Hold my hand.

~8~

[Three weeks later.]
[Friday.]

'Perrie, are you alright to come in my office?'
'Sure, I'll be there in just a moment, Mr. Peters.'
'No rush.'
Perrie quickly finished to type something on her laptop, then knocked on Mr. Peters' office's door.
'Come in, please.'
The girl smiled as she closed the door behind her, clueless of what her boss was about to say.
'Take a seat.' The man turned a couple of pages of the file he had open in front of him. 'Perrie, I'll keep it short. I'm very impressed with what you've done for our company in such a short amount of time.'
Perrie felt an unusual sense of proudness.
'You're very dedicated and we've had an amazing response from some of our clients already.'
'Thank you, Mr. Peters. Means a lot to me.'
'Me and my associate, Mr. Parsons, talked a lot about you these last couple of weeks. We know you're struggling and you had to start working at weekends, too. You should have told us, we could've help.'
'Mr. Peters, really, it's very kind of you, but I thought that...'
'We know it's only been just over a month, Perrie, but how would you feel about going through your permanent contract. Just have a read and let us know how you feel about it.'
'Ehm, what? Are you sure?'
'More than sure. It didn't take us long to realise we can trust you. That would mean a raise in your salary and the opportunity to ask for an advance on your pay, if you ever need it.'
'I don't know what to say, really.'
'We would be honoured if you would accept our offer.'
Perrie felt relieved once she exited Mr. Peters office.
For once in her life, she felt everything was moving in the right direction. She turned her laptop off and left the office for her lunch break. As she was checking if she had any messages, her phone went off.

-Hello?
-Hi, Perrie.  It's Alex.
-Hi, Alex. How are you?
-I'm great, thanks. But I'm not going to ask how are you, because your answer will change after I say what I've got to say.
-I feel a bit worried now.
-Don't be. It's good news. We might have found you a new apartment. I went to see it today and it had everything you need. The department has approved it, so it's up to you now. The sooner you can come and see it, the better.
-Oh my god, today must be my lucky day!
-What? Why?!
-I'll tell you on your next visit, you'd be impressed with me.
-I already am. So, when can you and Blake come and see the house? I know you're working, so I asked the agent if they would be available for a viewing at the weekend, but you'll have to confirm it now.
-Are you kidding? Of course I'm confirming it now! I can't wait. Tomorrow morning?
-Sounds perfect. I'll pick you and Blake up at nine. Or is it too early?
-Alex, really, you don't need to. We can manage.
-No way. I want to be there when you see it.
-We can meet you there. I...
-It's not negotiable. I'm picking you up. See you tomorrow.

'Let's make a toast.' Leigh-Anne raised her glass of wine. 'The future is looking bright, my friend.'
'Let's wait until I actually get the place, shall we?' Perrie found it hard to relax and believe that everything could change in a matter of days.
'It's a start, though. One little step at the time. Did you tell Blake yet?'
'No, I didn't want him to get too excited and I really wanted to have a drink with you tonight, so I figured out early night was the way. Plus, if he doesn't see me having a glass of wine, he can't tell the social worker tomorrow.' The two girls laughed quietly.
'It's so nice of him to come and pick you up, too. Do you think he's like this with all the families he helps?'
'Most definitely. I don't see why me and Blake should be so special. He sees so many different people everyday, I doubt we are getting a special treatment.' As those words left Perrie's mouth, she began to think of what Alex said to her a few weeks earlier, that she reminded him of someone he wish he could've help, but still refused to believe that she was different from any other person he had helped throughout the years.
'I don't know, P. I've got this feeling, that he really likes you.'
'You never even met him, Leigh. How can you say that?'
'Well, you know I'm a bit psychic, don't you?'
Perrie laughed and rolled her eyes. 'Oh, not this story again. Leigh-Anne, you're not psychic. We've had this conversation when you were about six, when we were fourteen and I'm going to say it again now: you have not got any supernatural abilities. You've got good intuitions, yes, but it just ends there.'
Leigh-Anne jokingly sighed as she raised her eyebrows. 'I wish you could be as supportive of me as I am of you.'
'Shut up, Leigh.' The girls laughed again and sipped some of their white wine.
As the girls kept chatting, Perrie's phone started to vibrate on the table.
'Who is it now? You've been very popular today!'
'I know, right?' Perrie turned her phone over to see who was calling her. 'It's my boss.'
'Your boss? It's a bit late for a work phone call, isn't it?'
'Yeah, weird. I'll have to pick it up. Be back in a second. Hello? Mr. Parsons?' Perrie answered the phone and got out on the balcony to speak to her boss.
After not long, probably less than ten minutes, Perrie went back in to join her friend. She sat back on her chair without even looking at Leigh-Anne, picked up the wine bottle and filled her glass again.
'Are you okay? You seem pretty shaken. Is everything okay?'
Perrie took her time before answering.
'Is it your job? Is it about the contract? Please, tell me it's not!'
She looked at Leigh-Anne very seriously in the eyes, slightly shaking as she put her glass down.
'Worse.'

[Hello everyone :) how are you all doing xx
I'm very busy with work again and just didn't have any time nor energy to write 😫 but luckily I still have a few chapters ready, so enjoy lol
Let me know what you think 👀
Peace and love to everyone xxx]