Now a working woman

Aiden double checked his resume before sending it off to another potential job, this one a junior to the one he loved at an old law firm.

He read over his name Aiden J. Arwain in a nice font at the top, showing his master's degree in technology and his bachelors in business management, then it mentioned his job history. His name mostly meant mud now, but he had hope, he had to. Most of his work experience was from the same location where he started at as a high school after school job, tracking his upward movement from starting in the mail room and going to the last VP of Technology. The only other job he ever had was a short stint as a bagger at a grocery store for a few months before he snagged the mail room job. Hitting send on the email to apply for the position he let out a sigh, before clicking over to a different tab to check his bank account before closing the lid to the laptop.

With only a few hundred dollars left in his account; things had gone bad for him over this last year. It all started when one of the office temps had reported him to HR for sexual harassment. The gall of it all, it felt absurd how it all played out even now. She… he had trouble remembering her name, though he clearly remembered the sexy young thing stood hardly over five foot tall, always wore heels that most girls would only want to sit in, let alone go to work in. Beautiful blue eyes and a long blonde mane that went halfway down her back. Oh, she was more than willing to have fun after hours, but when he refused to just give her a permanent position, she lost her mind, he offered to put in a good word, but that wasn’t enough for… Tabitha or Tab as she liked to be called. “I’m broke now, but at least I still have my mind.”

Thinking back on it, he should have tried to pay for her silence like he had done before, when he had the capital to do such things. “Not like I knew she would report me, or that anything would come of it.” Aiden thumped his head against the wall, stretching his legs out on the floor where he sat. Hindsight was twenty twenty, but he really hadn’t expected a company he did so much for to come down so hard on him. The bitch had threatened to go to the news about the boys' club and how everyone turned a blind eye. She got the full-time position she wanted, a small payout and he lost it all. He was fired for cause, no severance, no unemployment and the processes hadn’t been quick.

The drawn-out event gave time for it to seep in and sour his relationship with his wife who was none too happy to hear about a pending court case and new report on how her husband cheated on her for years. Aiden still wasn’t sure how Vicki found out he had never been faithful to her. She had said it was a slap in the face of their entire relationship and had made it all meaningless, a divorce was the only option. It broke his heart, he did love her, she just didn’t understand. When he reluctantly signed the paperwork, she had said she never wants to see him again, at that second his heart felt as empty as his apartment was now.

So here he sat in his mostly empty apartment, bank account running out and he had already sold everything of real value over the year to keep himself afloat, even sold his Jaguar two thousand and nineteen F-Type, replacing it was a god awful red two thousand and fifteen Toyota Yaris to get some money and still have a cheap reliable car. He had loved that car and more specifically what it could get him. Aiden hadn’t even kept a picture of it, thinking it would only taunt him. This was it, the end of the road, he already had an extension on his rent and after he paid his phone bill he would have even less.

“How can this be even fair, being fired and blacklisting me. I did everything for them… I could have had so many jobs, better jobs, ones that paid better! Now it seems it all falls apart when they do a background check calling my old... pretty much only employer. For fucks sake I have borrowed money from Max!” he yelled into the void of his empty apartment trying to get some of his frustration out.

Max or Maxwell Leon Argyris, his best friend, had been sympathetic to his plight and had loaned him a few grand without hesitation. The two of them met each other through his now ex-wife Vicki or Victoria Sage Arwain… Demir. Aiden corrected himself, knowing she had gone back to using her maiden name, just like when they started dating back in college. Max and he would sometimes compete with one another over who could take home a girl from a bar and later, after college transitioned into them bragging about the different trim, they got over text or whenever they could meet up. Recently they talked a few times over text messages and had gone out getting a drink at the bar, though at this point he hadn’t seen the man for about five months. The impression he got at this point was that Max didn’t expect the money to be paid back, but no more would be coming or any offer of sheltering him when he said things like “Sorry bro, can’t have a deadbeat in my condo it would seriously hurt my lifestyle. You understand.”

Max had made it a statement, not a question. He couldn’t go to his father for help, that man was a good friend and funny enough wingman when he was old enough to go to bars, but he was horrible with money, or really as a real father figure. Aiden had no mother to turn to, she had fucked off not wanting to raise a kid when he was ten, so that left only one avenue for help. The woman who left a handprint on his face when she slapped him the first time she heard the news, thinking about it made him touch his cheek. She had said she never wanted to see him again. Yet at that second it felt like she was the only one that could help, and that he should have gone to her hat in hand months ago. Aiden wished it went differently, he loved Vicki, he really did. He was just not the type to ever be satisfied with monogamy, never was, just like his dad after his mother left.

Victoria heard a few timid knocks on her apartment door when she was in the kitchen. “Coming, hold on a second!” she yelled and went to go rinse her hands off, to clean off the spices coating her hands from prepping some chicken breasts. Tossing the kitchen hand towel on the counter she turned off the radio she had playing and padded over to the living room to open the door in her stockinged feet, she was still dressed in her office attire minus her blazer and heels. Pulling open the door “Yes? Oh... I didn’t order a a piece of shit.” The smile on her face had quickly faltered, she was having such a good day. “No, just no.” she said as she slapped his face for good measure before slamming her heavy security door shut. Tensing her shoulder Victoria glared at the door as if she could kill her cheating ex-husband with her glare through the solid steel door. She heard him knock once again and the muffled sound of him saying something and then more knocking this time louder.

