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You know, Mondays suck enough without being fired I scrub the tears off my face as I step off the elevator ontovoice I’ve always had a naturally loud and brassy voice, and peopleressive It’s not…it’s just me But one too many complaints aboutat them, and now I’m unemployed

Okay, fine Maybe sometimes I yell at theht

I turn the corner and wish I hadn’t My Super is walking down the hallway towardsto avoid him the way you try to avoid STDs AT ALL COSTS I’m a week late on my rent because some months are harder than others, and if I have to choose between rent and food, I'd rather not starve

I give him a weak smile “Hey, Joe”

There’s no smile from him “I need your check, Delia”

“I know My car broke down last week and I had to have it fixed so I could actually get to work It’s co; I swear” I hope he buys the lie In the years I’ve been living here, I’ve never had a car I’ that he hasn’t noticed

He sighs “I can’t give youfor apart, and if you can’t pay then someone else will”

“I can I will” I s, brushing past hi inside so he can’t pressure ive away that I just lost my job If he knew that, he’d be furious, and I’d be out of tiet some work, maybe I should move I’m sure I can find so as Joe

I dropdown until s are sprawled out on the floor The absolute picture of grace My cell phone buzzes and I groan Can everyone just go away and let me hide under a rock for an hour? Please?

The phone buzzes again and I shimmy it out of es

What the fuck happened?

Get your ass to this bar and spill

There’s a reason people call my best friend Fleece First, she can be as cuddly as one of those blankets when she likes you, but she can also rip you a new one Only she could get aith a nickna her by her actual na end of that nickname

While I’ain

I called the store toyou 10you every 5

I rollEven while she’s at work, she’ll make it happen I text her back

Fine I’m on my way

The response co fast

Nine minutes, thirty seconds

Even though I’ ets to see me in my utterly sexy khakis and black polo shirt Luckily, Joe isn’t anywhere to be seen as I leave the building and start the six-block walk to the Blind Scorpion Fleece and I discovered this bar e first h to both our aparte students’ budgets Five years later, Fleece is one of the best bartenders in town and practically runs the place as her survival job And I…have no job

Shit

I push open the door to the bar and get a blast of cool air New York in the summer is hot but you can always rely on the Blind Scorpion to cool you down Fleece seesto see how ot left on her timer She points down to the seat at the end—a dark corner where I lurk and we steal lare

The hard high bar stool somehow feels co shaped by this seat It’s al

Fleece s in front of me “Drink What happened?”

“What do you think happened? I clearly won employee of the year”

“Don’t do that,” she says, ently “You can tell me”

I sigh, downing half of the glass she put in front ofwith a hint of apple and a little bit of a bite “I had another complaint”

She winces and tries to hide it with a smile, but I see it “Sorry,” she says “Same reason?”

“I swear I’ at them,” I say My voice carries across the bar and at least two people look in my direction Perfect

Fleece starts laughing “Of course you weren’t Unless you were”

I roll my eyes “I know I’ve done that before, but I swear this ti to be nice”

“So ould they fire you?”

“Once they tag you as having a teet it out of their heads Any complaint all of a sudden has to do with my temper, and I had t

oo many customer complaints in too short a time They have a policy”

“That sucks”

“Plus,” I say, “I ran into Joe when I got hoive him because I am now broke and unemployed”

Sonals Fleece down the bar and she turns toto be fine I think I ht knoay to help you”

I sit with

the confidence to tell Fleece no, she cannot lend ht save ht, especially for a Monday, and Fleece looks like she’s struggling to keep up I look around and see a couple of waiters, but the bar seems really understaffed today

When she finally es to find a second to come back over, she’s practically out of breath

“Why is it so busy?” I ask

“No fucking clue And Barbara is sick, so I’ave her flu to the waiters she’s sleeping with”

I choke on enerally not to sleep with your employees?”

“I think Barbara does whatever and whoever she wants But enough about that, check your e to help you”

Pulling out nize the heading and the format—I’ve seen them before in her e call”

“Yes, it is,” she says, replacing o I’ here, and Barbara out for who kno long On top of that, I’m not the kind of model they hire”