9 - Joanna

9

Joanna

I was sitting in the conference room at work, eating my lunch surrounded by mounds of paperwork related to a case that was going to court next week. Landon and I had only spoken once that week when he called to give me the details of the wedding.

When I saw his text on Friday, I almost dropped my salad.

Landon : I need to change our deal again.

Me : Whatever it is, my answer is no.

Landon : You need to come to the rehearsal dinner tonight.

Me : Oh, well in that case the answer is an EMPHATIC no. I have plans tonight.

Landon : What plans?

Me : It's none of your business, but I'm going to watch hockey and eat an entire pint of key lime pie flavored ice cream and a few beers. It's called Girl Dinner.

Landon : The Blackhawks don't play until tomorrow night.

Me : The Panthers play tonight. I want to hate-watch Reinhart.

Landon : You have to come to the rehearsal dinner. Mom told everyone you were coming, and now our entire extended family is expecting you.

Me : Even more reason not to go. That sounds awful.

Landon : You have to come.

Me : The fuck I do. Make it worth my while and maybe I'll consider it. Maybe.

One of the junior partners stuck his head in the conference room. "You finished with the Alderson case?"

"I'll have all the files prepped and ready to go an hour from now."

He gave me a thumbs-up and ducked out of the room.

When I returned to my phone, Landon had sent me a screenshot. It was a text message conversation between him and someone else.

Landon : Hey Phil, when are you guys making a decision on that open position? Not any time soon, right?

Philip : We want to send interview invitations by the end of the month. Probably won't send an offer letter until two weeks after that. But it seems like we're going to hire someone in-house rather than going with an external candidate.

Landon : I'm out of town next week. Can I swing by your desk the following Monday? There's a candidate application I wanted to talk to you about. Joanna Pullen.

Philip : Haven't seen her application yet. Is she a winner, or someone we should toss out?

Landon : I'll tell you about it when I get back in town.

Philip : You got it, chief. I trust your hiring judgment more than anyone else. Have fun in Jamaica. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!

After reading the screenshot of their conversation, I received another text from Landon.

Landon : This can go two ways. Come to the rehearsal dinner tonight, and the job is yours. But if you don't come, I'll make sure your application never sees the light of day.

Me : Seriously? You're blackmailing me? You asshole!

Landon : You blackmailed me first. You threatened to tell my mother about the fake girlfriend scheme.

Landon : Forget about the negative. Think about the positive. Phil says he'll trust whatever I tell him. All I'm asking is for two hours of your time tonight. Seems like a no-brainer.

It was a no-brainer. After reading his exchange with Phil, I felt like the job was basically mine. Two hours at a fancy dinner was totally worth that.

But I didn't like being pushed around. I hated feeling like I wasn't in control. And right now, Landon was pushing me around in the worst possible way.

Me : Fuck you. No deal

Landon : Take the afternoon to think about it. The rehearsal dinner is at 6:00 at Maple & Ash. I hope I'll see you there. I'd hate to give Phil bad news.

I let out a frustrated shout. This was bullshit! I'd gone above and beyond at the dinner last week. I'd spent the week texting with Danicka about the dress I would wear to the wedding, and then shelled out four hundred bucks for it. I had done everything right, and Landon was still playing around with my future.

In my frustration, I knocked my salad off the table and into my lap. Now there was a white ranch dressing stain on my black pencil skirt. Great.

The junior partner stuck his head in the door again. "Everything okay in here? It sounded like someone shouted."

"Someone jumped," I said, gesturing at the window. "Probably from that hedge fund on the nineteenth floor. Another one bites the dust, huh?"

The junior partner gawked at me.

"Joking," I said. "Nobody jumped. I didn't hear anyone shout."

"Okay, good. I thought maybe you were watching porn in here or something."

I gave a start. "Excuse me?"

"Just making a joke!" he said with a creepy grin. "Haha. Let me know when you've got those documents finished."

I made a face at his back as he walked away. That wasn't the first time he'd made inappropriate sex jokes around me. I really needed to get a new job.

Ugh. I have to go to the rehearsal dinner, don't I?