25. Battling Her Conscience

Stassi

Sage

I miss you.

I t’d only been two days, but it was nice to see the message pop up in Stassi’s text. I miss you, too. Stassi stretched out in her arms and left her apartment, making the morning jog per usual. The past couple of days, they had been working opposite shifts, leaving it impossible to get to spend time together. She had to tell herself, that when they were finally together, it would make that intimacy all the better.

As she reached the corner, she heard another text message ding on her phone. She grabbed it from her pocket to find another text from Sage.

Sage

I’m off tomorrow. You are, too, right? Let’s plan a day of it. I can pick you up at 6.

Stassi sighed. Now would be the time when she would have to remind Sage that she had a modeling shoot the next day. She had been steering clear of the topic because she got the idea that Sage wasn’t all too pleased with Stassi’s choice of side hustle.

Stassi

I’d love to spend the day with you tomorrow, but…

She stared at the phone and quickly deleted her message.

Stassi

Sounds good, unfortunately, I have plans tomorrow.

It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t exactly truthful, though, because it was vague, and Stassi felt guilty the moment she typed it out. She quickly deleted it. How could she be honest and not start another potentially hazardous conversation.

Kelly

Hey, send me your updated sizes. I want to make sure we’re prepared for tomorrow. ;)

Stassi shifted between each text message. She landed back on Sage’s.

Stassi

Sounds good. Let me make sure I don’t have anything that needs to be taken care of tomorrow. I come in at one. Hopefully I’ll see you then. We can discuss it. Otherwise, I’ll text you later.

Stassi

I’ll email them to you tonight. Can’t wait.

Sage

Yep, I’ll be there. Come in at noon and have lunch with me. I’ll make it worth your while. ;)

Stassi

I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.

Stassi pocketed her phone and released a breath. It was difficult juggling everything in the air. Made a person’s conscience do all sorts of acrobatic routines. She reached the coffee shop. She hadn’t intended on swinging in for a powerful cup, but she needed something to take the edge off and her usual routine was just what the doctor ordered. Once inside, another text dinged on her phone.

“Are you kidding me?” she mumbled. There was a part of me that wanted it to be Sage again. She was excited about seeing her at lunch, but fearful that things would erupt when she confided, again, about her Saturday plans.

She pulled it out. This time it wasn’t from Kelly or Sage.

Dad

I’m not ignoring you. Things have been busy. How’s work going?

He couldn’t be serious. After the no response to emails, texts, and calls, he was going to message and act like there was nothing crazy going on?

Stassi

Work at the hospital or with my modeling? Both are going well, I suppose you could say. I have a print campaign tomorrow. Excited for the opportunity.

Stassi went up to the counter and the barista nodded. “Usual?”

“Yep. Thanks, Clay.” She pulled out her card and moved it towards the center of the counter. Another text popped up.

Dad

You need to focus on your stable job. That’s the one you’ll be able to make a career out of. Enough worrying about this modeling. It’s a cruel and fickle world out there. Better not to be a part of it.

Stassi

You don’t think I’m a good model?

Dad

It’s not like that, Honey. But they don’t tend to hire older models. That’s just the way things work. If you were still eighteen, then maybe. You know you can’t do this forever.

The man behind Stassi cleared his throat, and she noticed that the coffee was sitting there waiting for her and all eyes were on her. “Sorry,” she mumbled. She grabbed the coffee and card, then hurried to a corner table.

Stassi

Have you seen my messages? I’ve sent you over a dozen emails, texts, and I’ve called you. Haven’t heard anything back. Are you free to actually talk? There’s some shady shit going on and we need to discuss it.

She sipped on her coffee. Perhaps that was a bit harsh. She stared at her phone, waiting, hoping he would call, and they could square things away. Yet, she waited, and no call or text came through. Her father suddenly ghosted her, but why?

Sage was at the entrance to the cafeteria, when Stassi approached it at noon. Sage grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her, welcoming her into a deep kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that since Wednesday,” she whispered.

“Even if people see us?” Stassi teased.

She shrugged. “Who cares? I’m at the point where I’ll tell anyone that wants to listen, that I’m sleeping with this beautiful woman. You just say the word.”

Stassi tilted her head. Sage wasn’t kidding. Stassi still felt that they had to keep things on the down-low, especially if it got out who her father was. Everyone would think negative thoughts about Sage. She was certain of that and if it hindered Sage’s reputation, she’d never forgive herself.

They entered the cafeteria, with the conversation dropped. Sage pointed to the booth where Lena and Marcus were seated. Stassi was a tad disappointed, considering she expected that they would be alone, but perhaps they would have that alone time once lunch was over and before she had to log in for the day.

