When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 83

“Sheila, I just got fired…”

Selina’s voice was shaky as she looked at Sheila, her face pale and tense. Sheila stared at her in disbelief. “What? That can’t be right.”

Sheila knew the CEO at Selina’s company pretty well—she was actually the one who’d helped Selina land the job in the first place. Firing Selina out of the blue, without so much as a warning, made no sense. Selina had been looking after Sheila while she was hurt, and she’d already talked to the company. Selina’s boss had even granted her two weeks off, fully paid, just to show he cared.

“Read this,” Selina said, handing over her phone.

Sheila took it and scanned the message. It was a termination notice, saying Selina was being let go for unexcused absences.

That couldn’t be right. Selina was on approved paid leave. How did that suddenly become skipping work?

“It got to be a mistake.”

Sheila pulled out her phone and called the company on Selina’s behalf. The call connected, but as soon as she started to explain, she was cut off. Sheila’s expression kept changing as she listened, but it was obvious she wasn’t getting anywhere. She finally ended the call, frustrated and helpless.

“Sheila…”

Now even Tina was glancing over. Brody kept eating, calm as ever, while Carrie peeked curiously at the grown-ups.

“The company said some kind of audit flagged your leave,” Sheila explained quietly. “It’s just bad luck. I’ll try to at least get you some severance, but there’s not much else I can do.”

“What?” Selina shot up from her seat, her voice louder than she intended. “You know I only took time off to help you out!”

“Don’t freak out, okay? If this job falls through, I’ll help you find another one,” Sheila whispered, trying to keep her calm. She didn’t want Selina to embarrass herself in front of Tina and Brody.

But Selina was already spiraling, unable to eat another bite. She was still paying off the credit card which Nelly used to splurge last time, and now, with no job, how was she supposed to manage?

Still, with the Garland family sitting right there, Selina could only swallow her feelings and shoot Sheila a wounded look.

Sheila kept quiet too. She didn’t want Brody or Tina to think she’d turn her back on a friend.

Tina, always calculating, quickly spooned more food onto Carrie’s plate, clearly wanting to avoid getting dragged into the mess. She could tell Selina was hoping to climb the social ladder by sticking close to Sheila, and Tina wanted nothing to do with it.

Before dinner was even finished, Sheila’s phone buzzed again. This time, it was Carlos. The partnership between his company and Brody’s had almost been finalized, with the contract set to be signed soon.

Sheila answered, thinking Carlos wanted to talk to Brody, but as she listened, her face fell. She said little and hung up, suddenly unsure how to break the news.

Carlos told her they were pulling out of the deal with Garland Inc. There’d been some kind of shakeup at his company, and he’d lost his authority to sign off. The whole project was on hold and would need to be reassessed.

Carlos had called Sheila first, since she was the one who’d introduced everyone.

Everyone was lost in thought. The whole atmosphere at the table grew heavy and silent.

After dinner, Brody got a call and stepped away to answer it. He was gone for a long time.

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