“WHAT?!” Bella yelled in shock. “You're joking, right? 'Cause I gotta say, Jess, it's not funny!”
“I wish I was joking.” Jessica said miserably.
Bella could see how stressed she was and knew immediately that Jessica was telling the truth. The pink piece of paper in her hands said it all.
Jessica couldn't meet Bella's eyes as she let out a heavy sigh. “There's one on your desk, too.”
That left Bella speechless. A cold feeling ran down her back. She lost her job? That couldn't be right...
“There's one on everyone's desk.” Jessica added, anger entering her voice. “They're moving the practice and hiring a whole new staff! Can you believe this crap?!”
Bella sat down heavily in the chair next to Jessica's desk. She hadn't even made it over to her own desk yet this morning; she had only been passing through to say good morning. Instead, she was faced with this horrible news. Glancing down at the paper that Jessica had handed her, the words “Immediate Termination” stood out as though the big black letters were taking up the whole page.
“I can't believe this.” Bella mumbled.
She had been at her job as an office assistant for three years. She thought her boss was better than this – would never put them out of a job, especially so suddenly or near the end of the week – but the reality hit her even harder when she saw two coworkers walk by with their personal belongings.
Jessica saw this too and sighed again. “I guess I'll start packing my stuff.”
Bella nodded slowly and forced herself to stand up. “Yeah... me, too.”
As she walked towards her desk, she passed a lot of pissed off coworkers. If anyone had been as shocked as she was about all of this, they had clearly gotten over it by now. A few of them said goodbye to her on their way out and she mumbled the same to them. Though her desk was exactly the way she left it when she went home the night before, it looked different somehow today. There was a cold, bare feeling about her little space in the very large room. Almost like her things didn't belong there.
She didn't know how long she had been there staring – probably looking like a complete moron – when her phone started to buzz in my pocket. She pulled it out and checked the caller-ID, even though she had no intention of answering it. There was no way she was talking to anyone at the moment.
Emmett.
She wondered briefly why he would be calling her as she slipped the phone back into her pocket and continued to stare at her desk.
Box, she thought. I need a box.
She wandered off in search of a box and stopped in one of the supply rooms. A few people had emptied out some medium sized boxes to carry their things in; there were prescription samples and single packs of condoms littering the floor. She couldn't blame them for not caring about the mess but Bella couldn't bring herself to add to it. Not wanting to get caught standing there and be accused of something she didn't do, she grabbed an empty garbage bag and headed back to her desk. She tossed everything into the bag, not wanting to be there any longer, and turned to leave.
On her way to the elevator she noticed her boss's office door was closed.
Coward, she thought, bitterness beginning to creep in.
She stepped into the elevator with two other people and practically punched the button for the main floor.
“I don't know why you're so upset about this.” Rosalie said after taking a sip of her beer. “You were always complaining about that job. And your boss was a bitch.”
“No she wasn't.” Bella protested.
“Well, whether she was or wasn't before, she is now.” Rosalie stuck her nose into the air.
Alice rolled her eyes at her and reached out to pat Bella's hand. “Don't listen to her, hunny.”
Rosalie gave a loud huff.
After hearing the news about her job, Alice and Rosalie had talked Bella into going out. They went to their favorite bar, Lux, and told her to drink her blues away. There was a good amount of people at the bar that night, seeing it was a Thursday.
“You know what you need?” Alice asked, perking up a bit.
Bella looked up at her sadly.
“More alcohol!” Alice said, nodding with finality. “You guys stay here.”
They watched her disappear into the crowd, heading towards the bar. Rosalie turned to look at Bella as she stared down at the table. After a minute, she set her beer down and leaned forward.
“Okay, I get it. Losing your job sucks. Think of it this way: now you can get a new job that you actually like.”
Bella shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Think positive about it!” Rosalie picked up her beer and sat back in her chair again. “Be happy, damnit! You're being a huge downer.”
Alice came back a few minutes later with three shots. She set them down in the middle of the table and sat back down in her chair.
“That was fast.” Rosalie raised an eyebrow at her.
“Oh well, you know...” Alice shrugged.
“Oh, you're such a whore.”
“Look who's talking!”
Bella cracked an amused smile and giggled at their playful banter.
“That's better.” Alice smiled back at her.
“I'm not doing a shot while drinking a beer.” Rosalie threw in, as if it was the most obvious point ever. “So, what'd you do? Show the bartender your tits?”
“No!” Alice shot her a look. “Only you would do that. And I know you're not doing a shot. Two are for Bella.”
