Adam couldn't pretend that being glued to a chair for eight hours straight was exciting. It was more like a pain in the--100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVm1bItxiB
The phone rang, snapping him out of his funk and back into the good-mannered, slightly pushy marketing man.
"Hello, this is Adam from Jones and Co., how can I help you--"
"I called you twice," a familiar voice came from the other end. Always insulting him when pretending not to. Always complaining without considering his side.
Eleana.
He paused. It was the first time in a while that he had hiccups like these. Adam flinched at the sound of his boss's displeasure close by, and quickly revived the conversation.
Hopefully, this was a conversation.
"Eleana?" Adam whispered, feeling like he reverted to a small schoolboy, not a salesman. "Why are you calling me? I'm at work--"
"Gaby is upset. I'm upset, Adam," she sneered, and Adam could picture the frown ruining her face. "All she wants is for you to--"
"Is this what she wants or what you want?" Adam kept the anger scrunching up his features to a minimum. He didn't want his boss hovering over him like a mother hen again, and calming himself would result in less wrinkles.
A deep sigh, like a hurricane, barreled through the speaker. "We both want you to act like a father for once, Adam. Look, I know you're busy, but working back-to-back is not helping."
"So you want me to leave the rent to pile up again?" He lowered his voice, pretending to write something down in his notebook so that his boss wouldn't suspect.
Eleana's exhaustion was enough to deflate a hot air balloon. "That's not what I'm saying, Adam. Did you forget that I'm doing half of the work around the house and then some? Who takes care of the dishes?!"
"Me!" Gaby enthusiastically piped up from afar. Rascal barked in agreement, and Adam had to hold in his laughter.
"Yes, you do, sweetheart," Eleana softened, then their voices were far away. The door slammed, like a slap in Adam's face.
Now, only Eleana was present. "I always have to take Gaby to school because you can't bother to be late for work for more than ten minutes! I always have to clean up after you. All the toast crumbs from breakfast...Then there's the coffee and...piss stains!"
Adam took a quick glance around his cubicle, relieved that everyone else was busy haggling with clients on the phone to eavesdrop.
He spoke up. "Listen Eleana, that was one time, and...I'm sorry. I can't pretend that work isn't kicking me in the ass and life is getting any better. All I want is for us to just...live. Be stable in a good home. Isn't that what you want, too?"
Eleana scoffed on the other end, but her words came with less venom. "We had a good home, and now it's not even close. I'm controlling the house and all you control is your job. I just want you here. For once."
"I am here," Adam pressed, his unattended hand slamming his notebook shut. "I'm paying our bills and keeping this mansion afloat, just like you dreamed of. What good home did we have back there? One dorm room and loans to pay?"
"That was a long time ago--"
"Then why are we having the same fight?" Adam exhaled, his breath shallower than a kiddy pool. "It was a long time ago, so let it go! You have your fancy home and your white picket fence and your dog. I'm only here because you can barely afford to lose it!"
Eleana went quiet. Quieter than yesterday, where Adam was fighting for sleep. Quieter than the night after he found Eleana in a heaping mess of pain and tears--
No, he couldn't take it back. It would always sting. She couldn't help the wound. Rascal did, when he wasn't roughhousing. Gaby, too. Especially Gaby.
It was like a storm made her and she chose to be the sunlight. Nothing could dissuade her joy.
If only Adam didn't break it. If only he stayed for a while longer.
If only he stayed...
Eleana broke him away from his thoughts with that hideous snarl. "Well, I can afford to lost you. You bring nothing but pain. You act like you can barely lift a finger after work."
She put on a pathetic, mocking tone. "'Oh, my clients hate me!' 'Oh, my boss is docking my pay!' You think I wanna hear your bellyaching? After I've cleaned an entire house, cooked food for three and let you bumble around like a baby?!"
"You didn't say that anything was wrong with that," Adam huffed, letting his head rest in his free hand.
He felt the eyes of his boss burn the back of his head like a torch. Either way, work was a hassle, and Elena took up nearly the entire morning of his shift complaining about what already happened.
Adam wanted no more of this. He wanted everything to stop. All the tapping of phones and the talking to fade into silence. Unlike the quiet in his bedroom, at least here it would be a welcome change.
Finally, Elena relented, hanging up before Adam could launch a counterattack. After slamming down the phone, his boss approached him, handing him a paper.
"Resignation?" Adam read the notice, his face paling greater than the flourescent lights in the ceiling.
He was fired.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVUqXuHUIB
That break came sooner than he thought.
ns216.73.217.14da2
and then Add to home screen.