“They are offering two-months’ pay as a severance package, and any benefits will continue through the end of the year, of course.”
The end of the year? It’s October 2nd. The end of the year isn’t that far away. When I take finding another job with benefits that pays a decent salary into consideration, it’s intimidating as fuck. But in Los Angeles, where the cost of living is five times the amount of other major cities, and the competition is fierce?
Sure, no big deal.
“Okay,” I say quickly, thinking of ways to salvage my job.Anythingto keep my tie to Amour—to keep my future open. “What if I went freelance? Could you keep me on?”
Dean shakes his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Natalia. I tried to save everyone’s job, but it wasn’t up to me. You know I don’t actually run the show here. I would keep you in a heartbeat if I did.”
I bite the inside of my lip as I stand, reality setting in. “Fine. I understand. I’ll finish up my day, and—”
He walks over to me, reaching out and touching my arm. I still. “That won’t be necessary. It’s effective immediately, so I’ll send security to escort you to your desk to grab any personal items.”
It feels like I’m dreaming, and before I can process his words, a security guard in a grey uniform escorts me back to my desk. I ignore the eyes of my colleagues.
I wonder who’s next.
“Oh my god,” Samantha says, walking over to me. “Did hefireyou?”
I nod. “Yeah. Take care of the bully book, okay? Do me right with that one,” I add, my voice catching.
I give her a quick hug before heading into my office. The guard watches me as I pile some things into the box they must’ve placed on my desk while I was in Dean’s office. One box to pack up my entire life’s career. I look around at all the books I helped publish—the authors whose dreams we made come true. Seeing their books in print brought me so much joy. There are at least fifty on the shelf. I could never part with them.
I turn to the security guard. “I’m going to need a few more boxes.”
3
Natalia
I leanagainst my old Honda Civic as I wait for Luca to open the gate in front of his house. Looking down at my nails, I sigh loudly and press the buzzer six times in a row, just to annoy him. It’s warm and the sun is beating down on me, making me sweaty and light-headed. I check my watch. It’s after eleven, but we share each other’s locations, so I can see he’s not at work.
“Luca,” I yell, hoping he hears me. I pull my phone out of my pocket, and as I’m about to call him, the gate starts to slide open. I groan and hop into my car quickly as beads of sweat drip down my back. Iloathethe warm autumns in this city. Though I’ve lived here my whole life, I still resent the fact that we don’t get seasons. It’s either hot, like today, or cool and overcast, which is such a rarity that it almost feels like a snow day.
Parking in front of his door, I manually lock my car and hop up the steps as the door opens. His face is strained, and his lips are turned downward at the corners.
“When I said come over, I meant come overlater.” He doesn’t move to let me in. I peer behind him, but he blocks my view.
“Why? Who’s here?” I ask, fanning myself. “Honestly, if it’s not a good time, I’ll just grab some water and then I’ll be on my way. I spent fifty minutes on the 405 and it’s so fucking hot,” I add, going to step around him.
“I have company,” he barks out, his eyes wide. He pulls his robe tighter and stands a bit taller. Realization dawns on me. My brother, the man with a heart of stone, hascompany.
“Oh.Oh.” I take a step back. “So sorry. I’ll get out of your hair.”
He sighs, his resolve crumbling. “Fine. One drink of water. Understood?” He raises his perfectly arched eyebrows.
“Thank you,” I breathe, pushing past him as I make my way into his gorgeous, designer kitchen. When I turn the corner, I stop when I spot a man in a matching robe sipping orange juice at the table.
“Hello,” he says, giving me a genuine smile.
“Hi,” I answer, grabbing a glass as quickly as possible. “I’m Luca’s sister, Natalia.” I proceed to gulp my giant glass of water in about six seconds flat. When I’m finished, I grin. “But you probably already knew that.”
He laughs. “I’m Nathan, Luca’s, um…” He glances at Luca. “His accountant.”
“It’s fine, she knows,” Luca says, coming into the kitchen behind me. “We were about to order brunch,” he adds, putting his hands on his hips and giving me a knowing smile.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Nathan offers, looking at Luca questioningly. I see Luca shake his head out of the corner of my eye.
“No, it’s fine. I should get going.” My stomach rumbles loudly, and Nathan smiles.