“I don't know, Alice...” Bella eyed the shots warily.
“You need to loosen up.” She said and slid two of the shots across the table. “Drink!”
Bella sighed and took the first shot with Alice. “Gah.” She gasped as the alcohol burned down her throat.
Alice smiled and pushed the second shot even closer.
Bella shot her a grumpy look. “Remember when they talked about peer pressure in school?”
“Just drink it.”
After taking a moment to prepare herself for the burn again, Bella drank the shot.
“See? Don't you feel better?” Alice asked.
“Oh yeah, loads. Alcohol cures everything.” Bella replied sarcastically.
Another shot and a rum and coke later, Bella was finally having some fun.
“Thank you so much, you guys.” She said a little louder than was necessary, reaching over and holding their hands.
“That's what we're here for, Bella!” Alice giggled.
“Ohmigod, you two are trashed.” Rosalie laughed. “I guess I'll have to drive your asses home.” She grabbed her purse and stood up.
“Aw, right now?” Bella whined.
“Yes, right now.” Rosalie answered. “I still have to work tomorrow and I'm tired of watching Alice eye-fuck the bartender.”
Alice giggled even louder. “I am not.” She looked over at the tall blond working behind the bar who had been looking over with a smile all night. “He is a total hottie, though.”
“Right.” Rosalie rolled her eyes and she picked up the other two's purses. “Let's go. I'm tired and if we stay any longer I'm gonna start acting like a bitch.”
“Start?” Alice asked quietly, making Bella snort and laugh as they followed Rosalie out of the bar.
Bella felt like she had been beaten about the head when she woke up the next morning. Her stomach felt uneasy and the rest of her body was too uncomfortable for her to roll over and go back to sleep. She contemplated getting up, but then a thought that made her feel even worse entered her mind.
Oh, yeah. I don't have a job.
She groaned and then regretted it; the vibration of it made her head pound even more. She pulled her blankets up over her head and tried not to fall into a mood of self-loathing. After a little while – she didn't know exactly how long – she heard her bedroom door open. A moment later, the window blinds were pulled up.
“Bel-la.” Alice sang.
Bella gripped the blanket tighter.
Alice began to poke her through the blanket. “Come on, time to get up.”
“Why?” Bella grumbled.
“Because we have things to do! People to see!”
Bella whined. “What're you talking about?”
Alice suddenly grabbed the blankets and threw them off of Bella, who hissed slightly as the bright sunlight assaulted her eyes. Bella pulled her pillow over her head to block out the light.
“I'm talking about you getting out of bed and getting ready for a busy day!” Alice explained, standing there with her hands on her hips.
“Of what?” Bella asked, her voice muffled by her pillow.
“Job hunting!”
Job hunting already? Couldn't a girl get time to mourn over her pathetic life with no job? Not to mention barely enough money and no man.
Ok, I guess I did slip into the self-loathing just a little bit.
“I don't know, Alice.” She sighed heavily, wishing she could drift back off to sleep.
“Yes, you're getting up.” Alice began pulling on Bella's arm. “I'm taking it easy on you. We're just going to one place.”
Bella groaned again and yanked her arm away. “Fine!” She whined, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
“There we go!” Alice said happily. “Get yourself freshened up while I pick out your clothes.”
Bella dragged herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom, bitching the whole way about the evil pixie that was her best friend and room mate.
After a long, hot shower, she was completely defunkified and her head began to feel better. Wrapped in a big fluffy towel, she went back to her room. Alice had lay clothes out for her – a light blue cap-sleeved top and a pair of sleek black pants. She pulled the outfit on and checked herself in the mirror.
Not bad.
Alice dragged her into her own room across the hall and sat Bella down at the vanity table. Bella had learned long ago not to fight Alice on letting her do a makeover. She just tried to ignore it and go to a happy place in her mind while Alice attacked her hair. They had come to an agreement that Alice could do whatever she wanted to Bella's hair, but the makeup had to be as natural looking as possible; the less makeup, the better. To Bella's relief, all Alice did to her hair was dry it and put some loose curls in; not a fancy style that she might do if she was dragging Bella to a party.
“Okay,” Alice said when she was done. “Time to get this show on the road.”
Bella followed her out toward the kitchen. “Um, mind telling me where we're going?” She stopped with Alice at the island counter.
“The hospital.” Alice replied, digging through her attache case. She pulled out a piece of paper. “I printed out a copy of your resumé. I think I have everything you need in here.”
“Wait.” Bella said, confused. “The hospital?”
“Yeah.” Alice smiled. “You got the hookup.”
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