Without Me

7) Circutious

That sneaky, snitchin', no-good son of a bitch.

I knew it was too good to be true, he wouldn't keep his mouth shut. And Mami always told me that white men with pretty eyes could never be trusted. This is why mothers get so frustrated with their babies, we don't ever listen.

I'm following Big Boss to his office and everyone's staring. See, nobody ever gets in trouble with Big Boss because he doesn't care. He will let you watch porn and eat take-out all day everyday and he will not care. As long as you did the work he gave you, you're off the hook. He opens the door for me and raises his eyebrows, waiting for me to step into his office.

This is very rare.

I would be honored if l wasn't in trouble. I should've hired a painter to permeate this scene. I could almost hear the "oooooo, she got in troooouuubIeeeee..." whispers behind me.

This is utterly humiliating. He shuts the door and steps around me. I mean, it's not like I faked my degree, is it? It's not like I've got some criminal record or anything. I consider myself a good employee. I don't pay for the tab, but I can clean up aften/vards. I don't participate in parties, but I can drive the drunk ones home, you know? I'm a GOOD person. I am not going to let him fire me.

Hell.

Nope.

"Alright, Vi," he sighs, sitting down behind his desk. "You could sit, kiddo, this won't take long."

"Then, I'd much rather stand," I said with as much confidence I could muster.

"Vi, if you're wondering—"

"Can- can I please just say something first?" I interrupted, sweating through my cool new shirt.

For a moment, he looks taken aback, like he didn't expect me to say anything to begin with, but I'm not going down without a fight. "Yeah, sure go ahead, kid."

I take a deep breath and look him straight in the eye. "Big B, I know what you're about to say and I know it was wrong. It was an error of judgement that I deeply regret. I'm more sorry than anything else in my life and I swear on My neighbor that it will never happen again. But in my defense..." I can hear my voice rising. "... in my defense, I risked my academic life so I can get accepted and I think that's more than you count me for and I don't think I should be penalized for a desperate attempt to work in a company that truly serves my passion!"
There's a pause while he processes this. I think I just floored him with my speech.

"Why would you think that I'm penalizing you?" He asks with a frown.

"Well, first, are you penalizing me?" I ask him. It was supposed to sound snooty, like I had the upper hand, but it sounded timid, like I was legit asking him.

"No, Vi, why would I penalize you?" He asks calmly. Then his expression changes from worried to suspicious. ''Is there something I should know?"

Oh shit.