Under the Cornerstone Read Online Free PDF

Voice this morning. Apparently, your group of friends ‘rescued’ you from an abusive boyfriend and all received assault charges as a result. My fiancé is a huge fan of Blood Feather, so while I finished my morning coffee he read the article to me. You can imagine my surprise when your name was read aloud.”
    “The incident you’re speaking of did not involve me. I was not present when the assault occurred,” I tell her.
    “No. But you were dishonest with me when you phoned,” she almost hisses at me.
    I lie through my teeth, “Sheila, I really had food poisoning. The two incidents are not related.”
    “A little coincidental, don’t you think? Your boyfriend ‘allegedly’ assaulted you, your friends end up in jail for defending your honor, and you call in sick on Monday morning? I’m having a difficult time believing you had food poisoning.”
    She pisses me off so I offer a dry reply, “Would you like me to bring you some vomit to prove I had food poisoning?”
    “Do you have some available?” Her eyebrow raises even higher.
    “Not on hand. I usually make it to the toilet in time. I’m not particularly attached to my own vomit, so I flush when I was done.”
    “Sarcasm isn’t your friend right now,” she speaks down to me.
    “I apologize, but you’re calling me a liar and attempting to connect two events that had absolutely nothing to do with the other.”
    “If that was all I had you and I wouldn’t be sitting here. Tony’s uncle is head of our accounting department. I was advised that if you wish to remain an employee at Kohler and Kohler, you are encouraged to drop the false assault charges against his nephew.”
    “False charges?” I raise my voice.
    She rolls her eyes at me which makes me want to kick her in the teeth.
    I breathe in deeply, close my eyes, and think through yet another predicament I’ve found myself in because of Johnny and Tony. I realize something immediately. If I drop the charges, Detective Ross can still pursue them on behalf of the state. Also, as soon as I drop the charges, they’ll fire me anyway. Tony beats my ass and I lose my job.
    The job I'd always wanted at this and only this fucking firm as an account manager for marketing campaigns is gone. I love this job. I made more money than I needed and now I'd be hard pressed to find another job when the reason for my termination was discovered, because Kohler & Kohler wouldn’t describe my reason for termination as “Her boyfriend is our accounting manager’s nephew. He beat her ass and she filed charges because her best friend is a fucking idiot. We didn’t like our manager’s nephew being cast in such a negative light, so we terminated Noely King. She’s disposable anyways.”
    “Fuck you, Sheila. You’re going to fire me as soon as I drop the charges anyway. So you, Tony’s uncle, Tony, and the big men at the top can fucking suck it. Before I leave, you should know you’re a cunt. Daily water cooler talk usually consists of a rating of your daily cunt-ness based on other staff member’s encounters with you. You may have fucked, sucked, and clawed your way to the top, but remember once you reach the top the only way to fall is down. I hope I’m there when karma ass fucks you with no lube.”
    With that, I exit her office before I was forced to listen to another word that came out of her mouth. I’d never spoken to anyone like that. I most definitely have never spoken to a superior or any co-worker in a professional setting with such hostility and lewdness. Honestly, it was liberating. Part of me wants to walk around the city and speak to everyone like this all day. It feels that damn good.
    As I packed up my desk at a job I've had for four years, my colleagues walk by and slow their gait as they do. Then they walk back by my office door. The whispers weren't really whispers at all. They didn't try to hide the fact that they were talking about me and it dawns on me that they would all be told various