Laid Off

Cassie could tell by the look on her supervisor's face - and the folded piece of paper held ever-so-carefully in his hand - that she was not going to like what he was about to say.

"Cass, gather your things. We need to talk."

She stared at him for a moment, not comprehending. "Gather my things? Josh, what do you-"

"I need you to pack up your things and come with me."

Slowly she gathered up what few personal possessions she had in her office - a few pictures, her business cards - and stepped out into the hall. Cassie tried to get a glimpse of what was going on from her coworkers, but none of them would meet her eyes. It was worse than she thought.

As she and her manager made their way to his office, she tried to think.

A major government contract had fallen through at the last minute, and the upper management were practically building pyres for the witch hunt that followed. They wanted someone to blame.

The moment she walked through the door to his office, she knew that they had found someone. There were two other people sitting down already; she recognized Eric Hoffman from the legal department, but the blonde woman sitting next to him was a complete stranger. Neither stood up when she walked in.

"Here she is," Josh said, giving her an apologetic look as he closed the door behind her.

She was alone with them.

Cassie did her best to walk out of her supervisor's office with dignity. Former supervisor's. He was still standing next to the door to his office; he gave her a soft, sad smile.

"Let me walk you out," he said. She just nodded; after half an hour of trying to explain, she had nothing left. Each time she said something, Eric and the blonde woman - she never introduced herself - simply nodded and thanked her.

Then she had been let go.

Josh guided her down the hallway, past her former office, past the curious eyes of coworkers peeking over cubicle walls and through the slits of screened windows. They still wouldn't make eye contact.

When they got to the door, she wanted to say something. Josh had always been kind to her, and even now - when she was apparently the company sacrifice after a blown deal - he was being friendly. Cassie just didn't know what to say.

Josh went so far as to give her a hug. "I don't know what you're going to do now, but you'll recover. You're strong." She just nodded against his shoulder before he broke away.

"And listen," he said, trying to smile as he pulled a card out of his pocket, "it's not much, but if you ever need a helping hand..."

She looked at the card - her brain still wasn't working - before slipping it into a jacket pocket. "Thanks, Josh."

"You're welcome. ...and I'm sorry."

He walked back toward the elevators; he still had work to do. And she was alone.