Page 88 of Unravel Me

Mere seconds for me to decide to change the trajectory of this year.

Of my life.

“Thank you, Ed, for this second chance. In truth, it’s probably more than I deserve. But you don’t need to do this because of who my father is.” Ed sits up straighter, his face creased with confusion. “The truth is, I haven’t been giving my full attention to this job. There’s someone else out there who dreams of working here, who’s worked really hard and deserves it, though.”

“What are you saying, Miss Elson?” His tie strains against his reddened neck and I stand up, inhale deeply, extending my hand towards him.

“Consider this my official resignation notice.”

He goes silent, staring at me with a stiff jaw, and I wait, giving him a few more beats to gracefully accept my handshake, but he doesn’t move, so I drop my arm.

“You had real potential.” He finally breaks the silence and I nod, not disagreeing.

“You’re right. And it’s time I finally use it.”

I respectively turn on my heel, and leave the office, knowing there’s nothing more to add. Once I’m inside the safety of my own office, I lean against the closed door.

My heart races faster than I can handle, but for the first time in a long time, my face breaks into a smile. I don’t know what comes next, but for once, that doesn’t scare me. Whatever I decide, it will be my choice.

I swear, I floated on a cloud into the Irish pub a block from Penny’s apartment. They have the best happy hour specials, but more specifically, they have a curly haired Irish bartender Penny has this flirty thing with. I don’t question it, because he keeps our drinks flowing even when the bar is slammed. So, when I walk in and see Penny sitting at the bar on the green leather stool, her elbows on the counter, laughing at whatever Richard the Irish bartender said, I smile, too.

“G’day, Audrey!” He flashes a crooked grin my way and sets a napkin down next to Penny. We aren’t here that often, but he always remembers my name.

“Hey Richard! An Irish mule for me, please…with a shot of whiskey on the side.”

Penny turns in her stool to look at me with wide eyes.

“I’m celebrating,” I exclaim loudly, placing clasped hands in my lap.

Richard eyes us while mixing our drinks mere feet away.

“Okay…and what’re we celebrating tonight?” Penny cocks her head at me.

I slam my palms on the mahogany bar top. “I quit my job today!”

Richard pauses the pouring of whiskey, while my best friend's jaw drops open. Pulling my hands back in my lap, I add, “And I officially sold my house.”

Richard chuckles, shaking his head, and slams down three shot glasses in front of us.

“I don't get you American lasses, but this calls for a round of shots!”

Penny grabs my arm.

“I literally saw you less than seven hours ago. What in the actual fuck happened today?” She stares at me, not seeming to breathe.

It probably appears like I have finally snapped in her mind. I got dumped a week ago, sold my multi-million dollar home today without ever spending a night there, and quit a coveted job that paid damn well. But I didn’t lose my mind.

“I learned how to say no today,” I simply replied, as Richard fills the shot glasses with Jameson. Even though Penny doesn’t take her eyes off me, waiting for elaboration, she grabs the shot with us, shooting it back.

As the burn of the whiskey wears off, I tell Penny about seeing Rhett this morning. I still hadn’t unpacked everything it made me feel, and maybe that would take some time. But it had shaken something in me. Something that made me finally stand up to Ed and say no.

Penny was empathetic, never judging, just listening.

“So that’s it, huh?”

“That’s it, Pen.”

We didn’t talk much more about it, and I was grateful for that. We fell back into old ways, chatting about anything and everything random. I also asked her if it would be okay to keep living with her for a bit longer. She was more than okay with that.