Page 80 of Crash and Burn

We busied ourselves with filling our plates from the serving dishes, making polite small talk about how our day had been so far. I kept quiet. No one needed to know how my last few days had been.

"So Lizzy, your mother tells me you're thinking of studying to become a paralegal just like her?" Janice spoke up.

I side-eyed my mom. "She did, huh?"

"Elizabeth has always been so fascinated with that sort of thing," my mother added. "She loves watching those police and crime shows, you know."

Her words reminded me of something Grant had said. That I was obsessed with true crime and serial killers, so maybe a career in law wasn't so off base.

My heart clenched in my chest. I pressed my lips together and stabbed at a steamed carrot with my fork.

"Well, Donna, you should know better than anyone, those shows aren't anything like the real job," Janice chuckled at my mom before turning her gaze to me again. "What is it you currently do?"

"I work at a ba—"

"She's in the service industry," my mother interrupted. "Long hours, always on her feet. Getting a good paralegal position would be a much better long term career plan."

I shot my mom a look.

"I don't need a long term career plan," I said. "I'm fine where I am."

My mother opened her mouth, ready to argue.

"This is a delicious roast," my dad said, shoving a mouthful of meat into his mouth. "Compliments to the chef."

"You're the one who cooked it, George," my mother said with a smile tugging on her lips.

"Whatever happened with that fashion thing?" my dad asked. "Did that ever go anywhere?"

Perking up, I sat tall in my seat.

"It's going great," I replied, a genuine smile crossing my face. "I've been working hard on designs."

"What fashion thing is this?" Janice asked.

I started to speak up but my mother cut in.

"Elizabeth likes to sew her own clothes and things," she said. "Some company apparently wants to use some of her designs or some such."

The dismissive way my mother waved her hand around completely belied how amazing the opportunity actually was. A total nobody like me being scouted by a company like Farrow and Paige was life-changing. And she made it sound like nothing.

Janice, at least, seemed impressed.

"How fascinating," she said. "Which brand is this?"

"It's—" I paused. After that meeting with Carling where I'd signed those papers, I now had to wonder if I was even allowed to tell people the name of the brand. "I signed an NDA," I continued. "I'll be able to talk about it when the project launches."

"I hope you paid attention to any contracts you signed," my mother said. "You know how lawyers operate."

After listening to her talk about her job for years, I sure did.

"Janice, did you bring those brochures I asked about?" my mom spoke up.

Janice pulled a handful of pamphlets from her purse and handed them over to me. I couldn't be rude and refuse to take them. I tried not to grimace as I looked them over. They were all about the college's paralegal program.

"If you're interested, I could put you in touch with some of the instructors," Janice said. "They'd be able to give you much more information about the specific courses."

"That's very kind of you but I like my job—"