Scream For me

JADE

I was in high spirits on Monday morning and ready to take on the new week. I would do my best and make Hannah proud.

Sure, I wasn’t good at my job and I screwed it up a lot, but a final warning meant I still had a chance. I’d spent the weekend reflecting on what I had and how much Hannah had helped me, and while I was doing this, I would do it to the best of my abilities.

Something had to give, and, like Olivia said, I just had to stop being so hard on myself. Panicking about what I did wrong only made me make more mistakes, which didn’t help anyone.

Yesterday, I’d come into the office, even though I never worked on weekends, and found someone who could work with Aaron and his boy. I felt good about the match, too. I’d sent off the emails to all the right people, and I was proud of myself for going the extra mile and doing something right.

“Morning,” I said brightly to Marlene, who was in the office for a change.

“I feel like we never see each other,” Marlene said. She had long brown hair so thin that her ponytail was only as thick as my finger, and everything about her was small and delicate. Everything but her attitude.

“How did last week go?” I asked. “Any recruits I can use for the new clients?”

“Yeah, I have a few we can add as soon as Hannah approves of the files I sent her.”

“That’s good,” I said. “I got a high-profiler a match this weekend, so I feel pretty positive about the way forward.”

“It feels good to be able to help out, huh?” Marlene said.

I nodded. I didn’t know what it was, but I somehow had a soft spot for Aaron.

“Dominique is a really good au pair,” I said. “Her references are never bad.”

Marlene frowned. “Dominique McKay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We don’t have more than one Dominique, do we?” “We don’t have any Dominiques,” Marlene said slowly.

“What are you talking about? Dominique is”

“No longer working for Placement,” Marlene interrupted.

I stared at her, my stomach twisting.

“Tell me Hannah didn’t fire her.”

“She went overseas. She’s an au pairing in Europe. France, I think, or Switzerland. Somewhere in the Alps.”

“When did she leave!?” I cried out. Panic started in my chest, and it was getting harder to breathe. I needed Dominique to be still a nanny working at Placement because I’d assigned her to Aaron’s case.

“Three months ago,” Marlene said with narrowed eyes. “We had a farewell party for her in the office that Friday, don’t you remember?”

“Oh, right…” I didn’t remember because it had been one of those Fridays I’d snuck out early to work at home instead. My head had spun, I’d panicked with the workload, and I’d misplaced so many files that HR had called me in to help them sort it out personally that morning.

Damn it, Hannah was right. I’d been screwing up so much the last couple of months I didn’t even know how bad it had been.

I cleared my throat. “The new girls can make it work, though,” I said confidently. “We just have to make sure they’re ready to start right away.”

Marlene shook her head. “They’re not going to be ready for a while. You know how Hannah’s process works. She will want to send them on the first aid and baby courses to make sure they know what they’re doing and run them through the weekend workshop at the end of the month. It’s the process. Don’t you know how things work by now?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said. Of course, I knew. I just…I’d forgotten what Hannah did. There were so many au pairs and workshops, and not everyone had to do them all. I’d sent files of people who matched other files, ticked the boxes, and tried not to focus on more things that would break my concentration if I didn’t need to know what it was.

I’d needed to know what it was more than I’d realized.

My stomach dropped, and my cheeks burned. How could I have made mistakes I didn’t even know about? My heart fluttered in my chest, and my stomach twisted with panic. What if more things popped up that I didn’t know aboutenough to get me firedand I didn’t have a chance to try another time?

Just breathe, I told myself. You’re going to be okay. This is okay. You’ll just take it one step at a time.

“Anyway,” Marlene said. “I have to get on the road.”

“Again?” I asked in a small voice. “I thought you’d be in the office today.” I’d hoped I could get her to help me find someone for Aaron since I’d told him I’d found someone, and it turned out not to be true.

“Yeah, Hannah’s sending me to one of the workshops so I can lay down some groundwork on the interviewing process.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Okay,” I said. “That sounds…fun.”

“I’d much rather be here, but I like that Hannah lets us better ourselves all the time. It’s why I love this job so much.” “It’s a great job,” I said with a smile.

Marlene smiled at me before she stood and left the office. I kept a smile on my face until she was gone before I let it slip away.

I opened my laptop, and frantically started searching through the files for an available au pair. I’d wanted someone who knew what they were doing and would be a perfect fit for Aaron.

But right now, I wanted someone available, no matter who it was.

No such luck.

The only au pairs available were the ones who only did a couple of hours a week because they studied full-time and needed pocket money. Aaron needed more than that.

No one else was available, and the meeting I’d set up for Aaron was just after lunch.

My stomach twisted and turned. He needed someone urgently. He was a good client to have, pumping good money into Hannah’s business.

If I lost him, she would have my neck for sure. I was already on my last warning, and this was one mistake I just couldn’t afford to make.

The hours rushed by as I called every au pair on the file. I wanted to double-check with each of them to make sure they really couldn’t help out.

The more no’s I got, the sicker I felt. I even asked the students if they could study at Aaron’s place when the kid was napping or something, just so that I didn’t screw up the placement.

By the time lunch rolled around, I felt sick to my stomach with worry and panic. I was failing. No one was available. I’d done everything I possibly could. Aside from sending Aaron to a new agency, which would lose Hannah a big contract, there was nothing I could do.

I had no one to send to the meeting with Aaron Steele.