there are bigger things in this country that the court needs to take care of?"

"You and Mr. Irwin both agreed to this. I will not have you backing out of this contract when you're only a month in." Only a month in? Why did living in hell always feel like life was dragging on slowly? Could it be the lack of water supplied to give me energy to fight? Or the maddening heat making me delusional? "There aren't any loopholes."

"Are you sure about that?" I pulled out the official copy I was given the day I signed the agreement. I spent a lovely hour or so, after I dropped the kids off at school, reading everything carefully over. There were always loopholes. People like Mel didn't want you to believe that because they were money hungry, but trust me, there were many loopholes that not even Mel and Joe were aware of being in the contracts they handed Ashton and I. I slammed the papers to her desk. "Page five, second paragraph, sentence one."

She groaned, placing her reading glasses on as she flipped to the spot and read over the highlighted words, "Client may opt out of said contract if they feel uncomfortable at any stage."

"I do not feel comfortable continuing to be involved in this deception. In no way do I feel comfortable working with Ashton."

"Why not?" She flipped through the pages some more, glancing at certain important passages I highlighted just for reference.

"Ashton and I have a past, and not a good one. I cannot stand to walk another red carpet or go on forced outings when I still...when I still love him." I slumped in the seat. The small action throwing my confident demeanor out the window. I'd like to throw myself out the window as well after saying that last sentence. I'd been stuck in denial about my feelings towards Ashton. Hearing myself settle them out loud struck a fragile spot.

Mel's tongue ran along her top front teeth then she began chewing the inside of her cheek, taking her time to read over what I had highlighted. Nothing could feel quite like you were suffocating when you were forced to wait and you still didn't have the patience to act as if it was totally fine that someone was taking their time and wasting yours.

"I'll call Joe, see what I can do."

-

You know when people warned you not to get your hopes up on a specific topic, but you couldn't help but have all of these positive thoughts about it? That was me as I walked - skipped - down the pedestrian filled sidewalks to work. I probably appeared drugged or drunk to strangers who believed no one should be smiling so brightly at 10 in the morning. Any other day I would be in harmony with these strangers, but not when I was on the verge of freedom.

"You're late. You're an hour late and you come in here laughing like life is so great!" Maybe we were told not to get too happy about certain things because you would come across people like Jet, who would immediately ruin everyone's fun for the sake of her own.

"What's your problem now?" I mindlessly said. Zoe began handing me papers for the day, prying open her agenda, ready to give me an overview of my day.

"The fact that you seem to lose all sense of time these days." Her annoying habit of tapping her foot while glaring at me was in full force. "Is red carpet life just too amazing for you to remember your priorities?"

"You speak like you're my boss."

Zoe finally got the hint to find something else to do. With Jet's jabs at me, there were not any reasons for someone to awkwardly stand around waiting for the conflict to be resolved.

The conflict was just starting.

"Honestly, what was so much more important than being to work on time?" Her lanky, pale arms came across over her chest

"It has nothing to do with you." I began ordering the papers in which I would do them and tried to take off to my office, but Jet stood in front of me.

"We're going to talk about this. Whether I have to pluck every fake hair out of your scalp or burn your nails off, we're going to talk about this." I should've felt terrified, I should've felt threatened, but neither were close to what I felt. Annoyance. Utter annoyance with this girl, who believed I would let her speak to me the way she had.

"There's nothing further to speak of other than the fact that you're envious of what I've made for myself. Always have been." Jet opened her mouth to speak. I held a hand up, halting her from voicing her denial. She loved to talk over me too. "I'm not done. You would've killed to be in my current position when we first started school. You always spoke about life as a socialite and how amazing it would be if you could live it. Now, you see me and you get green-eyed because this is the life you wanted. You've always wanted all the attention on you, you're bitter when anyone else is getting the attention you believe you deserve. But let me tell you something Miss Vanderleeden, this life is nothing what you believed it to be and frankly if I could hand it over to you, I would in a heartbeat." I hadn't realized that the papers Zoe had given me were now rolled up in my hand, shaking them as if that would point my point across. "Now if you would please let me pass, I would like to gather my things from my office. I'm quitting."

I started to my office, believing that I had had the last word, but how much more wrong could I be when it came to Jet?

"Talia, you can't just do that! You can't leave the company after all you've done!" She shouted, grabbing the attention of a few co-workers. Way to cause a scene Jet. Very beautiful, let me just award her an Oscar and I'd be on my way.

"I can leave, I can do whatever I want after all I've done! I could start my own company with everything I've learned." I slammed the door to my office shut, sending telepathic apologies to everyone I had frightened by doing that.

I pulled up a cardboard box that had been holding a pointless amount of empty binders, till now. I dumped the contents on the floor then quickly started to shove all of my belongings in the box.

"You're leaving?" Quite sad how Trixy, even Zoe had to tip-toe around the office in order to speak to me. That didn't sell for a very healthy work environment.

"It's best if VKW becomes VW. I have nothing left to offer this place."

"But why?" I handed my papers over to Zoe. Noelle could handle my job or whoever they decided to hire could handle it.

"This was never meant to work out." I tossed a picture frame in the box, ignoring the shattering sound. "You'll be under great care with Noelle."

"And Jet?" Trixy asked with hesitance.

"Farthest thing from great." I muttered. "You girls have my number. If you ever need anything just call."