chapter 1

***This is my first story, so I apologize if it's terrible. Please let me know if you like it!***

It all started at the beginning of the day. It was a Friday. I got to my desk and turned on my work computer. I went to the lunchroom to get my morning coffee. There was minimal small talk amongst my co-workers about weekend plans, this and that, but nothing interesting, So, I went back to my desk and checked my emails. There wasn't much to see, mostly just notes from the company about stuff that happened this week. Suddenly, one popped up at the top of my inbox when I was about to close it. The subject title was: "MANDATORY MEETING: ROOM 2510 AT 10AM." I was rather surprised to see that. Most of the meetings that went on were over my pay grade. I also only worked at this company for about a month and a half. It was my first job out of university.

I opened the email and it didn't offer much in the way of details. It just said "All recipients of this e-mail MUST ATTEND." I leaned back in my desk chair and tried to figure out what it could be about. Did I do something wrong? Is there a big project we are going to be assigned to? I was going to have to wait to find out.

The overall atmosphere around me at the office seemed normal. Nobody else looked worried about anything, nor talked about it, so I did my best to carry on with my work.

At 9:50 I was walking up to Room 2510. One of the double doors was open and I could see a few other people walking in ahead of me. Come to think of it, I had never even seen inside this room before. The doors were always closed when I walked by. I turned into the doorway and was greeted by a fairly large boardroom. There was a very long table that ran the length of the room and was surrounded by fairly plush looking leather chairs. There was also an enormous window on the other side of the room that gave a very impressive view of the city. This made me a little bit envious that I was stuck in a cubicle in the middle of the building. We were on the 25th floor, and I couldn't tell most days except for the elevator ride.

I snapped out of my trance when someone bumped into me. I realized I was still standing in the middle of the doorway and took a seat near the end of the table with what I thought would be the best view of the cityscape. I looked around and noticed the room could probably easily sit 25-30 people, but the current occupancy was only around a dozen. I saw a few people I’d seen around, but, not really anyone I knew.


"Good Morning Ladies and Gents!" I nearly jumped out of my seat as a very well dressed middle-aged man walked into the room. 2 women walked in behind him. "Let's get this going shall we?" The man slapped his notepad and papers he had with him on the table.
Everyone in the room immediately sat down and straightened up. The man walked up to the front of the room and stood right where I was sitting. "Now, my name is Kevin McLarthy and I am the chief financial officer of this company. These two ladies are Laura Jones and Sarah Pope. They are the head of the human resources department…"

My heart sank a bit. I had a hunch at the beginning of the meeting. And it's becoming more viable. Bigwig financial dude from corporate? Check. Human Resources rep? Check. X2. These are the 2 main ingredients to some job losses. But, maybe not?

"We have decided to do some restructuring for our company to cut out as many underperforming sectors as we see fit. We also aimed to reduce the job losses to a minimum. There are going to be lots of employees moving to new roles over the next few weeks."

Greaaat..

Then his posture changed a bit. He stood up straighter and surveyed the room. The 12 or so people in the room looked back almost in fear. There was a mixture of older and younger people, both male and female.

"But," he continued, as he walked up to the table and leaned on it, "Unfortunately, you can't save every puppy from the shelter."

FUCK!

"After careful consideration, we've concluded that your positions are eliminated and we will no longer need your services. You are being dismissed, effective immediately. I am sorry."

I couldn't even put a clear thought through my head except "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

The man talked a bit more, but I didn’t really pay attention. He eventually left the room and left the HR people to deal with us. To cut it short, because I only worked there for just shy of 6 weeks, I was technically still under probation. So, long story short, as far as severance pay, I got JACK. SHIT. I didn't know what to do. Laugh? Cry? Rage? I ended up grabbing one of the boxes they supplied and cleared the minimal stuff I had out of my cubicle. Nobody around me seemed to be upset. It felt weird.

I grabbed my stuff and headed for the elevator and saw the girl that worked on my floor who was in the same meeting as me waiting for it as well. I walked up beside her and put my stuff down. She looked over at me, almost in tears. "Can you believe what happened?" She asked, her voice a little shaky. "I'm still having trouble accepting it happened. It doesn't feel real. All I know is that I'm absolutely fucked now." I replied.

"Me too. I'm thinking I might have to move back in with my parents." She said.

“Well, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. My parents live on the other side of the country and I just moved here for this job 6 weeks ago. I don't really have an amazing social life….”


"Have you spoken to your landlord guy?"

"Its a girl now…. I think its Landlady then, isn't it? Anyway, no I have not. Maybe I will when I get home."

"It can't hurt… here, give me your phone." She held her hand out.
"Wha?"

"Just give it to me."

I put my phone in her open hand. She clicked away at it for a few seconds and then I heard hers go off. Then, she hands it back to me.

"Here. If you ever need to call to talk to someone, I'll be your friend." She said as she smiled.

I looked down at my phone and it had the contact page open. The screen said Madeline. "Madeline?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, uh, thanks for that."

Just then the doors opened to the ground floor.
"Well, this is my stop. Text me soon, OK?" She said as she gave me a hug.

"Yeah…. I will."

I watched her ass sway as the elevator doors closed…

I got in my car and just sat there for a few minutes. I have 2 credit cards both maxed out. I have this car payment, which just 2 weeks ago was perfectly fine. I could afford a new car! What could go wrong? Everything, apparently.