The Moment Before You Fall

Twenty-six: Enough

*** Abigail's POV ***

I'm nervous that Erica has asked me to have lunch with her to discuss my contract. It could mean one of two things. A genuine effort to sort things out and ensure I'm staying or a "here's the door" type of thing. Let's hope for the former.

"Are you okay if we go off-site? There's this pleasant hole-in-the-wall type of place right around the corner. I'll have you back in time for the afternoon." She smiles as we walk.

"Sure, I'm up for anything." I agree.

"Don't get me wrong, I think we do a good job with the catering here, but sometimes I just need some distance from the park for even just an hour." She says with a laugh.

She leads me to her car, an unsuspecting vehicle for a CEO. She fills the short car-ride talking about her family and asks about mine. I reveal my background as a military dependent.

"Oh, so do I have to worry you're going to get the itch to up and leave us in a few years? You know Kristoff has been a constant with us for quite some time." She elaborates.

I just stare at her blankly. Looks like this isn't a conversation to can me, after all. She reads my silence with a wrinkled forehead.

"I hope you aren't reading that as pressure to stay! I really meant it as a joke more than anything." Erica tries to walk back her comment.

"I would honestly love more than anything to set down roots in a job that I love." I confess. "The nomadic lifestyle, it kind of messed with me as a kid. I want to just settle in and call someplace home for a while."

"And I hear you've been working hard to make that happen. This is your...third job currently?" She asks, gently.

"Uh, yeah." I am suddenly embarrassed by that fact, but feel the need to clarify. "Each one does something different for me."

"Tell me about your other positions." Erica and I enter the restaurant, sit and chat as we wait for our orders. She is very easy-going and genuine as I open up about the dreams that the dinner theater satisfies for me, the mentoring angle of the high school, and the promise of the amusement park position. Our delicious Italian dishes arrive by the time I finish. Was I talking that long? Ugh.

"So, what I hear is that you want to be an actress, but you have accepted less and compensate by running yourself ragged." Erica summarizes acutely.

"Well, when you put it like that..." I chuckle nervously. Erica looks at me with stunning eyes and I see the wheels turning.

"I'd like to offer three things. First, I'd like to write into your contract one part per season. That assures that you get some of that acting experience you're craving. Secondly, I'd like to charge you with creating a mentoring program for high school students where they could come work in the theater for the summer months as paid interns. Lastly, I want to offer you more money with the understanding that you scale back to only two positions, so you have more time for yourself. Life is too short to spend spread so thin that you don't get to enjoy it."

My mouth drops as I hear her offer. I wasn't expecting this at all. Erica is amused by my apparent shock.

"What do you say? If you need time to think it over..."

"I think it sounds too good to be true. I mean...I haven't even proven myself to you. Kristoff said I had to quit the theater or find a way to make it work and I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to pick here." I practically word vomit on her.

She laughs and nods. "My job requires me to be a good judge of who can help create the most joyful entertainment experience money can buy. You bring such a strong skillset and an inspired vision for bigger and better things for not just yourself, but also others. I have to trust the gut-feeling you give me that you're worth the investment just as you have to trust that joining our family and stepping away from another is the right investment for yourself." She elaborates.