I Quit

Cassie’s POV

“I quit!” I shrieked as I slammed the files on my boss’s table, and the shock on her face was enough to tell me I had screwed up, but I didn’t care.

I never would have imagined that word could come out of my mouth after the years I’d spent at the news company trying to make a name for myself. I worked as a reporter at a broadcasting house, which had been my dream ever since I was young, but that wasn’t my ultimate goal.

I wanted to be a news anchor, not just a reporter, and I thought that would be possible if I devoted my entire life to making it work. I graduated top of my class, top of my peers during the internship, and was considered the best junior reporter the broadcasting house ever had, but what was the use of that if your supervisor would never let you shine?

“What? Did you just say that to threaten me?” Ms. Beatrice, my supervisor, had made my work life hell. She always stole the credit for the stories I covered or gave them to someone else, which had led to me not being promoted for three years.

“Threaten you? No, that’s not a threat, I’m done! I have been tolerating your bullshit all this while, but I quit!” I said, slamming my resignation letter, which I had tucked away for a year, never believing I would actually turn in, onto her desk. It was long overdue.

I wouldn’t have come to my senses about Beatrice, like every other time, if she hadn’t stolen an exclusive story I had covered. I’d been promised a promotion if I handled it myself, but she gave it to a junior, which earned her a promotion, not me.

Wondering why she hated me? I didn’t know, but I also didn’t give a fuck.

“You are going to regret this… this insolent behavior! You will regret this!” she screamed, but I just scoffed. “No, I won’t.”

“You think you’re all that because you cover some stories, but let me tell you there are thousands of you ready to take your place, so you better think twice before you make this mistake!” she rasped, and I had never seen Beatrice so out of breath. Perhaps this was heaven's reward for me; seeing Beatrice so uneasy on my last day was the sweet consolation I needed.

“You think so? Then employ them,” I replied as I walked out of the office. I noticed my team members staring at me like I had grown horns as I cleared out my desk. There had been more cases like this in the past, and instead of getting angry, I had swallowed everything up.

“Have you lost it? Are you really leaving? Don’t get on Beatrice’s bad side like this, you won’t survive in this field!” My team members bombarded me with worries, but instead of replying, I just bowed my head, bade my final farewell, and left.

None of them were my friends, so there was no reason to act like we were close. I walked with my head high until I got to my car, but the moment I got in, I broke down.

“Ahhh!” I screamed as I slammed my hands on the steering wheel, pouring out my frustration. All my hard work over the years had just gone down the drain; no sane person wouldn’t lose their mind. But after my little show of frustration, I picked myself up.

I would rather not be anywhere close to that place, so I drove off. But I circled the city until it was evening. I stopped in front of a bar, and it felt like the right place to be.

“Maybe I should just have a drink,” I muttered, though I didn’t know if it was a good idea because I hadn’t had a drink in a long time, and I couldn’t hold my liquor well. “I will just have a glass,” I pouted as I got out of the car, but that turned out to be wrong.

“More!” I shrieked as I passed my glass to the bartender. If my brain hadn’t fried yet, I should have been on my fourth glass of whiskey.

I completely ignored all the creeps around me as I drowned myself in alcohol, but everything changed when he came around, taking a seat beside me and engulfing me in his scent…fresh forest mixed with tobacco.

“Looks like you’ve had too much to drink,” I heard the man beside me say, and I raised my head from my glass, ready to take offense. But my words got stuck in my mouth as I saw his face.

“I’ll be damned!” I breathed, freezing as I stared at him. He had a well-sculpted face, with a perfect jawline and cheekbones, honey-brown hair, full bloodshot plump lips, and gray eyes that stared into my soul. My face felt hot just locking gazes with him, but there was another part of my body that was hot… you know.