Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(91)

I, on the other hand, filled my time with random guest spots and hoped that showcasing my skills as a television personality would land me what had now become my dream job. Lately, I felt like I was one step above picking up someone’s dry cleaning and asking if they wanted extra sugar in their grande latte if it would get me in front of the camera full-time.

Okay, that may have been a slight exaggeration. But the time was approaching when I’d find out whether this audition was going somewhere, or nowhere fast. Recently, I felt like all of the progress I’d made may have just been an illusion; a mirage to string me along as I searched the desert hopelessly for water I’d never find.

That only made Jack’s call that much more nerve-racking. “Hey, Jack,” I said tentatively when I answered.

“Maxi Boy,” he answered. “How the hell are ya?”

I ran a nervous hand through my hair before answering. “I don’t know, Jack. You tell me. And you know I hate it when you call me ‘Maxi.’ It reminds me of a girl’s period. Fucking disgusting,” I blurted out quickly. “I mean, unless you thought she might be pregnant. Then it’s a good thing.” Why the hell am I talking about periods? I was rambling and I knew it. “Sorry, Jack. Ignore me. I’m just nervous. Tell me you have good news.”

“Okay,” he said simply, “I have good news.”

“Really?” My heart had already been beating so loudly, I was sure Jack could hear the pounding through the phone. “Or are you just saying that ‘cause I told you to?”

“Well, which is it, jackass? Do you want me to say it or not?”

“Jack, come on. I’m f*ckin’ dying over here. Did I get the job or not?”

“You got the job, you f*ckin’ *,” Jack laughed. “As if there was ever any doubt.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “What do you mean ‘as if there was ever any doubt’? All I had was doubt.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. If you had half the faith in yourself that other people have in you, you’d be a lot better off. You know, that’s really gonna put a dent in that arrogant facade you have going for ya.”

“Ha, yeah, I guess so.”

“Anyway,” he continued, “they’re sending over the contract tomorrow morning. Stop by my office around noon, and we’ll look it over together. You don’t have any plans tomorrow, do you?”

“What? Uh . . . no, noon’s good. I’ll see you then.” My lingering shock caused my voice to falter a bit. “And thanks, Jack,” I added.

“What are you thanking me for? You got the job. You’re a big f*ckin’ deal. Go brag to some people or somethin’." Jack let out a breath of feigned disappointment. “For Christ’s sake, this humble shit really doesn’t suit you.”

I hung up with Jack, but over a minute later, I found myself still staring at my phone unsure of who to call. He’d said to brag to some people, but ‘bragging’ just didn’t seem like the appropriate word for what I planned to do.

I agreed that I needed to tell people: my parents, for starters. I knew my mom would be ecstatic, but just as Jack had said, she wasn’t at all surprised that I got the job. “I knew you’d get the job, honey. That ice show is lucky to have you.”

“It’s not an ice show, Mom,” I laughed. “That makes me sound like a figure skater or something. It’s a pre-game show called On Thin Ice.”

“You know what your mother’s trying to say,” my dad chimed in. When the hell had he picked up the phone? “Don’t be such a wiseass.”

“Well, you know where he gets that from,” my mom joked. “Certainly not me.”

“Are you insinuating that he got the smartass gene from me?” my dad asked, doing his best to act shocked.

“Okay, well I’m gonna leave you two alone to bicker about my inherited traits. I just called to tell you the good news.”

“Well, thank you, sweetheart,” my mom said. “You know who else will be excited to hear the news? Did you call her yet?”

It had more than crossed my mind to call Lily. When I’d hung up the phone with Jack, my first instinct had been to call her. I knew, despite the fact that we hadn’t really spoken, she would be proud of me. I’d waited so long to have Lily’s approval, I knew hearing her say she was proud of me would be like an orgasm to my ears. But, I just couldn't. “I can’t call Lily, Mom,” I said, finally answering her question. “I haven’t told her much about the auditions.”

The momentary silence on the other end of the phone told me I’d said something wrong. “I meant Mary, honey. You know, that sweet girl you’ve been dating for the last month and a half.”

“Oh, right . . . her.” Fuck.





Chapter 35: Lily


I knew there was no getting around telling Adam that Max was going to Shane’s bachelor party. Though I did manage to put it off for two weeks. I hadn't intended to wait that long, but I found that the time was just never right to have that conversation with him. Instead, I spent a ton of time thinking about all of the things I’d rather do than discuss it with him: donate a kidney without anesthesia, go trolling for johns on the streets of Philadelphia, develop a crack habit, all sorts of things.