“So, the two of you know about my page…” I said. “And you don’t hate me?”
Michael gave a start. “Hate you?”
“Fuck no,” August began.
He cut off as the door to the apartment building opened behind me. Mom was holding the door for Dad, who wheeled himself out to us. “Having a party out here?” he asked.
“Ginny? Aren’t you going to introduce us to these fine young men?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, Ginny,” August said with a grin. “Introduce us.”
“August is not a fine young man,” I said with a laugh. “But he’s kind of my boss. So is Michael.” I introduced them, and they shook hands with my parents.
“Ginny had a problem with the house sale,” August explained. “The bank was giving her trouble. But I know the loan director there, and was able to smooth it all out.”
“And I brought her purse,” Michael said, picking up something off the ground I hadn’t noticed until that moment. “You ran out of there and forgot it.”
“Oh, that’s so wonderful,” Mom said. “Your bosses came rushing to your aid. You’re lucky to work at that foundation, Ginny.”
“Oh, she’s lucky, all right,” August said in a suggestive tone. I shot him a warning look.
“It’s great to meet you, but we have to hurry back to work,” Michael said. “Take the rest of the day to settle everything out. Have a good weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday.”
“I have to go, too,” Kai said.
“Oh, I was hoping you would stay longer!” Mom said while hugging Kai.
“You take care of her, okay son?” Dad said while shaking his hand.
“Of course, Mr. Hanover.”
“They’ve met Kai?” August said as they walked away. “Aw, man. We’re so much cooler than him.”
“Shut up,” Michael hissed at him.
“Is that any way to speak to your CEO?”
“I like them,” Mom said. “They seem nice.”
“Yeah,” I said, dazed from the whirlwind of information. “They’re nice.”
What the hell just happened?
58
Ginny
Kai and I canceled our Friday night video shoot. Neither of us were in the mood, all things considered, and Kai said he was going to be busy tying up loose ends at Sandra’s office and packing up his stuff. I was glad to have a little more time to myself that afternoon. I was still reeling from everything that had happened.
My job. I had basically been fired, then suddenly un-fired.
My new house. It had been ripped away from me, then given back.
And most importantly, my dignity. It had been destroyed with a nuclear blast. And then, like someone hitting undo in an excel spreadsheet, it was back. Like nothing had happened.
The emotional roller coaster from today left me so exhausted that I took a nap. And when I woke up late in the afternoon, I actually felt like a new woman.
I checked my work email. Part of me was certain that I wouldn’t be able to login, that my account had been suspended, but the screen loaded without a problem. I had two dozen emails, including one from Julia. She apologized for what had happened to me in the meeting, saying that nobody should have to go through that kind of humiliation. She also mentioned that she had already received an email from Sandra Trout apologizing for the scene, and how it was all the fault of her personal assistant who had made it all up. Which, Julia said, was a shame because he seemed like a nice guy.