Read Online Ignite Me (The Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christina Ross
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she’d just axed
me right then and there. Because
that kind of abuse was uncalled for.
Suck it
up. You came here to win. There are opportunities for you at
Wenn. Just stick it out with her,
prove her wrong, and don’t get distracted for any reason. This is your chance, Madison. Make it happen.
After my little
subconscious pep talk, I walked over to my desk and heard my computer ding as I
sat down. I looked at the monitor
and saw that there was an IM waiting for me. “I’m sorry,” Brock wrote. “I’m afraid that’s just who she is, but
I can tell you that it will get better. It’s not going to be easy at first, because that just isn’t who she is—but I know that
you can do it.”
That’s the
thing, Brock, I thought. If I get involved with you, the question is whether I’ll have the focus
to do any of this. I’m not so sure
that I will. But I do know
this—I can’t blow this opportunity. It means too much to me and my future. And I’ll do anything in my power not to
blow it, even if it means I need to give up on getting to know you.
I looked up
from the screen and into his office and saw that, even though he was on the
phone, he was nevertheless looking straight at me. I nodded at him—and then I turned
my back as I swung around in my chair, chose a few more of Blackwell’s red
folders, and again began to study their contents.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
It took me a
solid forty minutes to arrive home by subway, and when I did, I was relieved to
find that Rhoda was back from work.
When I stepped
into our apartment, I found her sitting on the couch in shorts and a tie-dyed
T-shirt, her plump bare feet resting in front of her on the coffee table while
she wiggled her toes in the air and said, “That’s right, Bessie. Do your thing, girl—cool off
Mama.”
Bessie the air conditioner
was rattling the window with such force that I thought, if it were a person, it
would be smack in the middle of an anxiety attack. But at least cool air was flowing freely
into the room, a blessing after being trapped in a sweltering, crowded subway
car and then having to walk several blocks in the late-afternoon heat in heels
before I finally reached our apartment building.
Exhausted from
the day, I dropped my bag on a side table, kicked off my heels in the
entryway—and half-expected my feet to send me a thank-you note because of
how much they ached. With my
clothes sticking to me and my hair clinging to the back of my neck in ways that
grossed me out, I new that I literally and figuratively had to wash the day
off.
“Toots,” Rhoda
called out. “Get in here and sit
down where it’s cool.”
“I’m afraid
that if I did sit down, we’d never dry off the sofa. Let me take a quick shower first and
then we’ll catch up on our days.”
“About your
day,” she said as I came into the room. “I’m sorry, Madison. You’ve
had a shit go of it. I don’t know
everything that happened, but I saw some of it.”
“Today can bite
my ass.”
“You haven’t
eaten yet, have you?”
“I haven’t, and
that’s probably a good thing. If I
had, I would have just thrown it up anyway.”
“How are you
feeling now?”
“Overwhelmed,
but I’ll be fine after taking a shower.”
“If you’re
going to battle that old battle axe Blackwell, you need to eat. So, how about if I order us a
pizza? My treat.”
“When have I
ever turned down a pizza?” I said. “And you’re right—I do need to eat. Tony’s?”
“Where
else? They’re not cheap when it
comes to the cheese, but they’ve also got the cutest delivery boys in
town. Even though it’s only three
years before Barry and I will meet and fall into each other’s arms, I’m still
allowed to look because at this point, Barry doesn’t even know that I
exist. He’s stuck with some blonde
right now. Her name is either Irene
or
me right then and there. Because
that kind of abuse was uncalled for.
Suck it
up. You came here to win. There are opportunities for you at
Wenn. Just stick it out with her,
prove her wrong, and don’t get distracted for any reason. This is your chance, Madison. Make it happen.
After my little
subconscious pep talk, I walked over to my desk and heard my computer ding as I
sat down. I looked at the monitor
and saw that there was an IM waiting for me. “I’m sorry,” Brock wrote. “I’m afraid that’s just who she is, but
I can tell you that it will get better. It’s not going to be easy at first, because that just isn’t who she is—but I know that
you can do it.”
That’s the
thing, Brock, I thought. If I get involved with you, the question is whether I’ll have the focus
to do any of this. I’m not so sure
that I will. But I do know
this—I can’t blow this opportunity. It means too much to me and my future. And I’ll do anything in my power not to
blow it, even if it means I need to give up on getting to know you.
I looked up
from the screen and into his office and saw that, even though he was on the
phone, he was nevertheless looking straight at me. I nodded at him—and then I turned
my back as I swung around in my chair, chose a few more of Blackwell’s red
folders, and again began to study their contents.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
It took me a
solid forty minutes to arrive home by subway, and when I did, I was relieved to
find that Rhoda was back from work.
When I stepped
into our apartment, I found her sitting on the couch in shorts and a tie-dyed
T-shirt, her plump bare feet resting in front of her on the coffee table while
she wiggled her toes in the air and said, “That’s right, Bessie. Do your thing, girl—cool off
Mama.”
Bessie the air conditioner
was rattling the window with such force that I thought, if it were a person, it
would be smack in the middle of an anxiety attack. But at least cool air was flowing freely
into the room, a blessing after being trapped in a sweltering, crowded subway
car and then having to walk several blocks in the late-afternoon heat in heels
before I finally reached our apartment building.
Exhausted from
the day, I dropped my bag on a side table, kicked off my heels in the
entryway—and half-expected my feet to send me a thank-you note because of
how much they ached. With my
clothes sticking to me and my hair clinging to the back of my neck in ways that
grossed me out, I new that I literally and figuratively had to wash the day
off.
“Toots,” Rhoda
called out. “Get in here and sit
down where it’s cool.”
“I’m afraid
that if I did sit down, we’d never dry off the sofa. Let me take a quick shower first and
then we’ll catch up on our days.”
“About your
day,” she said as I came into the room. “I’m sorry, Madison. You’ve
had a shit go of it. I don’t know
everything that happened, but I saw some of it.”
“Today can bite
my ass.”
“You haven’t
eaten yet, have you?”
“I haven’t, and
that’s probably a good thing. If I
had, I would have just thrown it up anyway.”
“How are you
feeling now?”
“Overwhelmed,
but I’ll be fine after taking a shower.”
“If you’re
going to battle that old battle axe Blackwell, you need to eat. So, how about if I order us a
pizza? My treat.”
“When have I
ever turned down a pizza?” I said. “And you’re right—I do need to eat. Tony’s?”
“Where
else? They’re not cheap when it
comes to the cheese, but they’ve also got the cutest delivery boys in
town. Even though it’s only three
years before Barry and I will meet and fall into each other’s arms, I’m still
allowed to look because at this point, Barry doesn’t even know that I
exist. He’s stuck with some blonde
right now. Her name is either Irene
or
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