Chapter 98: Moving Forward
When she had finally taken a step back, and looked at the things that were going on in her life, especially when it came to her job, Emily had realized something .
She and Derek were in a professional situationship. If the two of them had been romantically involved, the whole thing would have played out something like this: She had ended things unexpectedly and then Derek had pretended to be all tough and accept it. Then the moment that he had realized that she was really gone, he had broken down in tears and had decided that he was not letting her go. Which was why he was suddenly making things so difficult for her. Meanwhile Emily, after ending the relationship, regretted it and wanted to go back, but could not because her faults would ruin what they’d had in the past.
So rather than just attacking the problem head on, like she would if she had no emotional attachments, Emily had decided to go about it differently. This was a battle that would be approached as though she was emotionally entangled, and so Emily had decided to get herself right.
If she was one of those super rich people...cough...Derek Haven...cough, cough. She would have booked herself a vacation on a private stretch of beach and just spent hours sunning herself. But unfortunately, Emily was not made of money, she had to think within her affordability range( a range that was decreasing thanks to her not working), when it came to doing something to pull herself together.
So she had taken a day off from applying.
That morning when she had left the apartment, she had done so not with the intent of looking for work, but with the intent of treating her body like the temple it was. Which was hard to do on a limited budget, but Emily was nothing if not resourceful.
Rather than engaging in retail therapy and shopping until she dropped. Emily had done the closest thing. She had gone from store to store, comparing prices, and looking at the different designs of various clothing items and shoes. When she had liked some thing enough, she had even tried it on. Striking poses in the changing room and puckering her lips like the she had seen the influencers on social media do. For the stores that were way above her pay grade, and whose attendants had weaponised their eyes into lasers to cut up the poor, she had window shopped. Standing pressed against the glass and watching the expensive clothing items until she’d had her fill.
After all of that walking around and staring, she had worked up an appetite. Rather than just buy a hotdog and eat it on the go, Emily had held herself back. Instead she had gone through a few restaurants, sitting briefly in each one and then leaving without ordering after a few minutes of observing. She had done so, until she had come across a place she liked, only then had she ordered. Going for the special of the day.
Honestly, she had never had grilled hake that good, and she had made sure to polish off the plate. She had not even felt the least bit bad about having two slices of cake for dessert. Her waist line could forgive her for being a bit free with her diet. She really needed it.