Page 24 of Corporate Escapades

“I mean, technically, we could walk away from it all, but that would require money, which neither of us has. You’re not exactly a typical working woman. You were raised as an heiress. To make it on your own, you’d probably need a financial advisor and help with your future goals.”

She considered his statement. “Maybe you’re right? It’s not like I’ve been making goals or living up to my potential as of late.”Could she make it on her own?

“Do you really want to walk away? I mean, think about it for a minute. Money has never been a problem for you. What would you do if you had none? You have a decent resume, but you’re kidding yourself if you think you can leave and easily climb to a position such as the one you held at Sense of Adventure. The media headlines alone might stop you. Not to mention, you make what? A cool mil each year, plus your trust fund? No. Leaving the company is career suicide.”

Paris stared at the ground. “Sometimes it’s worth the risk of finding happiness. I'm not feeling at all fulfilled. It's a struggle to get out of bed each day. I'm not even certain I want to live this life anymore. That’s why I took the pills.”

Vic reached out and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me. There’s help if you need it. You can go to rehab or counseling. Whatever you need. You can feel better. No matter where you are, though, you’ll have to deal with your pain. I can’t see you walking away. To be fair, I can’t see it for myself either.” He watched as her eyes welled up. “Just hang in there. You can turn all of this around. I’ll be right here beside you,” he added with an empathetic smile.

“It feels like I'm at the bottom of a pit, and it's slowly caving in.”

“I know, but please don't give up yet. You heard our parents. We have to do this together.”

“Fine,” she sniffed. “I'll give it a shot, but I'm not making any promises.”

“Hello?” interjected a voice from behind them. A woman had popped her head out the door to see what they were doing.

“Um, hi,” replied Paris. “Can we help you?”

“Well, if you plan on coming to work today, you sure can. My name is Tonya. You were supposed to meet me five minutes ago. You’re not off to a proper start,” she stated disapprovingly.

“Oh, Tonya, so sorry,” replied Vic. “We were having a bit of an emotional moment, but I think we’re all good now.”

“Well, come on in. We best get you started, unless you plan on quitting before you begin?” Tonya asked, eyeing Paris.

“I’m coming,” replied Paris. “I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

Paris and Vic followed Tonya inside, and she showed them the ropes. It took a couple of hours to relay all the information to do the job, but they were already taking on delivery assignments by that afternoon. Paris was a natural, but Vic was less than enthused to be delivering the company mail.

The day progressed rapidly. Before they realized it, it was four-thirty, and Tonya had sent them on their way. Mya and Chase came to meet them at the door to the mailroom.

“How’d your first day go?” asked Chase. “Did you learn a lot?” He couldn’t stop grinning.

“Why are you always so chipper?” asked Paris. “I feel like my feet might fall off. All I did was walk from point A to point B the whole day long.”

“Great exercise,” said Mya. “You won’t have to work out tonight.”

Paris shook her head in disagreement. “I’d rather workout. As a matter-of-fact, I think that’s what I’ll do when we get back to the apartment.” Bending over, she pried off her shoes and resolved to walk barefoot the rest of the way home.Home,thought Paris. “I can’t believe I live in a shitty apartment at the employee end of campus.” Mya ignored her comment.

“It’s not great, but it could be worse,” replied Vic. “We could be off-campus completely.”

Chase nodded. “That’s very true. The board discussed sending you to live off-campus. Your mother, Vic, said no. You’re lucky she has so much empathy for you. She’s helped your situation more than you realize.”

“No car and off-campus. That would have sucked big time,” said Paris, then changing the subject, “I think I’ll go for a swim. We do have access to a pool still, don’t we?”

“Yeah, you do, as well as the hot tubs,” answered Chase.

Mya looked at Paris. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“I can’t exactly say no. You live here too,” replied Paris.

“Why don’t we all go down to the pool for a bit? We can relax in the hot tub and discuss the day,” suggested Chase. “If you have anything you need to work through, we can discuss that as well.”

“What are you, our counselors?” asked Vic.

“Kind of,” replied Mya. “We have strict instructions to help you in any way we can, as long as it coincides with the rules the board gave you.”

“Fine,” said Paris. “We’ll eat dinner and then meet at the pool. Maybe it’ll be a relaxing end to the day.”

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