Page 4

"You can't just fire me like that!" I protested now.
Emmett Kershaw let out a bleating laugh. "Oh no? It seems you've forgotten who's in charge here. Of course I can fire you. I can fire anyone I want to fire here."
"But why? Why do I have to go?"
"I am the boss here!" Emmett Kershaw obviously hated being contradicted. "You're fired."
I was slowly starting to get scared. Emmett Kershaw seemed to be serious. Then... then I was unemployed. My chest tightened and my throat constricted. Unemployed. I couldn't afford that.
"I need this job!" I blurted out.
Emmett Kershaw laughed bleatingy. "You should have thought about that earlier. If you need a job so badly, you should do your work properly and come on time!"
"That's what I want to do! I'll improve, I promise." I hated myself for how pleading I sounded at that moment. Begging this man with his pig eyes and his ruler complex for a job was really the last thing I wanted to do. The very last thing.
But I had told the truth: I needed the job. Most of my monthly income went directly to the bank to pay off the loan for the apartment I lived in. The loan was far too high for me alone. About a year and a half ago, I had bought an apartment together with my then-boyfriend Owen. Looking back, it was pretty hasty after only six months of relationship, but I was deeply in love and convinced that we would both be happy together forever. As it turned out, Owen's ideas of happiness were different from mine. Only six months after we moved in, my evening class had been canceled and I had wanted to surprise Owen by coming home early.
I had succeeded. I had not only surprised him but also one of his colleagues. The two had just been enjoying themselves in our bed. Not for the first time, as I found out later. When Owen explained to me that I never had time for him and therefore it was normal for him to seek distraction elsewhere, I threw him out.
Since then, he had disappeared, and I was left alone with the loan. I couldn't sell the apartment because I needed Owen's consent for that. Without him, I could at most hand the apartment over to the bank, as stipulated in the loan agreement. But that was out of the question: I would only make a loss. So I paid off the loan every month and just managed to make ends meet with my earnings.
But if that money fell away...
I didn't even want to think about it.
"I really need this job!" I looked pleadingly into Emmett Kershaw's pig eyes. There was no emotion to be seen in them.
"You should have thought about that earlier." Gina's malicious voice behind me was the last thing I needed.
"Please give me another chance!" Again, I looked at Mr. Kershaw imploringly.
"Pack your things. You're getting on my nerves. Somehow you remind me of..." The rest of Mr. Kershaw's sentence was lost in some mumbling. I thought I heard the word "Rachel".
Rachel?
Was the guy firing me because I reminded him of his wife? Or his ex?
"Mr. Kershaw..." I started one last attempt.
"GET OUT!" Emmett Kershaw pointed to the door with an outstretched arm. "If you don't leave immediately, I'll call security. And I'll make sure you won't find a job anywhere else!"
I stared at my boss in shock.
My ex-boss.
"Well? What are you waiting for?"
I looked over at the door. My eyes met Jim's gaze across the hall. I had gotten along well with the nice porter from the beginning. He reminded me of my grandfather. Jim shook his head slightly.
I nodded. He was right. This was pointless.
"Alright then." I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, nodded to Mr. Kershaw, turned around, and walked with firm steps across the polished floor towards the exit. My shoes squeaked again, but it didn't bother me in the slightest now. Let everyone see that I was leaving the hotel with my head held high.
"You'll have to cover this shift," I heard Emmett Kershaw say to Gina behind me.
As I stood on the street, enveloped by fog and drizzle, I let my head drop. Slowly, I walked towards my parking spot, which I had fought so hard to get.
Fired.