Maria Undone

Chapter 1 (Maria)

Maria: Are you coming in? You already missed the team meeting.

I threw my phone down and raked a hand through my hair. This was the last thing I fucking needed. Saturday was our busiest day, and our salon was fully booked. I needed a receptionist, and Lissa was rostered on, yet, as predicted, she was late to her shift.

Again.

My tolerance of her behavior was already sitting at zero, especially since I had cut ties with her as a friend. I had run out of fucks to give.

My phone buzzed and I snatched it up, already knowing what it was going to say.

Lissa: Sry not feeling well.

Fucking typical.

Two years ago I had happily given Lissa a job when she was let go from her receptionist position at Dr. Gerard's office. Not even a week in and she had started calling in sick - especially on Saturdays. She didn't seem to care that I knew she was out late on Friday nights getting wasted. I had even moved her to part-time to make things easier, but apparently, working three days was also too much for Lissa.

I didn't have the time or energy to deal with her right now, so I left her on read and called up Rachel, my other receptionist, who was infinitely more reliable.

Thirty minutes later, Rachel breezed in with a big smile and a tray of coffees.

"Thanks, Rach. You've saved my ass."

She set the tray down before handing me a chai latte. "It's honestly no problem! I need the extra money, anyway, so feel free to call me in if you're ever stuck."

With Lissa under my employment, I seemed to be more "stuck" than not. Rachel was kind enough not to mention how often she'd had to fill in on short notice. The one time I had begged Lissa to come in when Rachel was genuinely sick, she had kicked up such a stink that it hadn't been worth the effort. Whenever I needed a fill-in, I handled it myself rather than put up with Lissa's dark cloud.

"How many clients do you have today?" Rachel asked as she started shaking the computer mouse.

"I only have two. A half Balayage, and then I have a bride coming in for a hair and make-up trial." I also had a ton of paperwork to get through and updating and answering messages on our socials. "But everyone else is booked up all day. You know how Saturdays are."

"Hey, bitch." Linda, one of my senior stylists, ambled over to greet Rachel with a hug. "What are you doing here?" 

"Lissa's sick." Again. The other girl didn't have to say it, but the implication was heavy.

Linda lifted a brow at me. "Sick, eh? She looked pretty healthy last night when I bumped into her at Malley's."

I closed my eyes, clenching my jaw as I breathed through my anger. I wasn't surprised, of course, but her blatant disrespect for my generosity had me at a breaking point. Why had I put up with her shit for so long?

"Wow." Rachel shook her head as she started logging into our reservation system. "And she saw you?"

Linda bent in front of one of the workstation mirrors to fluff her bleached blonde locks. "Mmm hmm. I met hubby for a drink after work, and Lissa was with some dude, knocking back drinks. She even waved at me."

Linda turned to regard me, taking in my red face and tightly held fists. Her eyes softened in sympathy. "I know she's your friend, Maria, but she takes advantage of you."

"She's not my friend," I gritted out. I turned away to place my drink on one of our high-backed reception chairs. I was a little embarrassed that everyone around me noticed that Lissa played on my friendship. And I let her. "We fell out over a year ago," I quietly explained.