looking everywhere but at her, and heaved a sigh almost as heavy as his ass was.
“You’re a good worker,” he finally said, “but you’ve been causing a lot of disruption around here in the past couple of weeks. People—”
“I’m not causing the disruption,” Jenner said, heat edging into her voice. “I’m doing my job the way I always do.”
“Then let me put it another way: You’re the
cause
of the disruption. Reporters calling, showing up at the gate, people complaining. I don’t know why you’re still here. You don’t need the job, and there are plenty of people who do. So why don’t you do everyone a favor and quit?”
The unfairness of it made her want to beat her head against the wall. Instead she straightened her shoulders and set her jaw. “Because I need to eat and pay my rent and utility bills, just like everyone else,” she replied, her tone just short of a snarl. “Believe me, as soon as I get some money to live on, I’m outta here. Until then, what am I supposed to do? Live on the street?”
He sighed again. “Look, I’m just doing my job, too. The guys up front want you to go.”
Frustrated, infuriated, she threw her hands up. “Fine. Then fire me, so I can collect unemployment until the money comes through.”
“They don’t want—”
“I don’t care what ‘they’ want. I care about being able to live.” She leaned forward and planted her hands on the desk, anger evident in every line of her body. “I’ve paid unemployment taxes since I was sixteen, and never collected a dime. If you want me gone—without a lawsuit being filed, and believe me when I say that very shortly I’ll be able to afford a lawyer good enough to keep this company tied up in court for years, and will cost way more than a few weeks of unemployment benefits—then that’s the deal. Fire me, okay the unemployment, and I’m out of here. Mess with me in any way, and the legal fees will bankrupt this company. Are we clear on this? Take the deal to the guys up front, and get back to me.”
She stalked out of the office, changed into the ugly coveralls and hair cap, and clocked in. She was late for the shift, but so what? She didn’t give a damn. In fact, with fury still running through her veins, she felt pretty good. Okay, so she didn’t have any money yet, but what she did have were options, and she’d just exercised one.
None of the people around her spoke or made contact, not even Margo. Jenner ignored them as studiously as they ignored her. Several of them had gone to management to complain about her, she figured, exaggerating how much of a distraction her presence had been, blowing up the case for asking her to leave. Maybe she should have brought boxes of doughnuts every day, treated everyone, but, damn it, she didn’t have the money! What was so hard about that to understand?
Because that wasn’t how they wanted things to be, she realized. In their fantasy of making it big—maybe by winning the lottery—a win brought instant wealth, an end to all problems and money worries. They’d have been happier if she’d bought a new car, regaledthem with tales of big new condos and houses she was thinking of buying, letting them live vicariously through her. Instead she had remained the same: broke. She’d let them down, discredited their fantasies, and now they didn’t want her around.
Within an hour, though, Don Gorski approached her. “I have papers for you to sign,” he said, and she followed him, not to his office, but to a larger office up front, one occupied by two men she’d seen around but whose names she didn’t know.
“We agree to your offer,” one of the men said, putting his finger on a single sheet of paper and pushing it across the desk toward her.
Jenner picked up the sheet and carefully read every word. In exchange for her promise not to file any lawsuits against Harvest Meat Packing or them personally, her unemployment compensation would be approved. There was a
“You’re a good worker,” he finally said, “but you’ve been causing a lot of disruption around here in the past couple of weeks. People—”
“I’m not causing the disruption,” Jenner said, heat edging into her voice. “I’m doing my job the way I always do.”
“Then let me put it another way: You’re the
cause
of the disruption. Reporters calling, showing up at the gate, people complaining. I don’t know why you’re still here. You don’t need the job, and there are plenty of people who do. So why don’t you do everyone a favor and quit?”
The unfairness of it made her want to beat her head against the wall. Instead she straightened her shoulders and set her jaw. “Because I need to eat and pay my rent and utility bills, just like everyone else,” she replied, her tone just short of a snarl. “Believe me, as soon as I get some money to live on, I’m outta here. Until then, what am I supposed to do? Live on the street?”
He sighed again. “Look, I’m just doing my job, too. The guys up front want you to go.”
Frustrated, infuriated, she threw her hands up. “Fine. Then fire me, so I can collect unemployment until the money comes through.”
“They don’t want—”
“I don’t care what ‘they’ want. I care about being able to live.” She leaned forward and planted her hands on the desk, anger evident in every line of her body. “I’ve paid unemployment taxes since I was sixteen, and never collected a dime. If you want me gone—without a lawsuit being filed, and believe me when I say that very shortly I’ll be able to afford a lawyer good enough to keep this company tied up in court for years, and will cost way more than a few weeks of unemployment benefits—then that’s the deal. Fire me, okay the unemployment, and I’m out of here. Mess with me in any way, and the legal fees will bankrupt this company. Are we clear on this? Take the deal to the guys up front, and get back to me.”
She stalked out of the office, changed into the ugly coveralls and hair cap, and clocked in. She was late for the shift, but so what? She didn’t give a damn. In fact, with fury still running through her veins, she felt pretty good. Okay, so she didn’t have any money yet, but what she did have were options, and she’d just exercised one.
None of the people around her spoke or made contact, not even Margo. Jenner ignored them as studiously as they ignored her. Several of them had gone to management to complain about her, she figured, exaggerating how much of a distraction her presence had been, blowing up the case for asking her to leave. Maybe she should have brought boxes of doughnuts every day, treated everyone, but, damn it, she didn’t have the money! What was so hard about that to understand?
Because that wasn’t how they wanted things to be, she realized. In their fantasy of making it big—maybe by winning the lottery—a win brought instant wealth, an end to all problems and money worries. They’d have been happier if she’d bought a new car, regaledthem with tales of big new condos and houses she was thinking of buying, letting them live vicariously through her. Instead she had remained the same: broke. She’d let them down, discredited their fantasies, and now they didn’t want her around.
Within an hour, though, Don Gorski approached her. “I have papers for you to sign,” he said, and she followed him, not to his office, but to a larger office up front, one occupied by two men she’d seen around but whose names she didn’t know.
“We agree to your offer,” one of the men said, putting his finger on a single sheet of paper and pushing it across the desk toward her.
Jenner picked up the sheet and carefully read every word. In exchange for her promise not to file any lawsuits against Harvest Meat Packing or them personally, her unemployment compensation would be approved. There was a
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