Page 22 of A Beary Nice View
Chapter Eight
Dell
Ileanbackinmy chair, looking over my computer screen. So far, I’ve gotten a giant goose egg’s worth of replies to my auditions. It’s so frustrating but I know this is all part of being in this business. I have to just keep putting myself out there and eventually, someone will find my voice to be perfect for their project. I just have to keep going, keep pushing.
I pull up my audiobook account. I haven’t been looking at audition calls for audiobooks lately, trying to focus on finding video game listings instead. I don’t know why, but I start looking through the lists. I might dream of being a video game voice, but that won’t pay the bills right now. An audiobook deal would really help supplement my income until I can book something else.
While I’m browsing, my phone begins to ring. I look down at the unfamiliar number, squinting.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Dell?”
“This is,” I say to the woman.
“This is Michelle Perkins. I’m the owner of The Wing Shop and I have Bo on the line as well. Would it be okay if I talked to the both of you for a moment?”
My heart starts to hammer in my chest. “Yes, that would be okay.”
“Excellent,” she says and I hear a few papers being shuffled around. “I would like to start by apologizing for my manager, Bradley. After you both quit, I spoke with him to hear his side of the story but it was obvious very quickly that his story didn’t make sense. I went back and watched the footage of that night and discovered he was stealing tips. Realizing that, I discovered this was not the first time this had happened.”
“So you saw how awful he was to us? How did a guy like that even get hired?” Bo asks, sounding exhausted. We’re both over this and this is just the final straw that we have to get through.
“My husband hired him. He came highly recommended but we discovered those recommendations came from his friends rather than managers from other stores. That was our fault and we are very sorry this happened.”
I can’t help but snort. I’m so fucking glad that Bradley was finally caught but this would have been handled differently if the owners were more a part of their store instead of being so hands off. There’s no way this would have gone on for so long if they were actively checking up on things.
“If you saw the tapes and saw how awful Bradley was, why did you need to call us?”
Michelle lets out a long sigh. “We wanted to hear your side of the story, but we’d also like to offer your jobs back. You wereboth fantastic servers and we have customers who ask about you now that you’re gone. With Bradley out of the way, the work environment should be better. We’d also offer you both raises if you were willing to come back. On top of that, we’d like to make one of you the new manager.”
“Oh wow,” Bo says. “I was not expecting this.”
There’s a long pause where we all process this offer. I’m the first one to answer.
“As much as this offer is very kind, I think I’m going to decline. As much as I enjoyed working there and I enjoyed the customers, I don’t trust that things will change. I’m going to keep focusing on what I’m doing.”
“That’s very understandable,” Michelle says, “I’m very sorry to see you go. I’m researching just how many tips Bradley stole and I’m going to be sending you a check to make up for it. On top of that, please know that any future jobs that inquire about you will receive a glowing recommendation.”
“Thank you.”
Bo clears his throat. “Can I have the rest of the day to think about it? Or maybe could we talk about what the expectations would be if I took on the manager role?”
“Absolutely. I’m glad you’re thinking about it and willing to give us a second chance, Bo. If there’s nothing else you’d like to add, Dell, I’m going to disconnect you from the call and just keep Bo on.”
“That sounds good to me. Thank you, Michelle.”
“Goodbye, Dell.”
With that, there’s a click and the call disconnects. I sit back, not really knowing how to feel. I’m so fucking glad to be done with that job. With this call, I feel like I can close the book on this chapter of things. I can officially be done. At the same time, I just turned down going back. I no longer have a backup plan if thingswith my voice acting doesn’t get me anywhere. That’s scary but at the same time, I’m overwhelmed with exhilaration.
I was worried I would be terrified but instead, this feels right. The only thing that makes this more perfect is the fact that I’m in Alaric’s house and I can smell our scents in the walls of my recording room.
Focusing back on my laptop, I scroll, skimming the words. Something catches my eyes and I scroll back up, rereading.
“Oh my gods,” I breathe out, excitement welling up inside of me. This is a series I literally just finished reading! It’s an ongoing series but the first couple books are out and apparently the author is looking to start making the books into audiobooks.
I bite my bottom lip as I hit a button, showing that I’m interested in auditioning. It brings me to a new page where I can see the part of the book the author wants someone to read. It’s a really funny part that features the main character, a talking goat, and an undead skeleton fighting over who gets the honor of killing their sentient guitar and finally put the thing out of its misery.
