Page 30 of Corporate Escapades

Unfortunately for Paris, the next day wasn’t much better. She arrived at work by seven-thirty, and she and Vic were put on light bulb duty. They were to go through each office and replace any light that was burnt out. It seemed simple enough, though she refused to work alongside Vic, as she blamed him for her current employment situation.

At midday, Paris balanced precariously on a ladder as she attempted to change one of the boardroom lights. The maneuver was awkward and her feet and hands wobbled as she tried to remove the old bulb.

“Hey Paris!” yelled Jack.

Paris jumped at the sound of his voice. The large light-tube flew into the air as she fell backward off the ladder. The bulb shattered on the floor, and Paris bounced off the boardroom table, knocking into a chair on her way down, causing it to somersault into the air.

“Are you okay?” screeched Jack, as he scrambled to her side.

She wheezed as she tried to catch her breath. Glass sparkled in her hair, and the chair balanced awkwardly on top of her.

Jack tossed the chair aside. “Don’t move,” he said. “You’re cut, and you may have broken ribs.” Pressing the intercom, he calledfor help. Medical arrived within minutes and hauled her off to see Dr. Schuh once again.

Vic stood in front of his locker, removing his jumpsuit, when Burt walked in. “That granddaughter of mine. Sheesh. She has got to stop with the acrobatics.”

“What do you mean?” asked Vic.

Shaking his head, he said, “Day two and I had to send her home again. Today, she fell off a ladder and ended up back in medical. She was much tougher as a child. I don’t understand what happened, but I don’t think she’s cut out for this job. I should have pushed her parents to give her more chores as a child.”

“Yeah. Maybe that would’ve helped,” Vic replied with a frown. “Is she okay?”

“She cut her head and her ego and body are both bruised, but she’ll be okay, they assured me.”

Paris was not okay. Mentally, she felt like she might be suffering a psychotic break. She couldn’t believe how lousy her luck had been. Jack stayed with her until Dr. Schuh said it was okay for her to go home. Doctor Schuh told her, “You have got to be more careful. You could have broken your neck.” If she had broken her neck, she wouldn’t have to deal with the insanity any longer. It shocked Chase and Mya that her day had ended in medical two days in a row.

“Hey,” said Jack, “let’s buy something. That always makes you feel better.” He sat in her

living room, smiling back at her from behind a frosty beer. He made it his job to know what Paris liked in the event that she ever took him up on his requests to take her out on a proper date.

Paris stared back at the handsome young man in front of her. He had deep brown puppy

dog eyes, and messy blonde hair that was longer on top and shorn on the sides. She’d never go for him, despite how sweet he could be. He was Vic’s little brother, and she couldn’t cross that line.

“Or,” he said, “we can grab dinner at the café up the street.”

“Jack, don’t,” she replied. He looked incredibly young with his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He wore jeans and a Nirvana t-shirt.Oh, to be his age again. “I’ll take that beer away from you.” He was, after all, not of drinking age, but she knew he drank with his family on a regular basis, and he was nineteen, so when he pulled the beer out of his bag, she let him be.

“What? Can’t a guy buy a traumatized girl some dinner?”

“Your brother would flip if I ever were to date you,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I liked your first idea, though I’m short on money these days,” she said with disappointment.

“It doesn’t hurt to browse,” said Jack.

“True,” she replied happily. Giving in, she sat down on the couch next to Jack, and he handed her his work laptop.

“I think I’ll grab some food fromBurritos to Taco Bout. You want something?” he asked.

“Sure, get me a Supreme, please.”

“’Kay, I’ll be back shortly.”

In the twenty-five minutes that Jack was gone, and before she had a chance to realize what she’d done, Paris managed to spend all of her leftover money. Like a crack addict, she couldn’t seem to help herself. When Jack returned with the food, she was sitting on the couch staring at the wall, tears running silently down her face.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I spent it all!” she wailed.

“What? Explain,” he requested.

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