Page 34 of One Little Favor
But is there another choice? I need the money.
Avery
How do I go about requesting a transfer? And is there anyone else who even needs an executive assistant right now?
And if there is, what are the chances that they’d take me? Wouldn’t that seem like they’d poached me from Tom? No one he works with is going to risk pissing him off like that. Not even one of the other partners.
Mitzi
No, there are no other executive assistant openings right now. You’d have to go back to the admin pool and wait for another opening down the road.
Basically, a massive pay cut with no guarantee of moving back up any time soon. I can’t even imagine what that would look like on my resume. Admin pool, then executive assistant for a year, then sent back to the admin pool? Nope. That’s career suicide.
Clearly, the only reasonable option is to resign and look for another position elsewhere. I might leave with my heart in pieces, but at least my dignity will be intact. Would Tom give me a favorable recommendation though, if I were interviewing elsewhere? I guess I’ll find out.
Avery
I think I’d prefer to resign.
Mitzi
I’m sorry to hear that, but I understand. Send me your letter of resignation, and I’ll get the paperwork in order. Are you going to tell Tom yourself? Or do I need to tell him once I get the letter?
Oh shit. How would I even talk to Tom about this?
Avery
I’ll tell him.
Mitzi
Okay. The sooner you can draft and send the letter, though, the better.
Avery
I’ll do that right now.
I give myself a few minutes to wallow. I lie there on my couch and sob. I cry for what I thought Tom and I had together. And I cry for what I gave up to find out that none of it was real for him. How could he be so convincing? I wonder for a minute if the other executive assistants before me felt the same way I do now. Did he make each of them think that he had these feelings for them, only to break their hearts?
Finally, I take a deep breath, wipe my face off with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, and grab my laptop out of my work bag. But the tears don’t stop falling as I type my letter of resignation, or when I send it to Mitzi, or when I send Tom a text message.
Avery
I just sent a letter of resignation to Mitzi. Please give me some space to process this.
My phone rings in my hand.
“What the fuck is going on, Avery?” he asks the minute I answer the call.
“I need some space, Tom. I need you not to contact me again.”
“I go for a run and come back to a missed call and a breakup text. Again, what the fuck is going on?” He sounds both angry and worried. Is he mad that I’m the one ending things? Does he get off on breaking up with women, and he’s pissed that he’s not getting the chance? Did he want to hear me beg him to stay? None of that would explain the worry I hear in his voice.
“Someone we work with saw us at the airport in St. Thomas and sent pictures of us to Mitzi. She texted them to me. So I’m resigning before I can get fired. And I need to not see you anymore.”
“Why?” The word rips out of him.
“Why do you think, Tom?”
