All of My Soul by Jenni Wilder Read Free Book Online Page A

official letter. GenChem’s blue and
black company logo was printed in the upper left corner. I’m pretty
sure my heart had stopped.
    Dear Ms. Thompson,
    We appreciate your hard work and dedication
during your internship, and we thank you for your interest in
extending your employment with us. We would be honored to have
someone of your caliber working for us. However, our board of
directors is, currently not interested in investing in your area of
research and your funding will be terminated on Friday, March 16th
of this year.
    If you are in need of a recommendation for
other employment, please do not hesitate to ask. We wish you the
best in your future ventures.
    Thank you again.
    Regards,
    Yada, yada, yada.
    “I’m so sorry, Jillian,” Scott said as I
collapsed on my chair.
    I pinched my eyes shut and tried to maintain
my composure. “I understand,” I said softly.
    “I just want you to know this decision had
nothing to do with you or your work ethic. This was solely a
funding issue. We just can’t support every area of research.”
    I nodded. That did make me feel slightly
better. I had known from the beginning that GenChem didn’t have a
strong area of medical research. I could have chosen a different
internship, one that had more potential for long-term employment,
but they would have wanted more control of my research and GenChem
was willing to give me pretty much free rein over my experiments,
and that was worth it to me. Now, however, it seemed like a
mistake.
    I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Thank you for the opportunity, Scott. I’ve learned a lot
here.”
    “I will write you an outstanding letter of
recommendation. Just let me know.”
    I nodded again, trying not to look too
defeated.
    “Why don’t you take off early? I’ll see you
Monday.”
    I had one week of my internship left, but it
all kind of seemed pointless right now. I sighed, knowing I would
be back here bright and early on Monday morning even if it was the
last thing I wanted to do.
    After packing up my lab area, I left GenChem,
only remembering after I reached the parking lot that I didn’t have
my car. Shit, what was I going to do? Kennedy was supposed to pick
me up, but since Scott let me go early, she wasn’t here.
    “Ms. Thompson?” A deep voice came from the
end of the lot.
    I turned and saw a man dressed in a dark suit
with a long trench coat approaching me. A black sedan with tinted
windows sat idling near the entrance to the parking lot.
    “Yes?” I asked with caution as I took a small
step back.
    “Mr. Monaghan hired me to drive you home.” He
gave me a reassuring smile.
    “He—he did?”
    The man nodded and waved his arm toward the
vehicle. It was just like the one Lincoln and I had in Boston.
    “How did you know I would be off work
early?”
    “I’ve been here since this morning. Mr.
Monaghan hired me to wait for you all day in case you needed
anything.”
    Oh. Hmm…
    I turned my phone on as the man escorted me
to the car, and I slowly walked behind him, slightly leery.
    “ Did you hire a driver for me?”
    “ Yes,” Lincoln texted back
immediately. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you. His name is Brody.
He’ll take you anywhere you need to go. Please don’t go anywhere
alone while I’m gone.”
    A wave of relief washed through me. I was
being overparanoid.
    My phone beeped again. “Can’t wait to hear
about your new job, baby. Love you.”
    His unfailing confidence in me made my heart
hurt. Even though I knew it was only a funding issue, I still felt
like a failure. I was disappointed and upset with myself, and I
cried silently in the backseat the entire way home.
    Tabitha’s bus wasn’t due for another hour and
a half, and when I walked into our house the dead silence was
eerily comforting. I was so tired. I lay down on the couch with my
coat and shoes still on and allowed myself a moment of grief.
    I woke to a small hand patting the side of my
face.
    “Auntie Jilly Bean, are you