Page 109 of The Dicktionary Club

Zola swung her braids back over her shoulder, raising a warning brow at our now ex-boss, then motioned her head for us to follow as she darted towards the door. Katy and I stood up and trailed behind our friend.

‘Perhaps we should reassess the situation, Silvia?’ I heard Andrea say. ‘Maybe a termination of contract for Ella is a bit harsh. I’m sure we could come to some form of agreement to keep you all.’

Together Zola, Katy and I glanced at one another and shook our heads in sync. We’d finally had enough of her dictatorship. We’d finally had enough of Smart Reputations, and truthfully, I had no idea what the future held, but the sense of leaving this job had already lifted an almighty weight from my shoulders.

‘You know what,’ I said, ‘how about you reassess this?’ I stuck my middle finger up, pulled the door open, yelled ‘FUCK YOU, Andrea!’ and walked straight out of that damn conference room.

Zola and Katy giggled like a pair of kids beside me.

‘We’re free!’ Katy threw her head back, then wrapped her arms around both of us.

‘We’re unemployed,’ I replied, popping her bubble in an instant, still not quite believing what we had done.

From the boardroom we could hear shouting and raging.

‘Fucking hell! Did you see her face!’ Zola snorted. ‘Come on, let’s clear out our desks before that crazy bitch calls security.’ My friend nudged me towards the entrance of the offices, but I could feel myself hesitating.

‘I don’t want anything from here. I think I would rather just go home,’ I managed to say, feeling my adrenaline crash from such a rollercoaster of high-intensity events from Alexander’s exhibition to the HR meeting.

‘What? Are you sure?’ Katy rubbed my back, realising how awful the past twenty-four hours had been. ‘Because I’m going to steal a shit ton of notepad and fill my bag with highlighters, the lot!’ she added, smiling towards me.

‘Nah, really, I’m all good. I’ll call you guys later,’ I replied, backing towards the lift, just wanting to be by myself.

‘Wait, Ell, what about the rampant rabbit?’ Zola called out.

I shrugged. ‘Shove it up Andrea’s arse. It can be her leaving gift!’

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ella

Five days passed. I remained lying in bed watching reality TV shows, keeping a low profile and staying out of everyone’s way. Philip hadn’t called or messaged, and I hadn’t received a lawyer’s letter through the post yet, which, to be honest, I was half expecting to say he was suing me for defamation of character. But nothing. Absolute silence.

Instead of work, I spent the week eating my way through Glasgow’s finest cuisine, and my normally pristine home became a cluttered pit of my own depression. I couldn’t face anyone, and I felt completely devastated by what I had done to Philip. My friends had tried FaceTiming me a few times each day, but I never answered, opting to text them instead. They had ‘exciting’ updates on the website, such as that we now had over five thousand subscribers.The Daily Recordeven offered us a story about how the Dicktionary Club was founded, but I refused to discuss it. I knew we had started with great intentions, but this project had left me with nothing but regrets. It had also left all three of us unemployed, Zola unengaged, and Katy battling her way through the worst bout of genital thrush known to womankind.

Around 4 p.m. that Thursday evening, my buzzer rang, and I dragged myself out of bed to shuffle towards it, expecting myMacTassos delivery to come through.

I cleared my throat. ‘Hello?’

‘Open up, biatch!’ Katy’s bright voice blared out.

I sighed heavily. ‘Honestly, I’m not up for company, Katy. I’m sorry.’

‘Hmm, I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in the matter,’ Zola said.

Grudgingly, I pressed to let my friends in and opened the front door before making my way back to the sofa and flopping down.

I heard the door slam shut and my friends muttering quietly as they entered my flat.

‘Hey!’ Zola jumped when she saw me. ‘What’s up, Ella?’

I knew I looked terrible. My skin felt dry with my lack of water and skincare routine and I hadn’t washed my hair since the exhibition, but I didn’t expect to give her an actual jump scare.

‘Jesus, Ella, your house!’ Katy glanced around at the clutter of takeout boxes and dirty dishes in the sink. ‘This isn’t like you, hun.’

‘So, you’re coping well, I see?’ Zola asked, sitting down beside me.

I raised a brow back.

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