Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 98: Moving Forward

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.

She had been planning to just go home after that, but then she had passed by a masseuse parlour and her feet had grown a mind of their own, carrying her inside. Which was how she currently found herself in the state she was in. Naked from the waist up, with only a towel around her waist, her back being kneaded by the very skilled hands of a woman who had introduced herself as Stella.

And while Stella worked on her, Emily finally had an honest conversation with herself. She might not have spent the day applying, but that did not mean she was not looking. All of the establishments that she had visited prior to coming to the massage parlour, Emily had been scouting them. Looking for places that she could work in.

As Stella worked on a stubborn knot, Emily came to the decision that she would not be working in retail. Trying on clothes and shoes was nice, but she did not think she would be able to handle being a sales attendant. It required way too much fakeness, no way anyone could be expected to be happy talking about the greatness of plaid. So that left her with one other option. Whatever she had to do, it would have to be in the food industry.

There was constant movement, which would keep her from dozing too much. And even if she did, the tasks were repetitive and not likely to cost millions if she did something wrong.

But in the places that she had been to, she had not seen a place where she wanted to work. In one restaurant, the staff had been friendly and all, but only to the customers, they had not been talking to one another. That spoke of very deep workplace toxicity, and she wanted no part of that.

In another, she had noticed the manager ogling the patrons and the workers alike. She did not want to be anywhere near that.

Other places had just been serving what looked like awful food all around. So she had scratched them out.

Her massage coming to an end, Emily felt more in tune with herself, her map going forward feeling more doable.

She would find something in the food industry, a place where Derek would not think to look for her, and then she would go from there.

She had a workable plan, she was getting her life together. But for some reason, she was upset that she had found a way around Derek’s little trap. Part of her wished she had not looked too hard and had just gone back to Haven.

She pushed that part aside and focused on the part that was all about moving forward.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om