Custom Built (Fast & Fury #1) - Chantal Fernando Page 0,1

for her. We had spoken about it a few months ago, and to be honest I’m surprised she has kept me on for this long.

However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I need this job, and I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do without it. I don’t have any other qualifications, and I can’t afford to go back to college to finish my teaching degree. And I don’t even want to talk about health insurance. Thank God I had my second surgery several months ago. I can’t even fathom what I will do if the abnormal cells come back.

I know how bad times are for Nadia, though, with us getting less and less work with every passing month. I’d spent this week cleaning and rearranging the office because I didn’t have much else to do.

I see Nadia more like family than my boss, but I know that she has to do what’s best for her. I understand that—it’s just going to be a shit time for me right now.

“I’ll pack up my things,” I say, and swallow hard, looking at my desk. I pick up the picture of me and my dad, both of us smiling, his arms wrapped around me. It was taken last year at Christmas, my red lipstick all over his cheek where I had kissed him. Dad has always been my rock, and I know he’d help me if I need it, but I’m too old to be running to my daddy. I need to sort this all out myself and find a new job as soon as possible, before my savings dry up and put me in deeper shit.

“I’m really sorry,” Nadia repeats, her voice cracking.

I put the photo frame down and turn to give her a hug. “It will be fine, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll find another job, and hopefully business will pick up for you and you can keep this place running.”

This might not be what I need right now, a kick when I’m down, already stressed out over my health issues, but you can’t control what curveballs life decides to throw you.

No matter what happens, I know I’ll be okay. When one door closes, another one opens, right?

I comfort Nadia, I gather my things, and I leave.

I woke up this morning employed and fairly optimistic, and now I’m going home without a job and no idea where my next paycheck is going to come from.

Life can be a bitch sometimes, can’t it?

* * *

Just before Christmas isn’t the best time to try to find employment. Everyone has already been hired for the season, and no one wants to take on someone they would have to train during the busy festive season. Not surprisingly, my resume isn’t remarkable, and my private investigator skills aren’t even going to help me work in a bar or restaurant.

“Have you ever worked in a bar before?” a manager at one of the establishments asks me.

“Well, no, but—”

“I’m sorry,” he says, cutting me off. “We need someone with experience.”

“I’m a fast learner.”

I mean, how hard could it be, right? It’s not like I’m a doctor looking for a new job. I can learn to serve drinks and food and wear a smile while doing it. I’m a hard and efficient worker; I just need someone to give me a chance. I didn’t finish college because the timing wasn’t right for me.

“Come back after the holidays” is all I get in response.

I decide to call up all the private investigator firms in my city, but none of them are hiring either. In the world of easily accessible technology, people are probably handling their own investigating, cutting out the middleman and leaving me jobless. I really hope Nadia will be okay and not have to shut down the firm. The thought saddens me, and I hope there’s a way she can stay open and get more clients in the upcoming weeks. Otherwise she might be here along with me, trying to get any job she can.

My phone rings, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” playing loudly. “Hello?”

“Hey, princess,” my dad says, and I can hear the smile in his tone. “I haven’t heard from you in a week. Is everything okay?”

I haven’t spoken to him since I got fired, because I don’t want to admit that I’m currently failing at life. Asking for help has never been my strong point—I prefer to suffer in silence and try to solve all problems on