Devonne Brown

“Maggie, we’re letting you go.” 

That’s all she heard. She remembered being escorted out of the office, and then to her car. Craig, her boss, was matter of fact about it, and acted nice, but professional, when he walked her out. He tried making small talk. “You’re smart, have a great skill set, and your resume is wonderful, you won’t have any trouble finding another accounting position. If you need a recommendation, just let me know.”  In case she made a scene, she noticed security was close by.

Let him know? She thought,  Let him know? A letter praising her work should have been the first thing he handed to her. 

Craig had been a half a dick of a boss, who ran hot and cold. One day he was kind and supportive of everybody, the next he was vindictive. He was a micromanager who liked to pick on people at random, and lately used Maggie as a punching bag. She was going to miss her salary and benefit package, something fierce until she secured another position with another firm. 

She kept the tears at bay until she got to the first level of the parking building, and then they came in full force. She had to reinvent herself and the terror set in. She stopped at the mouth of the garage before she hit the street and pulled herself together, took a  minute to staunch the tears and panic, and drove into the sunlight.

Maybe she could work from home, and be with the cats and her plants all day. 

Her brother-in-law had told her that there was no such thing as an unemployed accountant, maybe he had some leads. For now, she would go home, drink a lot of wine, eat some cheese and olives, and put on her pajamas and chill. Maybe she’d binge watch the Great British Baking Show. It was then she knew she’d be all right. 

Her brother-in-law’s words kept ringing in her ears, “There’s no such thing as an unemployed accountant.” Maggie would be just fine, and she smiled.