34
" I walked out into the parking lot and found the space he’d written on the rental folder. I frowned at the bright yellow and black machine that sat there waiting for me. What is that? A riding lawnmower? “This can’t be right,” I said to no one. I was the only one out there, so I don’t know who I thought I was talking to, but having a thousand conversations in my head over the last twenty-four hours was making me question my own sanity. Probably talking out loud to myself wasn’t any better, but what the hell … might as well change up the crazy every once in a while to keep it fresh.
I pressed the button on the key ring and the headlights flashed on once, proving this was not a mistake. “A Smart Car? Are you kidding me?” It looked like a giant, wasp-yellow roller skate. Maybe not even a giant one; maybe just a large-ish roller skate. Surely looking like a giant wasp flying down a country road was a bad idea for a girl with a sting-allergy…
I debated in my head whether I should go and argue for one of the other fifty full-sized cars on the lot, but then gave up on the idea five seconds later. “Screw it,” I said, annoyed as hell. “Might as well get eight hundred miles to the gallon, right?!” The tone of my voice had drifted a little over to the hysterical side, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was barely hanging on, the stress almost enough to send me to the looney bin. I just kept picturing Bradley saying, “You got married? To a complete stranger? In Las Vegas? When you were drunk? By a guy named Elvis?” It was too horrible to fully fathom. He’d dump me just for humiliating him in front of all his clients and his frat brothers and his parents. There were so many people expecting me to be the perfect fiancée.
I threw my overnight bag in the passenger seat and drove off the lot, wishing I could peel out and really express my anger in a satisfyingly loud and obnoxious way. But I quickly learned that a Smart Car doesn’t know how to peel out; it’s not equipped to do much with its lawn-mower sized engine. It just knows how to deliver me from Point A to Point B on a very small amount of gas with almost zero elbow room. I felt like a clown buzzing around in her little circus car. The only things missing were a little face paint and some floppy shoes. At first I thought I was also missing one of those brass honky-horns that clowns carry around, but then I pressed on the steering wheel and found out differently. Yes, it’s true. The Smart Car comes equipped with a clown honky-horn. "
― Elle Casey , Shine Not Burn (Shine Not Burn, #1)
35
" Okay, so where were we?” I asked.
“I was telling you I’m busy and you were excusing me from this meeting.”
“No, that’s not where we were.” I left the space behind my desk and came around to join her, taking the chair on her left. She turned away from me, facing the wall of bookshelves that ran next to my desk.
“Ruby, if you’re worried that being honest with me will cause you to lose your job, I want you to know that it won’t happen. I’d never let you go for being honest. Besides … the senior partners love you. You have total job protection here.”
She swiveled her head slowly in my direction. “Can I get that in writing?”
“Shit, Ruby, you know the law as well as I do. Your job is safe. Come on, talk to me.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to upset you.” Her tone wasn’t quite as harsh. It was the kindest thing she’d said to me in six months, and it gave me hope.
“Please, if it will help get us to the bottom of this mess, I don’t care. Upset me.”
She stared at me long and hard before exhaling in a really long, really sad-sounding sigh.
Just that alone made me want to cry. I almost didn’t want to hear what she had to say now, knowing she was preparing herself to deliver some very bad news.
“Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it, because this is something you need to hear. And since you don’t talk to your friends anymore, it’s on my shoulders to do it.” She pressed her lips together and sat straighter. Then she looked at the ceiling before muttering, “Lord Jesus, please forgive me for being so bold and honest, but you know I’m doing it for the right reasons and my heart is true.”
My own heart skipped a few beats. I threw up a prayer of my own. Dear Tiny Baby Jesus, please give me the strength to not bite Ruby’s head off, because I have a feeling I’m going to want to before she’s done. "
― Elle Casey , Shine Not Burn (Shine Not Burn, #1)
