There were tears in your eyes as you gathered your things, waiting until you were sure that everyone else had left before you chanced opening the door. You didn't want them to know that you had overheard them talking, not that it would matter in the slightest. In fact they would probably get even more pleasure from knowing that you had heard what was being said about you.
The lights were out down the hall and even your own people weren't here this late. You could meander out, take your time and say your silent goodbyes. It was a shame, you thought sadly, you'd actually liked this job, even if it was only a temporary gig. Cutting it short a few weeks would hurt your bank account, but it would save your pride. Maybe.
You considered leaving your resignation on the counter, but no, your boss deserved more than that from you. You would show your face once more, tomorrow and hopefully have come up with a better excuse for quitting than 'mean girls' for leaving her in the lurch.
A noise startled you into jumping, spinning around with a yelp. The man standing in the doorway was the absolute last person on earth you wanted to see.
"Shit, sorry luv, didnae mean tae scare ye."
Your heart was hammering in your chest as you levelled him with the blandest scare you could muster.
"I thought everyone had gone home for the night." you managed to splutter.
"A few o us stayed back tae go over some lines."
A few of us no doubt meaning his two co-stars, Tweedlebitch and Tweedlebitchier, the gossips who apparently lived just to make others miserable.
"Anyways," Jack stepped further into the kitchen, his head tilted, frowning as he looked at you. "I came tae see if I could steal a piece o cake from the fridge. I didnae realize ye were still here."
You'd had a feeling that he was the one who'd been doing just that, pretty much every day. Any other time it would have amused you to no end, catching him out like this.
"It's on the third shelf." you murmured instead, turning away and pretending to rifle through a folder.
"Are ye ok lass?" his voice seemed closer and you took a deep breath to hold back your tears.
"I'm fine, long day." you ground out, refusing turn around.
No way was anyone going to see you cry, least of all him.
His hand came to rest on your shoulder, just as it had a dozen times before. This time you shrugged him off roughly, still refusing to turn around, tears pricking at your eyes.
"Ya can talk tae me if ye need lass."
You couldn't help but hear the hurt in his voice which made you feel even worse. What was happening to you wasn't his fault, he'd done nothing but be friendly.
"I'm just really tired," and this was the last time you would ever see him, "I'll be fine, I promise." Not a chance, but he didn't need to know that.
You held your breath until you were sure that he was gone, waiting even a few minutes after that to pull your shit together. Not a chance you were going to tell him what had upset you, he would know tomorrow anyway, rumors had a way of spreading fast. At least you wouldn't be around to see his reaction when he realised the truth to it.
Your car was parked almost half a mile away and the walk in the chilly autumn air gave you time to think about what you'd heard. Jack's co-stars also happened to be two of the most stunning women in the world. Playing sisters, they were both young, tall, blonde and perfect. They were also two of the rudest people you'd ever had the misfortune to deal with, and you'd been in customer service for years. From day one they'd fixated on you, the most inexperienced of the catering team, but it had mostly been stupid shit. The usual demands and complaints of the entitled. If you were honest, you'd enjoyed the looks on their faces every time that you'd been able to say no to them.