Opening the door once again she looked the man up and down. Aiden had never been the biggest man standing at her same height of five foot eight, with narrow shoulders. He never had large muscles, but he was always in great shape, no six pack or anything, but from swimming and the gym he looked good. No it looked like he hadn’t kept any of his routine up, the toned body had mostly faded away to a small amount of fat and on his skinny frame it made him look like a shadow of the man she knew. He kept his hair a little longer for a wild look before, but now while it was still kept clean it was much longer. She wasn’t sure he had it cut since she last time she saw him a year ago at the lawyer's office. At least he had still kept himself clean shaven she thought, it also looked like he kept up with his moisturizing routine, he had always been big on trying to stay looking young, though his skin was paler now, she guessed from lack of sunlight in his life. Other than the longer hair, he had large dark circles under his pale blue eyes and his casual clothing looked like they were threadbare.

“Looks like the outside matches the inside, the shit finally shows through, huh? Now what do you want?”

With some cajoling Aiden was able to get Vicki to let him in the door and was allowed to tell his story while she continued to cook. The smell coming off the chicken made his mouth water, he hadn’t had a good homemade meal in a while, and he truly hoped she was willing to share. Even if it was just some of the carrot strings and broccoli, he would be ever so thankful. His budget had left him cutting chicken breasts into fourths and the smell reminded his stomach of what a real meal was.

Victoria knew most of the story already, she lived it, but she was also not unmoved. She loved Aiden, finding out he had apparently been cheating on her from the start of their relationship wouldn’t have wounded her so deeply if she hadn’t. The justifiable anger was only there because she loved him, she wished she felt nothing sometimes instead of the pain, the love and hate that she felt just don’t go away. “Look Aiden, I don’t hate you per say. Just hate what you did and I guess the fact you thought it was okay to live like your father even while you were married. He comes by here now and then you know, we catch up.” she said with a smirk

“Why are you spending time with my father, you divorced me?”

“Divorced as in what I do is none of your business, but maybe he likes hearing me call him daddy.” She looked him in the eye as she dug that knife deeper.

“You are just messing with me, bringing this up now when I’m begging for help. Please Vicki, you work in HR over at Mega Corp you can get me a job and have them look past what happened at my old firm. If not, you know people, you could get me a position somewhere else, please!” The man got down on his knees hoping the sight would show her how serious he was degrading himself like this.

It surprised her to see Aiden literally begging on his knees, not something she could say she ever thought he would do. It was amusing, pathetic, but amusing. “To answer your first question, I might be messing with you or not, but he does come by and… just stand up, this is just pathetic, even for you.”

Staring at the man a wicked grin grew on her face. “Okay Aiden, I might, and I mean might be able to help you, but...” The words were cut off as her ex-husband embraced her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she stayed silent for a second till he let go, partly from it being unexpected, it being awkward, and she wanted to look him in his soft blue eyes when she said this.

“BUT... You have to agree to everything, and I mean everything. From the sound of it you are about to be kicked out of your place and the lord knows why, but I am going to let you stay here.” She took a step away from him, looking over to her oven. “Starting tonight you will go home and get your clothes and whatever you can bring that isn’t furniture. My guest room is furnished, and I don't’ want any clutter. Fist though, you need to eat. I’m tired of hearing your stomach call out for attention. Now this is temporary, you understand me? Temporary! If I can’t find you a job in a month you are out the door no matter what. If you are working then you can maybe stay, but you will be paying me rent, unlike the alimony that you never started to pay.” She knew he couldn’t afford to pay it, but the judge had awarded it to her considering how much he made previously.

Victoria was going to keep going on with her terms when he interrupted again “Of course, of course whatever you say! I will just be happy to be near you again.”

“None of that! And you will listen for once when I am talking. When you live here, I am in charge, and you will NOT interrupt me. You and I can maybe be friends again if you are willing to sacrifice some of that ego of yours while I bend over backwards to get someone with your history a job, and you will be paying me back for everything I have to spend to support you while you are here. No, you know what scratch that, you are handing your paychecks over to me so long as you live here, and I will give you spending money. If you are making money and want all of your paycheck, that is fine. That will just be the day you decide you can live on your own again. Do you accept my terms?”

“That is harsh, and I would negotiate, but by the look on your face and you knowing how I am.” He tried to laugh it off, but he saw Vicki was stone faced. “What choice do I really have?” nodding to himself Aiden built himself up in his head and smiled at Vicki. “I will not make you regret this! I will go get my stuff now.” With a skip in his step Aiden left the apartment and ran down to his Yaris to pack his bags. Looking out the window as he drove away Victoria smirked. “I won't regret this, but you will.” She said as she watched the little car drive off, surprised he had left without even taking a bite of food.