Chasing Rainbows A Novel - By Long, Kathleen Page 0,5

I laughed again.

He stopped and glared at me. “You think this is funny, Murphy?”

I nodded, unable to speak. As much as I tried to control myself, once I started laughing, I couldn’t stop. And, the more I laughed, the more visibly angry Blaine became.

Truth was, he’d had it in for me ever since I’d corrected him in front of a client. Company policy dictated the customer was number one, but apparently, if that meant catching the boss’s mistake, the employee--namely me--had better be prepared for payback.

The missing Cooper file had given Blaine the taste of revenge he’d craved for months.

At one point he puffed out his cheeks in apparent frustration, but I was too far gone to care.

“Bernie.” Jane shushed me from her side of our shared cubicle wall. “Knock it off.”

Blaine stepped closer, towering over me now. “Are you having some sort of breakdown?”

I shook my head, even though I thought he might be on to something.

Blaine launched into a spiel about separating personal issues from the office, and I stopped laughing long enough to ignore him and dive into my thoughts.

This might not have been the opportune time to give Ryan credit for much of anything, but he’d been right about one thing. I despised this job. Yet, I continued to put up with Blaine’s shit, for lack of a better term.

Why?

Life was short. Wasn’t that what Ryan had said when he’d left? And wasn’t that what everyone had said when Dad died? When Emma died?

Good Lord. If I were to die right here, right now, would this be how I’d want to be remembered?

Hell, no.

What was to stop me from quitting? From walking out the door and never looking back?

I supposed there was the minor issue of income, but the new, soon-to-be-fearless me could surely handle finding a job. And even though Ryan and I were technically separated, he’d promised to keep up with his half of the bills, at least for now.

Everything else in my life had changed. Why shouldn’t my job? Better still, if I quit now, at least I’d have one development in my life that happened on my terms.

There was a whole world waiting to be explored.

Poindexter had the right idea. I should find an airplane and chase it.

“Are you listening to me?” Blaine leaned so close I could feel his breath against my hair.

Our eyes locked and a sense of empowerment flooded through me. I did something I’d wanted to do since the first time Blaine McMann opened his mouth.

I told him to shut up.

I thought about climbing up on my chair to make the moment more memorable, but when I thought about the possibility of serious injury, death or major embarrassment, I decided simply to stand instead.

Blaine’s eyes widened behind his trendy rimless glasses. “What did you say?”

“I said, ‘Shut up.’” I planted my fists on my hips and hoisted my chin.

Blaine narrowed his eyes. “I think you need to go home and give it another few days before you come back.”

Blaine. What kind of parents named their kid Blaine?

“Are you listening to me?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m through listening to you.”

He frowned. “I could put you on probation, you know.”

I faked a shudder.

“Bernie.” Jane peeked over the top of the cubicle wall. “Sit down and be quiet.”

I ignored her completely. “I quit.”

The words felt natural, as if they’d been waiting on my tongue, hoping I’d use them.

Blaine said nothing as I plucked my purse from beneath my desk, gathered the pictures of Poindexter from my work area, and turned for the hall.

I stopped at the opening to my cubicle, turned back toward the black filing cabinet and plucked the Cooper file from exactly where I’d left it. I slapped the folder on top of my desk and looked back at Blaine once. Just once.

As I marched toward the exit, I imagined my co-workers heralding my bold departure with thunderous applause. In my mind, I could hear them chanting, “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!”

In reality, every last one of them sat slack-jawed in their cubicles as I marched past, stunned into submission by my uncharacteristic outburst.

I stepped out into the bright sunshine of the company parking lot and realized I could now do whatever I wanted to do. I could become whoever I wanted to become.

This was my time. My life.

My future was a blank slate, and nothing and no one could stop me now.

Not even the small, soft voice at the base of my brain wondering what in the hell