Chapter 9

**disclaimer : GroupOn is used strictly for the a Chicago company - I have no affiliation with the company and I mean no harm - just using it fictionally **

After finding out what had happened to Jesse, Jon called me and we talked about that as well as how we could continue.  He explained that he wouldn’t be in Chicago often over the next few months since it was already October and the holidays were coming up but he’d like to stay in touch and date me again when he finally came back.

“You plan on coming back here?”

“Yes,  I wasn’t done with Chicago yet, on the philanthropy side and honestly, I’d like to see where this thing goes with you and I. If you can put everything on hold until my kid gets better. He’s going to need surgery and physical therapy and I need to be here for that.”

“Absolutely Jon. I’d think less of you if you left him there alone and came here.”

“I figured I’d like that about you. Ok darlin I’ll talk to you soon.” Jon smiles and hangs up.  And we do stay in touch.

Just when I think my life is going great I should know better. Change happens work wise about 4 months after getting hired.  The typical response from this company after someone has done the short fix - they lay them off.  So I get notified on Jan 2nd that I have until Feb 28th to find a new home, my position is being eliminated.  This doesn’t really shock me at all and even worse its kind of a blessing because finally I can put that whole time at EsT behind me once and for all.  I am told that I will have a severance of $75K when I leave, basically the rest of my years salary. To me, that seems perfect since I already got my mortgage refinanced so I didn’t have to deal with that. My payments are now $250 a month because I removed escrow and paid $20k off during the refi just to make it very controlled and to catch myself back up from the nightmare mortgage I was in.  That had depleted a good chunk of my savings but that’s ok too since the severance will replace that easily.  Helen so far has stayed at my place and had not went back to her moron so as of the end of December we set it up that she would pay $200 a month to me in rent.  Which left the WI house a big win for me.  There was no reason to try to sell it after all.

Brodan and Chris were horrified that I was laid off because I called it as the reason I didn’t trust them.  They were also a little shocked when I told them friend to friend that I wasn’t entirely unhappy by the situation.  Explaining to them that by still working in that role focusing on the IST I could never really let EsT go and it would be in my subconscious all the time.  This way I could really start over.  Of course I was told that I had their backing and support and they both sent me letters of recommendation within a week of finding out about the position.  Since I was being screwed here Chris told me to just work whenever the hell I wanted and if I needed a day to interview or whatever to not even bother to tell him because he felt like the company gave me the raw end of the deal.

Hugging them both I went about my day.  Jon was actually in Chicago for something and I had told him at dinner when he took me out.  He  immediately said he’d find me a job in NY or Jersey.  I told him I didn’t feel like working off the favor. He of course took it in stride and laughed, “Ok to make you feel better, just blow me or fuck me now and we’ll call it even.” I smack his arm and he holds me tight in a hug as we laugh.

I end up getting a job pretty easily with GroupOn as a Sr. Marketing Coordinator in the Business Retention group.   This job allows me to utilize the fact finding and research parts I love with the sales tools I know so well.  The salary I end up with after negotiation is still well above what I really need at $250k a year with four weeks of vacation.  I’m incredibly happy.  I even find the job at the beginning of February.  Chris tells me that I’ll still get my severance as long as I give a full two weeks.  I do and of course both Chris and Brodan meet me at the Sears tower office to collect my ID and computer. I hug them both, no hard feelings and walk away.