Page 3 of Kiss the Girl
Feeling mildly overwhelmed, she let her head rest on the steering wheel and did her best to let the disappointment and anxiety wash over her. In a few minutes, she’d have to put a smile on her face and pretend like she was fine.
Story of my life…
Yeah. It was getting harder and harder to keep smiling lately. In the lottery of life, Savannah felt like she was constantly losing. Between health issues, family issues, more health issues, a divorce, and now this…it was amazing she even had the will to get out of bed every morning.
A loud knock on the car window made her scream, and she straightened to see Cash standing there looking at her oddly.
Time to put on a happy face…
Forcing a smile, she grabbed her purse and carefully opened the car door as he took a step back. “Hey! What are you doing out here? Did you go for a walk down by the beach?”
Cash chuckled. “Hardly. I saw you pull up and then you didn’t get out of the car, so I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
Savannah couldn’t meet his eyes. She hadn’t finished her pity party, so her emotions were right at the surface and she was afraid she would do something stupid like burst into tears.
“I’m good,” she said, stepping around him quickly and heading for the front door. “I’m starving. Would you like a snack?”
She was inside the house and in the kitchen in the blink of an eye and knew it would take him a few minutes to catch up; it was the perfect amount of time for her to get herself together.
With a shaky sigh, she opened up the refrigerator and began pulling out some chopped up vegetables she always kept on hand along with the container of hummus. By the time she had a small plate ready, Cash was shuffling into the kitchen. When she looked at him, she knew he’d figured out that she wasn’t okay.
“I, uh…I didn’t get the job,” she said quietly before sitting down at the small kitchen set.
“Oh, Savi,” he said quietly, sitting down beside her. “I’m sorry. I know you were excited about it.”
All she could do was nod.
“But…it was only the first job you applied for, so there’s no need to be so down on yourself.”
He didn’t understand.
Cash had a unique outlook on life and it was something she never could quite agree with him on. He was fine just going with the flow and being laid back, no matter what the situation. Savannah, on the other hand, pretty much lived in a constant state of anxiety and worry over what was going to happen next.
Because there was always something and it was rarely good.
“So what happened? Were they jerks? Was the place dirty?”
Picking up a baby carrot, she dunked it in the hummus. “It’s a brand-new spa. Not even open yet.”
He nodded. “And the owners?”
She bit into her snack and chewed it slowly.
Beside her, he let out a low laugh. “I know a delaying tactic when I see one. Come on. Out with it. What happened?”
“What makes you think anything happened? Maybe I just wasn’t qualified.”
“Savannah, never bullshit a bullshitter. I know I’ve taught you that. You’re more than qualified for that job. Hell, you’re overqualified. So why don’t we just cut to the chase and you tell me what these bastards did?”
Several things played out in her mind. She could give him the abbreviated version and tell him that she realized who they were and opted to leave.
But there was a really good chance he’d see right through that.
Of course, she could lie and just agree with his initial thought and say they were jerks and not people she wanted to work for.
He’d probably respect that.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t a liar and Cash had a way of getting the truth out of her eventually, so why not just spare them both the added drama and just tell him the truth?