Love for Love

"Now, shoo, the both of you," Missy said as she ushered us out of the room. Before we left, though, she said something to me. "I expect you on a flight by Friday. I know you are to be paid then and probably don't have enough to get over to London right now, which is why I am given you a hefty bonus to start you off. Can't have my London manager living in the dirty backstreets of London, can we?"

And with that, Missy turned from us and walked back to the desk with a spring in her step. Missy then continued to ignore Criss and I as she refocused upon the television sized computer screen in front of her.

I was about to back into her office to complain and say that I did not want the job when Criss pulled me out of the office and into the foyer. Criss pressed the down button on the lift. She looked like she was fuming and wasn't letting off any steam. I knew that if she didn't any time soon, something bad was going to happen and I was determined no one would see it from the office that we were just leaving.

The elevator finally came, to Criss and my own relief. I was pulled into the elevator roughly by Criss and when a few others from the office tried to join us, Criss gave them the most deathly stare I have seen in my entire life and paired it with the phrase, "Fuck off."

The doors closed on the staff of the New York office of Dominance Event Management.

What I was really worried about was what was about to happen next. I mean, I had seen Criss angry before but I had not been on the other side of her anger. She was pretty brutal when she wanted to be and now that she had just lost her job to her best friend because she was late, Criss had every reason to be frustrated, pissed off, and wanting to set fire to everything she saw.

When the elevator got to the bottom floor, I was dragged out through the foyer of the building and into the street. Since we were out of the building, I thought she would have wanted to start throwing everything she had against me right there and then but she didn't.

She has more control than I thought, I thought to myself as I was pulled through the home moving crowd of New York City.

It wasn't until we had reached Central Park, out of all places I know, that Criss decided to start screaming at me. In doing so, she scared a few birds upon the water who were happily eating the bread that people were feeding them. When Criss started screaming at me, all those around us turned to look before slowly moving away and wanting for nothing to do with us.

"How could you do that?" Criss screamed. "I thought we were best friends."

"We are!" I replied, trying to talk some sense into her.

"How could you say something like that with what you did?" she retorted. "You're such a contradiction."

"I'm a contradiction?" I said straight back, only trying to defend myself now. "I was about to march back in Missy's when you stopped me from doing so. I was going to argue for her to give you the London job."

"I don't believe you."

"How could you not believe me? You saw what I was about to do and you stopped it."

"Stopped you from going back in there to get me blacklisted at every other event management company in New York."

"Why would you think I would do something like that?"

"Why wouldn't you do something like that?"

"Oh, this is ridiculous, Criss," I said, frustrated that my best friend could ever doubt me like this. "Why would I do that to my best friend? I wanted you to have this job more than anything. I never wanted to go to England. I was happy here in my job, in this city and with my life. It's you that deserves to head over there."

"Yes, it is me that deserves to be over there but no its the new girl that gets the job," Criss replies, going to leave a battle she knows she is losing.

"I've been at the company for five years now, Criss," I said, making no attempt to stop her from leaving. "I wouldn't exactly call myself new."

"Go on, then," Criss said, turning her back to me and throwing her hands up in the air as she leaves. "Take your bonus, your job, and your ass to London that way I will never see you again and be reminded of the wrong that you did me."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All I did was cry when I got home. I was sitting upon my couch with my head in my hands and tears streaming from my eyes. I didn't want to leave my life here but it looked like I had no choice but to. If I didn't go, I wouldn't have a job along with the best friend I didn't have any longer. That thought only made me cry ever more fervently.

The thought of losing Criss after five long years of friendship, sharing everything with each other and supporting each other through the most difficult times, made my heart drop. I felt like I had an empty hole in my stomach that nothing could fill but her friendship but I knew that friendship couldn't re-kindle for a long while - or ever.

I missed her. I missed her in this moment of sadness and I realised how much I appreciated her presence and how close we once were but we couldn't go back now. The damage had been done and no matter how heard I tried right now, Criss wouldn't listen. She was stubborn like that.

Wiping my eyes of my tears, I decided to distract myself by packing my things for London. I knew that it would be getting cold over there so I packed as many warm things I could into one suitcase. The rest I would have to either put into storage or send over at a later date. I would probably take the latter, knowing me. I needed all the clothes that I could get, especially in the profession I am in.

I spent a long while in the shower, letting the hot water roll over my body and relax my tense muscles. It felt good feeling my body release all the stress that had built up over such a short period of time.

I made myself a tea before calling my mother to tell her what had happened between myself and Criss as well as the job that required me to move to a whole different country. Her reaction was positive, a change from the hate that Criss was projection.

"Congratulations!" my mother said, her chipper voice excited. "Will I be able to come and visit you all the time?"

"If you do, you can't be much of a distraction," I said, smiling to myself as I took a sip of my tea.

"I promise I won't be," I heard my mother say from the other side of the phone. "When are you leaving?"

"Friday," I said, not sure how she might take me leaving so soon.

"That close?" she commented, her voice getting little worried. "I thought that they would have given you a little bit more time to prepare yourself."

"Missy kind of sprung this on me the last minute."

"I bet she did," mother said. "How did Criss take it?"

"Not so well," I said. "She wanted the job more then I did but Missy wouldn't let her take it."

"That's unfortunate."

"Mum," I whined as I finished off my tea and put the cup in the sink. "If she calls you, don't tell her anything. We're not talking anymore."

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?"

"I just need to be away from her for a little while," I said with a sigh, looking out at the apartment that had served me so well for the last five years. "It's a good thing I'm taking this job because I don't think I could stand dealing with Criss in the mood that she's in."

"Well, let me know how things turn out okay?" Mum said, trying to sound positive. "I love you and don't forget that."