“What do you want me to say?” Kevin said, visibly irritated that I was still pleading with him.
“I want you to say that you’ll take back some of the points.” I was on the brink of tears; a lump began forming in my throat out of frustration and anger.
“I’m not doing it, Kimberly,” he punched the desk. “I’m not bending the rules for you, or for anyone else.”
I lowered my voice as I began talking through gritted teeth, “Well, I came in to tell you that I won’t be here at all this week; or at least, not until Nevaeh gets better.”
“If you miss a whole week of work, your points are going to rack up pretty fast. You’ll be close to losing your job; the points don’t fall off until the one-year anniversary of the date that they were accrued.”
I swallowed, willing myself not to cry. “So you’re telling me that you’d let me lose my job rather than work with me on this? Kevin, I’m doing everything….”
He cut me off; mocking me. “Let me guess,” he rolled his eyes, “you’re doing everything you can. Well so am I! I’m running a business. Rules are rules. If I can’t depend on you, then I’ll have to replace you.”
“I’ll keep you informed,” I whispered, almost in tears, as I left his office.
Once I was in the safety of my car, I broke down. What the hell was wrong with Nevaeh? When would we find out what she had? Why was my boss such a jerk? Suddenly, there was a knock on the driver’s window of my car. I quickly wiped away my tears and looked over. It was my co-worker, Sherry.
“Kimberly, are you okay?”
“No,” I began sobbing again. “Kevin’s trying to fire me. He doesn’t care if I have a sick little girl at home who needs me.” I buried my face in my hands. “There’s nothing else I can do.”
“It’ll get better. I’ll talk to him for you and maybe he’ll change his mind.” Kimberly had no idea that Sherry and Kevin had been sleeping together for months so she had some leverage on him.
I shook my head no. “He’s never going to change his mind. He’s not sympathetic nor does he give a rat’s ass.”
“Listen, don’t worry about it. He won’t fire you; he’s just trying to get you to come in. You’re the best waitress we have.”
“That’s exactly what I told him.”
I stayed home the rest of the week with Nevaeh. It was difficult to see my daughter in so much agonizing pain. I wished that I could take it away from her and give it to myself. Dale called throughout the week to check on us; I think he could tell that I was obviously depressed.
“Do you mind if I come over tonight after Nevaeh’s asleep?”
“Why after she’s asleep?”
“I just figured you needed some grown-up time and might want to vent.”
“Yeah, I guess. Will you be up that late? She hasn’t been going to bed until almost ten o’clock.”
“That’s fine. It’ll give me some time to shower and move around some stocks.”
When he arrived, he asked me what was wrong. I explained the situation with my job and told him what my boss said. It became apparent relatively quickly what he thought I should do.
“I think you should just quit your job; let him be at a loss on your terms!”
“I can’t do that Dale. I need this job. It pays the bills and allows me to work the hours that I need to work.”
“Would you be able to find another job with similar hours?”
“No, it’s not that easy. A lot of places aren’t hiring right now. Plus, without knowing what’s wrong with Nevaeh, I need the insurance and money to pay for her medical bills.”
“What if I paid for her medical expenses? Do you have enough money saved to pay your basic bills?”
“I can’t let you pay for that!”
“Why not? I have plenty of money; let me do this for you, for her. I insist.”
“You haven’t told me much about your financial situation, but my best friend Lorraine looked you up on the internet. She showed me that you’re a billionaire, but I never brought it up because I didn’t want you to think I was dating you for your money.”
“Exactly. Yes, I’m a billionaire and no, I don’t believe you’re dating me for my money. Look at us, most of our dates have consisted of me coming over to spend time with you. I’ve known you weren’t in it for the money all along. Please, let me help you with this.”