Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 59287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
In desperate need of a break, I grabbed my Belle princess costume from the trunk and rushed inside.
I clocked in and made my way to the towering cardboard castle.
“Oh, hey there, Olivia!” My manager stepped in front of me. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Actually…” I sighed. “Can it wait until after my readings? I really just want to start today with something fun, if that’s alright.”
“No, uh…” She shook her head. “We sent out an email cancelling the readings earlier this morning.”
“Oh. Is the air conditioning out again?”
“No, it’s…” She shifted on her feet. “We have to let you go. Effective now.”
“Wait, what?” I stepped back. “You’re firing me?”
“Not firing you. Gently laying you off.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s not personal, Olivia…” She refused to look me in the eye. “We just don’t have money in the budget to keep you on anymore.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me this last week when you were making the schedule?”
“I didn’t want to make you sad,” she said. “I know how poor you are…”
“Yet, you’re still firing me.” I crossed my arms. “How long have you known this was going to happen?”
“Don’t make this hard on me, please…” She stepped over to the sign-in table and picked up a gift bag.
“We made you this in appreciation for all you’ve done.” She held it out to me. “Everyone chipped in and got you something.”
“Thanks.” I was tempted to throw it, but I gently took it from her hands. “I’m still getting paid this Friday, right?”
“Of course.” She nodded. “And I added an extra bag of sour gummies as a huge thank you, too! You really were the best story time actress we’ve ever had here.”
“No hard feelings, right?” She held out her arms for a hug. “You can always come back and read stories for free whenever you feel like it.”
I turned around and stormed toward my car.
“Oh, come on, Olivia!” She called after me. “I thought you were more mature than this!”
I slid behind the wheel and tossed the bag to the passenger seat.
She rushed out of the entrance right as I slammed my car in reverse.
Okay, that’s it! I wanted to scream.
Before I knew it, I was heading back to Manhattan, back to the courthouse to file a complaint against that terrible judge.
Terrible “sexy” judge…
I made sure the meter was paid before rushing into the courthouse, right to the ethics and complaints room.
“How may I help you today, Miss?” The receptionist looked up at me.
“I’m here to file a formal complaint against a judge.”
“What type of complaint?” She tilted her head to the side. “Harassment, bias, conflicts of interest?”
“All of the above.”
She nodded and pulled out a yellow sheet and started writing. “Who did you have on your case?”
“Judge Ashton.”
She immediately stopped writing.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“No.” She crumpled the sheet. “You can go home now, though. Have a good day.”
“No, wait.” I shook my head. “Why are you dismissing me?”
“I’m saving you from yourself, lady.” She shrugged. “Go treat yourself to a margarita and forget about ever coming here.”
“Why?”
“Because Judge Ashton’s record is immaculate, and I know he was definitely more than fair to you.”
“He was mean as hell.” I pulled out my charge sheet. “See all this?”
“Would you prefer jail time?”
“At this point in my life, yes.”
“I need you to take my advice on this…” She opened a drawer, then she took out three ‘Free Legal Drinks Happy Hour’ coupons and handed them to me.
“Drink and let it go. For your own sanity.”
“What’s the point in having a complaint board when you don’t take complaints?”
She pushed the coupons closer.
Ugh. I grabbed them and returned to my car.
Enraged, I searched for Judge Ashton online and the first thing that popped up was a Reddit forum.
It had thousands of daily visitors and more than ten thousand followers. Every single thread was filled with people who seemed just as angry as me.
I took the receptionist’s advice and slipped into the nearby bar for drinks while I read through each and every mean slight against him.
But by the end of the night, I was still mad as hell.
And “letting it go” wasn’t an option…
TEMPORARY INSANITY (N.):
A DEFENSE BY THE ACCUSED THAT HE/SHE WAS BRIEFLY INSANE AT THE TIME THE CRIME WAS COMMITTED AND THEREFORE WAS INCAPABLE OF KNOWING THE NATURE OF HIS/HER ALLEGED CRIMINAL ACT.
OLIVIA
Three Nights Later
Bree (Giftshop Manager)
Hey there, Livvie. We won’t need you at the bookstore tomorrow, so this week will just be 12 hours of paid work, okay?
Lindsay
You’re really not talking to me?
I said I was sorry…
Istuffed a cheese cracker into my mouth and gulped down my third energy shot.
Six hours down, six to go.
I was parked outside of 1345 Park Avenue Place, the condo where the public property records claimed Judge Asshole lived.
With its marble entryway, twenty-four-hour doormen and white-gloved valets, it was part of a world where people had no idea what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck, where the smallest of fees could be wiped away with a credit card and never thought about again.