“Grab your food and meet you over there.” Sage went over to the table, leaving Stassi to wander around, wondering what she should choose. She finally settled on a chicken Caesar salad and iced tea. She paid and took it over to the table. Sage scooted over, leaving the way for Stassi to take her seat next to her. “So, what’s this surprise you have?” Sage began.

Lena had a clipboard in her hand and was grinning. Stassi felt like she was warped into the situation, unsure which direction she should go, but she watched Lena.

“Following your meeting, Sage, I have done a lot of research. And I won’t even lie. I quite enjoyed it. Leaving me to think that maybe I would enjoy life in politics.” She laughed, then shook her head. “Only teasing. I didn’t enjoy it that much. Anyway, through this research I discovered something very important, which I believe will be quite beneficial for all of us.”

“Geez, Lena, the suspense is killing me,” Marcus replied, groaning. “Can’t you just get on with it?”

“You know our dear friend, Lena,” Sage began. “Always the drama queen.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “You joke now. You’ll ultimately be thanking me. The other day you said I should start a union, well that’s exactly what I’m looking to do.”

Stassi glanced to Sage, who had her eyebrow raised. “And how’s that, might I ask?”

Lena turned the clipboard around and placed it in the middle of the table. “If we can get three hundred signatures from the employees, we can unionize. Look, I already have twenty. We can do this.”

“That’s amazing,” Marcus replied. He grabbed the clipboard and pen and quickly jotted down his signature.

“Great job, Lena. I must hand it to you.” Sage was the next one to jump on board.

Stassi stared at the clipboard when it sat in front of her. If she didn’t sign, it would odd, but without having the full story from her dad, she felt it was impossible to get her name on board. Plus, if her name was there, people might start to realize the connection she had with the owner of the hospital.

“What’s wrong, Stassi?” Sage asked, nudging her in the side. “This is exactly what we need. If the staff is in a union, then they’ll be forced to listen to someone. Besides, if we don’t like how things are handled, we have more clout. I think this is perfect.”

Stassi nodded. “It is, in theory,” she began. “I’m just thinking about how it might look, though. I’m new to the group. They’re not going to much care what I have to say.”

Lena laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Heck, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been here two days or twenty-two years. All voices matter.”

Stassi felt this ache in her gut. “I just don’t want to rub anyone the wrong way. At least not yet. I mean, I’m still on probation. They can easily fire me for looking the wrong way.”

“I get what Stassi is saying,” Sage replied. “If she’s one of the first people to sign the petition, they’ll think she’s just trying to stir up trouble. If it comes down to you having two hundred and ninety-nine signatures, I’m sure that Stassi will be more than happy to help.”

“Right,” Stassi conceded.

Lena shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense. You are on probation and all. Wouldn’t want you to immediately lose your job.”

Stassi heaved an inward sigh. That could have gone horribly wrong and instead she had Sage to thank. The rest of lunch they hate, in peace, with Lena getting up a few times to grab signatures from fellow co-workers. By the time lunch was finished, forty-four names were listed on the board. Still had a ways to go, but would allow Stassi ample time to get through to her father and actually have an adult conversation with him.

When Stassi had fifteen minutes left until she was expected to be at the desk, she caught Sage’s eye. Sage gave a silent motion with her head and then got up. “We should be heading. I wanted to show you a few things before you clock in,” Sage began.

“Of course.” Stassi jumped up and they both went to discard their trash. Once they were out in the corridor, Sage grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a room. They went inside and she slammed the door behind them and made a point to lock it before turning back to Stassi.

“Now, about tomorrow.” She moved in closer to Stassi and Stassi could feel her breath hitch. She didn’t want to immediately be thrust into an awkward situation, but there they were. “I was thinking we could do a picnic in the park. Then maybe go roller-skating. I’ve never been, but I would love to learn. A moonlight walk could also be on our agenda. But I’m open to suggestions.” Sage winked before brushing a kiss on Stassi’s lips.

That all sounded great. She couldn’t recall the last time she went roller skating. But just spending time with Sage would hit her high-priority list.

“What do you think?” Sage whispered before capturing her lips again. She pulled Stassi’s pants back and slipped her hand down it the front of them, already filling for her opening. Stassi groaned, before she shook her head and tried to come back to reality.

“Tomorrow is when I have that photoshoot. I’m sure I mentioned to you. Perhaps you forgot?”

Sage pulled back, gawking at her. Stassi reached out for Sage’s hand, but Sage was quick to pull it back. “I guess I forgot,” she muttered. “I…I…I should get to work.” She unlocked the door and hurried out of the room. Stassi fell back against the storage shelf, her head spinning. Sage didn’t conveniently forget. Between her father dodging her questions and Sage, she didn’t know what way to look, but she knew that if she didn’t try harder, she was liable to screw everything up and that was hard to swallow.