The chair I sat in was plush and thick with
rolling castors at the bottom making it easy to move around.
“Ms.
Lucille Delacourt,” the stranger said, startling me. Jeremiah Hamilton ,
I reminded myself, still unable to get my brain around my current situation. “Currently
a temp data clerk out of the Executive Management Solutions employment agency,
hired one month ago by Agatha Crabtree. Correct so far?” At my jerky nod he
continued. “I see you used your passport as identification.” He glanced up at
me. “Passport?”
Talking
was difficult with a suddenly dry mouth but I still tried. “I always carry them
with me.” A raised eyebrow and expectant expression probed for more information
but I only shrugged.
There
was a moment of silence before he resumed speaking. “Grew up in upstate New
York, went three years to Cornell University before dropping out. Menial jobs
since then and you moved to the City only three months ago. Why did you drop
out?”
His
words washed right over me; it was the pause that had me looking up into his
expectant face. “What?” I asked, completely missing the question.
“Why,”
he repeated, “did you drop out of college, Ms. Delacourt?”
His
tone demanded an answer but it was complicated and personal, bringing up
memories I still dealt with nearly three years later. The question was an
invasion of my privacy and I knew I didn’t legally have to answer, but I found my
lips moving anyway. “My parents died.”
There
was a long pause this time as I stared at my hands, trying not to cry – a
difficult task, given the nerve-wracking situation I’d gotten myself into. Would
they be ashamed of where I am now? I wondered, swallowing back tears. They
had sacrificed so much to let me get ahead, most of which I hadn’t discovered
until after their death and I was forced to live with their choices.
“I’m
sorry for your loss,” Jeremiah said after a long moment of silence while I
struggled to regain my composure. He cleared his throat, and I glanced up to
see him sit back in his chair. “What brought you down to Jersey City?”
I
thought I detected a note of concern in his voice but still couldn’t bring
myself to look at him. Even though the question was personal and none of his
business, I still answered. “I lost my family’s house and had to move, an old
college friend said I could live with her.”
“I
see.” Jeremiah scratched his chin for a moment, then sat back in his chair. “Do
you know why I’ve asked you to come, Ms. Delacourt?”
It
was the question I dreaded and couldn’t possibly answer. Swallowing, I raised
my head to meet his green eyes but my courage failed me. “No?” I replied, more
a question than an answer.
He
opened his mouth to say something, paused, then tried again. “Let me tell you
how your day would have gone today prior to our meeting.” He folded his arms on
the table before continuing. “You would have worked until half an hour before
closing, when Mrs. Crabtree would have called you into her office. She would
have explained that your temp work contract was terminated and today was your
last day. You would be given your last pay check and escorted out of the
building.”
For
the second time that morning, the bottom dropped out from under my feet.
“You’re firing me?” I asked in a faint voice, unable to believe my own words.
Anger bubbled up at the unfairness of my life. “Is this because we...”
Jeremiah
held up a hand to stop my words and shook his head. “The decision on the layoffs
has been planned for a week now, we no longer need most of the temps in your
department.” His eyes narrowed as he added, more to himself, “I signed the
directive earlier this week before I knew who you were.”
“Nobody’s
hiring,” I whispered, forgetting my looking for another job was supposed to be
secret. No reason to hide that now. The anger was difficult to sustain
as I realized I’d have to weather another blow after so