Em could totally afford half a pizza. It was seven dollars. She didn't need to worry about it.
The panic was a habit. She'd spent so long after the accident counting every penny, saving wherever she could, fighting to pay off the bills and the debt. She'd spent days without eating to make sure she had power. Then she'd gotten that job at the convenience store and she could take the day-past-expiry meals home. She'd always been able to eat it, but once she'd shared it with Marco and he almost threw up. She'd always been able to eat anything.
Em didn't know why she was still thinking about that shit. Her salary from NovaTech was enough. If she was careful, she'd be able to pay off the debt within two years. The pizza money was well within her food budget. Everything was okay.
"Em!" Marco snapped his fingers in front of her face, and she finally looked up at him. "I've got the pizza this time."
"Don't be dumb." She pulled seven dollars out of her wallet and pushed it into his hand. He smiled and pocketed the money, then sat down on the floor next to her.
"Good day at work?" He asked. Em thought back to her encounter in the elevator.
"Great day, actually." She laughed. "Fuck, this is delicious. Thanks for picking it up."
"No problem." He laughed. "We both know your ass wasn't going to."
"I have an hour-long commute, asshole. You really want to add to that?"
"My shifts are ten hours long. We're out for the same amount of time."
"I went over today, so no we didn't."
"Doesn't NovaTech make a big deal about having a good work-life balance?"
"Yeah, for everyone except Marketing. I swear those motherfuckers in finance want us to be miserable."
"Isn't there an HR department you can complain to?"
"Not without making everyone hate us even more, and we still have to work with them."
"Damn." Marco picked up another slice of pizza. The two of them ate in silence for a while.
"How's your work?" Em asked.
"Good, I hope. My boss is about to retire, so I'm going to try to get his position. If I get it, I'll meet the DSS income requirements." Em sat up.
"That's amazing!"
"Don't get too excited. I still have to get the job."
"Yeah, but it's good news. You have a real path forward. Have you told Benny?"
"Not yet. I don't want to get his hopes up again."
"His worker already agreed to transfer custody if you met the requirements, right?"
"But it was just a verbal agreement. Just cause he said it doesn't mean it's going to happen."
"You said this one seemed nice. He made sure you could visit, right?"
"Yeah… I'm trying not to get my hopes up either."
"... Yeah, okay." She shuffled a little closer to him. "You're totally gonna get this job though. They'd have to be fucking idiots not to give it to you."
"True." He grinned. "I am exceptionally talented."
"I didn't say all that, dumbass."
"You basically did."
"Why do I even hang out with you?" She rolled her eyes. Her phone chimed and she pulled it out. A text from Quentin. She could check it later. She did not have the energy for another round.
Em briefly wondered what was going on in Quentin's life that made him horny all the time. It was objectively bad to use sex as a distraction, but Em couldn't exactly judge. She'd been there.
It was weird to empathize with Quentin Blake. God knows that man would never empathize with her.
It was also weird to have sex with him repeatedly, but she chose not to think about that.
"Speaking of our incredibly close and precious friendship, are you ever going to tell me about the Benz guy?" He waved pizza in her face.
"...Who?"
"Don't lie to me, bitch. The Benz that's parked outside like, three times a week."
"Wait, has he seriously been coming here in his Benz? How has he not gotten robbed?"
"So there is a guy!"
"He's just a guy. I've had people over before."
"Yeah, but none of them drove luxury cars."
"What, I can't hook up with a rich guy?"
"You can. You don't. Remember fucking Dale?" Marco chuckled.
"Dale thought he was going to fucking save me or whatever. This guy literally just wants to fuck. Trust me, the only thing I'm taking from him is dick."
"Gross." She stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed again, then turned to her. "Just be careful. Rich people have their own problems. If you get too close you'll end up getting stepped on." He was speaking from experience.
"I know, Marco. And I'm always careful."
"Okay, okay. Hey, this guy isn't going to get obsessed like the last one, right? I'm really not trying to get into another fight."
"Oh, trust me. He is the last person who would ever catch feelings for me."