“Feel better. Do you need any help getting that into your car?”
“I don’t, but I appreciate the offer. I worked out a lot getting ready for the wedding.”
“Do take care of yourself. Concussions aren’t to be trifled with. If you do need any help, please ask one of the deacons. There’s usually one or two outside around this time.”
I bet; right after the sermon, social hour had begun, except I worried it would take several hours before everyone left. And, according to the church’s big sign out front, they had another service later in the day.
Before I could be guilted into attending another service, I exchanged pleasantries with the pastor and made my escape. Pride demanded I get the ball and chain into my car without help. Bemused church goers watched me, and I got it shunted into my back seat on the first try. To make certain I didn’t get an iron ball to the spine, I buckled the damned thing in and closed the manacle around the seat belt as an extra insurance policy.
I would not be beaten by a damned metal ball.
Armed with my papers and my weapon of choice, I invited myself over to my brother’s apartment, hauled it up the short flight of steps, and let myself in with the key he’d given me and had forgotten to take back during the festivities. I’d mail the key to him to demonstrate I could be a spiteful bitch when provoked.
It took me less than five minutes to do my dirty work, and I kept my wheeled toy so he’d have to figure out how to move the ball on his own—and he’d have to, if he wanted to know the contents of the manila envelope I’d left beneath it.
It served the jerk right for hanging up on me.
With my mission completed, I locked the door behind me and began the next phase of my day: the resumé update.
I would start with Wolfgang, as I’d been doing his taxes from the instant I’d been able to legally handle them for others. As my current company allowed me to do accounting work on my personal hours, I’d be able to build a robust resumé with some work.
“How are you feeling?” Wolfgang answered.
“Like I need a new job. Can I list your business as part of my resumé?”
“Of course. Use my business contact info for a reference. Finally got tired of your old boss making you fix your coworkers’ messes?”
Huh. Wolfgang needed an extra special present for Christmas. “Yes,” I lied. “I most certainly am tired of fixing messes. Part of my job is to fix messes, but I would rather fix messes because math and taxes are hard rather than because my coworkers aren’t paying attention.”
“Should you be making such an important decision with a concussion?”
I laughed at that. “The concussion helped. Otherwise, I’d stay miserable at a shit job getting paid half of what I’m worth. I’d like to aim for three-quarters of what I’m worth if possible, but I’ll take anything over half of my current value, really.”
“That’s sensible. Go ahead and use me as a reference. Which part of town will you be job hunting in?”
New York City, several hours north, would be my first search spot. If New York didn’t pan out, I’d take a look at the west coast. It would be an adventure. A very stressful adventure filled with blitz trips.
Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I would begin with my boss, inform him I’d be leaving unless he got me a transfer and a raise, and go from there. For all I liked to pretend I had no money, I had enough to last me a while.
And even if I didn’t, my parents would be game to play ball while I searched for better waters. They might even play along with my plan to dodge Mat for the rest of eternity.
I grunted at my own damned silence. “I haven’t decided yet. It depends on what I find. I’ve only just made the decision to update my resumé and start trolling for new work. I’m going to give my boss a chance to give me a raise and relocate me to one of the other offices, too.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Outside of your office having an unfortunate number of idiots on staff, the company is decent.”
“I wonder what it says about us that we view a company just being decent as a good thing.”