Page 64 of It's Not PMS, It's You

And where does he get off asking me all these questions?

You’re happy, right?

Is everyone supposed to be happy and love their jobs? For most people, a job is something that’s necessary to pay the bills.

Nothing more.

You don’t have to love it.

But you sure as hell do love that you can pay the bills every month with that paycheck.

Suddenly, the patio was hot again, but this time because of an infuriating man, not because of any compliment that he’d sent my way.

I needed to vent.

And there was one person who always had my back.

I took another sip of wine and then stood. “Excuse me for just a moment.”

“Of course.”

In the kitchen, I grabbed my phone to send a text to Dee.

Ruth: Nick said my job is to tear things apart. Can you believe that?

Dee: An accurate analysis on his part. Are you really having dinner with him? You didn’t answer my 1000 text messages.

Ruth: Never mind that! You’re taking his side?

Dee: There are no sides here. It’s either the truth or it’s not the truth. Nick happened to nail it on the head. You DO tear companies apart.

Ruth: And that’s it?

Dee: No, you need to find the company first after countless hours of research, and then you tear it apart. We don’t discount the fact that you bust your ass to make it happen. What’s the problem? You just figured out what you did for a living after all these years?

I just stared at the phone.

I can’t believe this.

Yes, I knew what I did for a living, but I didn’t look at it from that point of view.

Why would I?

Companies survived by making money and Stansfeld Investments had been doing very well since I had arrived. It wasn’t like I was doing something illegal or immoral. I was working for a legitimate company and my job was to look for investments. And when I found opportunities with lots of potential, I turned them into a financial gain for Stansfeld.

That was my job.

And it wasn’t like the owners of those companies were complaining when we wrote them that big fat check. Yes, people lost jobs in the process, but was that my fault?

Honestly, my job had changed over the years since I had first started with the firm. And maybe I had enjoyed it more at the beginning when my role was more on the research end and not the strategic planning and implementation side.

I certainly had a lot less stress back then.

Still, the way Nick and Dee described my job, it sounded so negative.

Almost cruel.

Dee: Are you still there? I hope you’re not in the process of killing Nick right now.