Page 5 of Rescue
“Look, I took a leap of faith hiring you fresh out of culinary school. I know you've been miserable, but that's only because Spencer told me when he asked if I had any openings to make your life hell. He said that you’d be planning your wedding and quitting soon anyways. I figured, why not,” she says.
“Wait, what? Spencer TOLD you to make me miserable so I would quit?” That is so like Spencer and just reinforces my decision. I could never be married to someone so manipulative and calculating. I wish I could say I was shocked that he stooped to such a low level, but honestly, I’m not.
“Yes, Penny, keep up,” she says in an impatient tone as though I’m the bad guy in this situation. “Next weekend is Labor Day and we’ve got a ton of orders to fill. If you can’t be back in a week to help us, you’re fired.” She hangs up without giving me a chance to answer.
A week? Mama said Nana’s recovery from hip surgery was going to take up to 6 weeks. There’s no way Nana is going to be ready for me to go home in a week.
I think back to what Brenda told me about Spencer. What kind of person asks someone to make their fiancé miserable? What kind of person agrees to do it? I don’t know how I could ever look at either one of them in the face and trust them. How could I continue to work with someone who treated me so callously? It was one thing to think that she was like that with everyone and another to know that she specifically targeted me. With that decided, I pick up my phone, pull up my recently called, and hit send.
“Brenda Davis,” I hear her say from the other end.
“Brenda, it’s Penelope Collins, again. You know what? I quit!” I hang up on her and squeal, thankful that my windows are up so the people driving around me can’t hear me. I can’t believe I just did that. For the last year, the wedding and this terrible job have been weighing me down, like a rain cloud that is constantly following me around. But now I am rid of both major points of stress in my life and I am ready to focus on myself. It is going to be a huge adjustment, but I’ve got this.
I want to be more confident and goal oriented. I want things in my life to actually change and I’m ready to turn over a new leaf. Looking out onto the busy LA freeway, the mountains in the distance, I’m filled with a sense of peace that I haven’t felt in a very long time, maybe ever. Now’s my time to change the future.
I’ll start with helping Nana with her bakery and keep pushing to find what my purpose is. Hopefully, something will open up here in the city and I can start to put my mark on the world. I hope I’ve got what it takes to make it. For the last 3 years I’ve had Spencer’s money and privilege in my corner and it’s a little scary to think about being without it, but I know I can do anything I put my mind to. I just have to prove it.
I can’t think of a better place for me to get my footing than Piney Grove. Getting back to my roots and resetting with the fresh mountain air will do me some good. I roll my windows down and let the last warm weather of summer run through my hair. The seasons are changing and so is my life. I can feel it.
