Crossroads Of Fate

Olivia quelled at her tracks at the sight of her best friend, at home. She was supposed to be at her place of work, and not in the house, or was she sick?

"Emily?" She dubbed, sitting on the couch next to hers. "What happened to you?" She interviewed, plunging her purse to the floor.

Olivia works in a cafe shop in New York City and had just got back as it was her shift. But catching a glimpse of the woman laying on the couch like she was unconscious was another thing to find out.

Emily opened her eyes and yawned, goggling at her friend. "Olivia?" She called, sitting up on the furniture. "Did I not lock the door?"

"I have my key, remember?" The other lady asked. "This is not my question," she said again, rising to her feet. "What are you doing here? At home, by this time of the day."

"What do you mean?" Emily scoffed. She recuperated from her slumber and understood the atmosphere she was in. "Where am I supposed to be? Do you have a job for me?"

"Okay, what is going on?" Olivia questioned, putting up with her seat on the couch again. "You should be at your place of work, should you not?"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that."

"Well," Emily said, ready to confess. But at the same time, she was skeptical of whether to give the full details to her friend or not. "I was fired."

"What! Why?"

"That is a question I cannot answer in truthfulness, Via," Emily let out a frustrated sigh. "I got the mail this morning, and that was it."

"And you have no idea why this happened," Olivia muttered. "Is that what you are trying to say, Emily?"

"Yes," Emily told a lie. "What was supposed to be the issue? I just know Mrs. Blackwell has a hand in this."

"What do you mean?"

"The oldie is hurt, I guess. I showed up at the business occasion last night," Emily responded. "It was written all over her face, in block letters."

"So, how does this connect to her handiwork?"

"Mr. Reynold asked staff members who happen to be in their first levels to not bother showing up at the occasion," she explained. "But I did, and this happened—my sack email."

"Was it just you who showed up there?"

"Apparently, yes," Emily said. "I did not see any other staff from the company at the occasion, save Mrs. Blackwell who happens to be on top level."

"This is connecting," her friend wailed. "And now you are jobless, did you have to violate the CEO's instructions?"

"They have no control over my life!"

"I'm sure you can see that they do," Olivia scoffed. She picked up her handbag from the floor where it rested and asked. "What do we do?"

"What am I supposed to do? Go to NovusTech and plead with those heartless people for a job I am deserving of?"

"You know I won't let you do that," Olivia said. "They've cheated you well enough, this is your time for freedom. But how we go about it is a game we find hard to win."

"It's simple," Emily declared, her hands under her chin. She was lost in a globe of her reflections, forgetting the main topic they discussed, and letting the previous night's experience take a toll on her.

"Well?" Olivia snapped. "Is this riddle too hard to solve?"

"Not so hard," she came back from her world of thinking. "I will apply for positions with other companies."

Olivia laughed out loud. "Are you kidding me?" She asked, still laughing that tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "Almost all the companies in this country and state rejected you. Unless there are new ones on your list."

"Matter of fact, I don't know any."

"I'm guessing you'd have to come join me at the Cafe."

"What?" Emily laughed, shaking her head. "You know that's not possible."

"Oh, so selling at a cafe shop is a crime? I didn't know."

She shook her head. "Mrs. Blackwell will laugh at me, don't you know? I know she has a hand in this."

"Is there something else I need to know?"

"No. Why?"

"You have the 'that's not all' look on your face, Emily," Olivia snapped. "Plus, why do you keep mentioning the innocent woman in this?"

"You don't know her more than I do, do you?"

"Apparently, no."

"Then leave my assumptions to me. Won't you go to change your clothing?"

"Not until you tell me what plan you have in mind, dear Emily."

"I'd apply with other companies, old and new," the lady said. "And if it does not come out well, I'd be left with no choice but to apply for a job at a cafe shop. Or something else."

"Fine," Olivia said, rising to her feet. "I need to take a shower. See you around."

She was gone from the living room the next wink, the door to her room banged, notifying Emily she was now solitary in the room.

Why did she not tell the woman about the man encountered at the hall? Well, she was going to, but the way things were going didn't seem right.

Olivia can be upsetting at times. And Emily on the other hand knew once the beans were spilled, the woman would make her reach out to the CEO, Alexander, against her wish. And she was not ready to do that, not yet.

She laid back on the couch, and shut her eyes, with reflections stuffing her head.

Where would she begin from? All of this was Alexander's fault. She would not be in the hearts of her house if that thing did not transpire. Even though she despised that job, it fed and maintained her in the meantime.

And now, it was gone from her grip.

Her eyes unfurled and shut at intermissions.

Will selling coffee and tea at a cafe shop become her fate, eventually? Or will she work in a big Enterprise and have the fairy-tale life she always yearned to have?

Whichever one it was, it was about time she discovered.