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“You have things to do,” he said. “I get it.”
“I’ll be by tomorrow?”
“Not if it means you get in trouble,” he said. “But I’d welcome you anyway.”
I gave him one last smile and handed him the mug back before going inside. My expression dropped the second I was alone.
I hated the idea of finding a job. Not only did I have no filter, but I hated the idea of sucking up to someone just so they’d employ me. It was why I’d struggled so much to land anything and then had to come crying to Dad to get employment.
Now, I was on my own.
That was the thing about me: I didn’t have connections. Not in the business world, at least. I knew people, some of whom liked me, but I wasn’t good at crafting connections with people I needed something from. I liked talking to them because Ilikedthem.
Calvin was the one who was good at the rest.
But I didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t like I was going to magically find money somewhere. The only well-off people in my life were my parents and Calvin, and they’d been very strict on sharing. Even when Emma had gotten into a wreck last year, they didn’t help her replace her car.
And they wouldn’t help me here either.
On my phone, I looked up any and all jobs. Some paid way too low or expected me to travel to the office. Neither were great, but the office positions at least had the potential of a livable wage, so I applied to them all.
After finishing more applications than I could count, I saw a familiar black car pulling into a nearby driveway.
And that was Lily.
I trusted Lily as much as I trusted V. Maybe more, considering I knew her full name. I needed to get her opinion of this, and if I were lucky, maybe her husband, Sebastian, would have a job for me.
“Hey!” I called as I jogged over. She jumped and turned, looking startled for only a second until her eyes landed on me.
“God,” she said, letting out a sigh, “you sound like a photographer when you’re excited.”
With how low-key she liked to be, I couldn’t imagine the version of her who had once been a famous Instagram model, especially now that she’d shed her entire look.
“Except I’m less annoying.”
“You do spy on me.”
“I’ve gotten so much better about that,” I said. “Are you free, or will you be spending the rest of the day writing?”
She rubbed her eyes. “I just finished the longest writing session at the coffee shop. There’s no way I can do more.”
“Then I can distract you in the form of friendship. And news.”
“Good news?”
I winced. “Not really.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Come on inside. Now Ineedto know.”
Lily and Sebastian’s house had been tastefully remodeled. There were pops of color on the walls, and the floors had been refinished with a beautiful dark stain. If I were able to keep my house, I’d use hers as an inspiration.
“What happened?” Lily asked as she unloaded her bag onto the table. Her laptop, which she used to write all of her incredible novels, came out first, followed by her planner and other things.
“Calvin took over the company and fired me.”
She paused and blinked. “In one day?”
“He’s an overachiever. And he’s still mad about the house thing.”