Next Stop: Love by Fox Miranda J

Author:Fox, Miranda J. [Fox, Miranda J.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Published: 2015-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

A HARMLESS RUN

Luca was away from the office for a few days after the party; of course, as his executive assistant, I’d known in advance he was going to be out. He was at a conference with the other fourth-floor managers, so we secretaries had nothing to do except apologize to their callers and schedule meetings for after their return—leaving us plenty of time to chat about the party and make fun of the people who’d had a few too many. Mary was remarkably quiet, content to simply ignore me rather than bombard me with snide comments, which was perfectly fine by me.

On the third day, Lisa picked me up from work so that we could go shopping together; just as we were driving home and I was thinking what a relaxing day it had been, my mother called.

“And now this?” I groaned, rejecting the call.

“What’s up?” Lisa asked, her eyes on the road.

“My mom! After three weeks she’s finally noticed that her daughter has disappeared,” I sneered as I put my phone away.

“Answer it! The sooner you talk to her, the sooner you have it over with.”

I gave her an admonishing look. “You just want to listen in,” I said in an accusatory tone.

She only nodded, grinning, and when my phone vibrated again, I reluctantly took the call. “Hello?” I asked, although I knew perfectly well who was calling.

The line was silent for a moment, as though she was surprised that I’d even picked up the phone, but then she started barking at me. “How dare you run out on me like this? Do you know I had to lie to our neighbors to explain your sudden disappearance?”

“But lying is your specialty,” I replied, unmoved. Once upon a time, I would have shrunk in terror from her loud voice and stern tone, but those days were over. I wasn’t afraid of her anymore—which seemed strange somehow, so different from when I was a kid. Children see their parents as the highest authority figures, and I had done everything I could to avoid incurring her wrath. Now, I could finally see that she was just a person, too, and not nearly as terrifying as I’d thought.

My mother gasped in outrage, but then launched into her usual tirade. “What did I do to deserve such a thankless child? I get you an education and a secure job, and you just up and move to Berlin with no warning! What’s gotten into you?”

I knew she’d find out sooner or later. “We both know that you only did those things for yourself. I never wanted to study law, and you know it. And in case you’re interested, I’m working as a secretary at an event company now, and I’m having a fantastic time.”

“Bah! Secretaries! Everybody knows that their only job is to roll around on the desk with the boss. You might as well have become a stripper,” she snapped, but her words flowed off me like water off a stone. I couldn’t have cared less what she had to say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.