Read Annihilate Me (Vol. 1) (The Annihilate Me Series) for Free Online

phone.   Step away from it.   And listen to me.   Can you do that?   Apparently, not.   Why are you looking so pale?   Jesus, don’t faint.”
    I
was in a haze.   From potential
waitress to potential cash cow in a matter of minutes.   I blinked into a room in which the edges
were oddly blurred.   I felt light
headed, as if I’d had a drink.   The
world seemed to be turning on its axis.   I could hear the sound of something rushing in my ears.   “Two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars.   A year.   Oh my God.”
    Lisa
gripped my arm in an effort to steady me.   “You don’t have the job yet.”
    “I
need to get this job.”
    She
pressed me back against the counter and held me there for support.   “Then listen to me.   You have a credit card.   You haven’t used it since we got
here.   You saved it for an
emergency.   Well, this is an
emergency.   Do you hear me?   This is a full-on, five-alarm-fire
emergency.   You need to have your
hair cut and colored.   You need to
buy a new suit and shoes—and nothing cheap.   If it doesn’t work out, you can pay off
the clothes and the haircut with the waitressing gig you’ll land.   Are you listening to me?   What’s wrong with your eyes?   Why are you smiling at me like
that?   Jennifer?   Jennifer!”
    “I
can’t believe it.”
    “Snap
out of it.”
    “I
don’t even know what that kind of money looks like.   My parents are poor.   I’ve always been poor.   What the hell does it feel like to make
that much money?”
    “You
won’t know if you don’t listen to me.”
    “Why
would they pay me so much right off the bat?”
    “Who
cares?   Maybe that’s what they pay
in New York.   What’s the job,
anyway?”
    “Executive
Assistant to Mr. Wenn.”
    “There’s
your reason.”
    “She
said I’d be working twelve to fifteen hours a day.   Including most weekends.   Apparently, I’m about to become his
right-armed confidante.”
    “What
does that mean?    Never
mind.   Come over here and sit
down.   Drink your coffee.   If it’s cold, I’ll pour you another cup.   But I need you to sit down.   You can’t walk in there with a smashed
nose if you suddenly decide to collapse on me.”
    I
felt Lisa guide me across the room and I was gently lowered into a chair.
    “Take
a breath.”
    I
breathed in deeply.   “Taken.”
    “Now,
come on.   Drink your coffee and get
it together.   Enough is enough.”
    I
did as I was told, and slowly fell back into myself.   “Sorry,” I said.   “That was unfortunate.”
    “You
may have just won the lottery.   I
get it.   It’s a lot to absorb, but
you’re not even there yet.   What you
have is an opportunity.   That’s
it.   Today, you rest.   Tomorrow, we get your hair done.   Then we buy a new suit and shoes.   I’m talking Prada and Louboutins.   OK?”
    I
nodded at her.   “I can’t believe
this.”
    “Well,
believe it.   You’ve waited months
for this opportunity.”
    “I
sure as hell wasn’t expecting this opportunity.”
    “All
the sweeter.   I’m going to get a
clean towel and wash your feet.   Then, I’ll apply more ointment and wrap them again with gauze.   We’ll do it again before you go to
bed.   Ibuprofen will take care of
the rest of the swelling.   You’ll
take two pills every four hours.   We
need to get you back on your feet as quickly as possible.”
    I
looked her in the eyes.   “Can you
believe this?” I asked.
    “Yes,”
she said.   “But I’ve always believed
in you.   You’re the one who
doesn’t.   You and your parents.   But I’m proud of you.   Beyond proud of you.   This could be it.   Now, we need to make sure this is
it.   Got me?”
    “Got
you,” I said.
    “Prada
fixes everything,” she said.   “Or at
least, that’s what I hear.   Usually,
a martini does it for me.   But in
this case, I’ll listen to the Bible, which naturally is this month’s edition of Vogue .   I devoured it last week.