“I don’t care what he had. I’m not going back there.”
“But it was your first option.”
“Yes, before I knew the owner was a psycho.”
Ella shakes her head. I wonder if she’s disappointed by my decision, or if she agrees with me. She says, “I probably wouldn’t either. I mean, who wants to work for a czar?” She cuts up a banana, letting the pieces fall into her bowl.
I give her an inquisitive gaze. Ella doesn’t like my decision. She had that same look on her face when we were in college – the day I told her I changed my mind about pursuing a master’s degree, deciding to settle for the Bachelors. She wanted me to go for it, but I’d had enough of school at that point. Still, I think about the decision sometimes. Am I a person who gives up too easily? What if I would’ve gone for it? I probably wouldn’t be in this predicament – that’s for sure.
“Ella, you think I should give it another go, don’t you?”
“Not if you don’t want to. I mean, if it was someone else doing the interviewing, I’d say yes, but from the sound of that email, most likely it’ll be him again, so no. Save your sanity.”
“Should I respond to the email?”
“Yes, you should, and your response should be, bite me.”
I laugh at her while I’m chewing. I know CEOs don’t usually write their own emails, anyway, and from what I saw on Monday, Mr. DePaul has his executive assistant wrapped around his long fingers, so maybe she’s the one who sent this email on his behalf. I decide to reply with:
To: Essex DePaul
From: Quintessa Bailey
Date: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 08:15:13 EST
Subject: Re: Accounting Associate
No, thanks. I’m good.
Quintessa
----------
“Man, that felt good!”
Ella’s eyes grow big. “You replied?”
“I did,” I say, all smiles.
She lifts a brow. “You didn’t say bite me, did you?”
“Isn’t that what you told me to say?”
She stops stirring her oatmeal. “Quin, I was joking,” she says, red-faced.
Amused, I say, “I’m kidding. I didn’t say that. I just said, I’m good, and left it at that.” I release a soft chuckle. “I wish I could see the look on his face when his executive assistant makes him aware of this. No, you can’t get everything you want, Mr. Uptight DePaul.”
“That’ll teach him,” Ella says, rooting for me, although I’m quite certain men like Essex don’t learn any lessons. Some random woman declining a job offer is hardly a loss when he can get anyone he wants to take the job.
Ella moves her blond hair behind her ears and asks, “What time is your interview this morning?”
“It’s at ten. I figure I’ll leave here at 9:15 so I can get there with plenty of time to spare. I don’t want to run into the same problem I had at DePaul & Company.”
“Good idea.”
“When I get my first paycheck, I promise I’m going to go shopping for clothes so I don’t have to raid your closet every time I need to wear something nice.”
“Girl, I don’t mind. I work from home. I don’t wear half of those clothes.”