TWO

MAY

  I was in the middle of washing my dishes when my phone buzzed for the second time. Out of curiosity, I wiped my hands and picked up the mobile. There was a missed call from an unknown number and strangely a notification from Snuggle. I pulled down the notification bar and squinted my eyes to read.

"Congratulations, you are married."

I will be completely honest. It made me laugh. That was it! I was finally done with the app. I visited the app store, gave it a one-star review, and proceeded to delete it.

Error, It sent. You cannot delete snuggle until your package has expired.

"Fucking Christ," I muttered. I hadn't realized I had given the sketchy app administrator privileges. I was going to do my little research on how to rid myself of the app when the strange number from earlier popped up. In a fit of blind rage, I hit the accept button and immediately yelled into the phone. "Who is this? I am really busy so this better be worth my time."

"Am I speaking to Miss May Wolfe?" The feminine voice questioned.

I was quiet for a second. Who was this, I wondered? They knew my name. Then it hit me. That foul app. Snuggle. This was probably one of their representatives reaching out concerning that sketchy notification they sent my way. Now I was done with them. "Yes, and I would like to cancel whatever offers Snuggle has for newcomers. I am not even  interested in the app any..."

"Snuggle?" The woman repeated a bit confused. "I think you have got it all wrong Miss Wolfe. I am the receptionist from Walter agencies and I'm calling to find out why you could not make it to work today."

Shit, I mumbled to myself. I had singlehandedly made a huge fool of myself to a woman I should have known. I wondered what she thought about me now. We had spoken a few times already and I had asked for the contact details only to go ahead and not save it. Although, her queries about the shift threw me off balance. "Why would I be coming to the agency today? My shift was tomorrow and there is no way in hell that I will be covering someone else's shift if a bonus isn't guaranteed."

An eerie silence followed. The white noise got louder as did my heartbeat. A feeling of dread washed over me and I dashed out of my tiny apartment's kitchen to the living room. Wiping the residue of water that remained on my hand, I flipped open my laptop and checked my emails.

"Miss Wolfe, you might have gotten your dates mixed up. You were supposed to be here hours ago to escort Mrs. Verna to the property." The receptionist said it at the same time that I read through my second recent email.

"Jeez, I honestly had no idea. Could you apologize to the woman on my behalf and try to go get her to reschedule? I can't have my name going in the blacklist."

The receptionist cleared her throat uneasily. "I don't think...You don't need to worry about that anymore."

My mind did a dive. Did she take initiative to actually help me? My erratic heartbeat finally calmed and I took a look at the title of the most recent email. "Your marriage certificate is ready," It said. Another spam from snuggle. I clicked the mail and reported it as spam. "I am really grateful for your help. I really don't know how I forgot. It's so unlike me."

I expected a nervous laugh from the receptionist as she would try her possible best not to let the pride of goodness get into her head while reassuring me that was the bare minimum but nothing of the sort followed. The receptionist remained quiet and the long sigh that followed shortly after revealed to me that I might have been positive a bit too soon. "Is something wrong?" I probed.

I heard the receptionist curse under her breath while muttering something about being emotionally stunted before returning to the conversation. "I hate to break it to you but the boss visited today. He was pretty pissed off and he seemed to snap when he learned you canceled on a client. He asked me to inform the manager of your excesses. You will probably be getting a termination letter latest tonight."

That sentence broke me.

***

  I tore through the tampered glass doors of Walters estate thirty minutes later, amidst hot tears and complete breathlessness.

"What are you doing here?" The receptionist queried, her hands sliding into my side. "You should go," She whispered into my ear. "We have clients and it would be unwise and unnecessary to cause a scene."

"I'm here to see that smug bastard and I will not be leaving until I see him."

The receptionist gave an empathetic sigh. "Have a seat. I'll reach out to Mr. Edmond. Whether he wants to see you is up to him."

We both came to a stalemate and I proceeded to seat while she reached out to Edmond Walters. The air was cruelly cold and I found myself fiddling with my duffel bag and smoothing the rough pencil skirt I had shimmied on in a rush to make it on time. I saw the receptionist pull down her landline in disappointment. The back of my eyes burned and my throat itched realizing what that could mean for me. However, before I could burst out into a cry and further embarrass myself, the receptionist's landline shrilled. I watched as she inhaled and exhaled before picking up the phone from its holder. In a moment, she placed it back and called out.

"May Wolfe, Mr. Edmond would like you to come up to his office."

With a grateful smile, I walked up to the elevator. The second floor up, I knocked on Edmond's door, my stomach, knotting with uncertainty.

A strong baritone voice came from behind the door. "Come in."

I stepped into the office. Edmond—tall, broad-shouldered with jet black hair, and dressed like a Ralph Lauren ad—lifted his icy gaze from some papers and spoke, "Ah, You must be May. Please close the door and have a seat." He gestured at the white chair in front of his mahogany-polished desk. Cold dark eyes settled on me. "Would you like some water?"

"No, thanks. I’m good." I lied. My throat was beyond scorched but I wasn't here to fraternize with the man that just fired me.

"Very well, let’s get straight to it." He said, folding his hands and sighing. " Why are you here? Because if it is to reason with me on why you should still get to keep your job, I should let you know that my mind is made up. You'll be given your check tomorrow then I want you gone.

"It was one mistake," I said, trying to sound as professional as possible but I even failed at that. My shaky voice was a dead giveaway. "I got my dates mixed up. I am begging you, give me another chance. I will prove to you that I am not a slacker."

"The jobs I provide are highly coveted in the corporate world and the stunt you pulled today with Madame Verna is what makes and breaks the industry that I operate. Your numbers are good but not the best. It's been three years since you began working here but you have only been able to get two clients to sign our housing contracts. I am indeed sorry but I have to let you go."

"Spare me!" I finally retorted, slamming my table so hard on the table that it felt personal. "Others in this agency have it worse than I do."

The corporate king lowered his gaze. "But it is also my company and I decide who I want to let go. Do you have a problem disseminating that?"

Yes. Yes! I did have a problem disseminating that. His response could only mean he fired me with a motive. One I could not quite put my finger on. His last words did hit me hard. With Edmond's words constantly ringing in my head, it was challenging to keep things drama-free. I wanted nothing but to jump at him and tear off that smug look he had on his face.

"A security officer will escort you back to your desk to collect your belongings and will take your security pass on the way out." Edmond continued.

  Security, I scoffed. I was being treated like a criminal now. "Very well," I managed to say in the most civil tone that I could muster. "Goodbye."  I then made my way to the door when my phone chimed in unison with  Edmond's. I peered at the screen and noticed the snuggle application had opened itself on its own.

"It can be hard opening your heart to someone new but snuggle won't let you dwell on old things", I read. My eyes then slowly drifted down. Below the quote, there was a document titled your marriage contract. In the parties section, I saw a name. A strangely familiar name. Numb, I looked back at the man that had just fired me. As if the shock was not enough, a notification from snuggle HQ dropped.

Seems like you have bumped into your better half before we could work our magic. How is he?