I walk to the door. As I pass in front of the office I can hear Stephan, the worst writer of his generation, yelling, “Bagels!”
I put up the Do Not Disturb sign and lock the door to my room. I don’t ever want to go out again. Here, in the room it’s safe and comfortable. Out there is madness. Crazy Japanese girls, Pierre the banker, frozen-yogurt Carolina and the Fat Breeders.
And Nicolas!
He betrayed me!
Somehow…Okay, so I haven’t quite figured that part out yet.
But come on. He took me on his scooter. Everyone knows a scooter ride means something. It’s like a secret bond. You cannot seduce a girl with your scooter and then tell her that you are gay.
Bastard! Oh, I hate him.
I sit at the desk. I see the Air France flight coupon and my passport. I can leave…whenever. And now would be a good time.
This job, this place, these people, it’s all way out of my league. It’s not at all the way I pictured it, not even in my worst nightmare.
I pick up the flight coupon. I see Roxanne Green’s bible: 20 Steps to Success.
I open the book. Roxanne wrote a phone number on the first page. “You can phone me in case of emergency,” she said.
I dial and I recognize Roxanne’s voice.
“Who’s that?”
“It’s…Lynn. You know? We met on the plane.”
“Mmm?”
“Jodie Blanchett’s daughter.”
“Yes, I know. Listen, I’m in the middle of something, darling.”
“It’s an emergency, like you said.”
“Did they fire you already?”
“No, it’s much worse than that.”
I am about to cry. I don’t want to cry. That would only annoy her more and she would hang up.
“Are you crying?” she asks.
No wonder her books are such hits. She reads people’s minds.
“Listen to me, darling. Remember what I told you? Step #6.”
I remember how good and easy it felt in the plane, listening to Roxanne going through the different steps. And how miserable I feel now. I start to cry. I can’t help it. Please don’t hang up. Please!
“Can you read step #6 for me?”
“Yes,” I sob. I turn the pages to the sixth chapter. “Step #6. Sometimes it’s hard to be successful.”
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