Preseason Love by Ahyiana Angel Page A

Dev.
    â€œGuess what the fuck just happened?” I said to Dev in an exasperated roar.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œRoger, one of the partners from the Los Angeles office, called to tell me that I’m being let go.”
    â€œWhat?” Dev exclaimed. “Are you joking? Can they do that? What happened?”
    Dev sat on the other end of the line silent as I recalled the story. Once I finished, Dev said, “I’m coming up there. Let’s pack up yo’ shit and you out.”
    Dev had a calm to her voice before we hung up; she meant business. In the meantime, I went to talk with Barbra. She claimed that she did not have any prior knowledge as to what was going on. She said that the Los Angeles office called her right before Roger called me and that she had no say-so in the decision as it had already been made. According to Barbra, the powers that be didn’t even ask her about my performance on her team.
    Everything seemed overtly shady, but then again, this was a company that didn’t even have a real Human Resources department. What more could I expect?
    Dev showed up about twenty minutes later and we did as she’d said. We quickly packed up my minimal belongings and got the hell out of there. It was funny, though. While we were packing up, I told Dev that I actually felt good, and I did. For a brief moment after the initial call, I got in my feelings. My pride and my ego had been wounded, so I let a few salty tears stream down my cheek. But soon after, I had a moment of clarity and I felt free. Like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Workingat a PR agency was too much stress for not enough money. It’s not like we were saving lives. Images maybe, but lives not so much.
    When Dev and I hit the streets, we didn’t have a plan. We had no clue where we were going or what was next. We let the cool evening breeze take us downtown on Eighth Avenue while we chatted about all of the drama that had unfolded in our lives over the past few days.
    She gave me the update on Mel. He had a court date in the coming weeks. She still wasn’t exactly sure what they’d found in his car since he refused to tell her anything. He said that he did not want to involve her. I cut my eyes at Dev.
    â€œYou need to be careful being around Mel.”
    â€œI know, I know.” She nodded. “I spoke to The Clique and everyone else said the same thing.”
    â€œI’m serious. You don’t know what he is into. You have a lot to lose if you get caught up on a drug charge dealing with his bum ass,” I said. “He is cool to party with but nothing more.”
    â€œI get it, Scottie. Speaking of losing it, someone has been prank calling my cell phone lately,” Dev said. “It’s been happening more frequently now, and I have no clue who it could be.”
    â€œReally. Are you scared?”
    â€œNot really. More concerned.”
    Dev was the type to remain cool with most of her ex-lovers, so she highly doubted that it was one of them playing games. She had a likable personality and in all of the years that we had been friends, I never met a single person that did not like her. I didn’t have any suggestions for her.
    â€œEnough about me. What’s up with you and Kari?”
    â€œI’ll cut to what you really want to know, yes, we finally had sex.”
    Dev gave me a pinch on the cheek and in true girlfriend fashion,I gave Dev the entire juicy scoop on the unexpected developments between Kari and me. She was so excited and didn’t hesitate to pat herself on the back for suggesting that I take charge.
    â€œOkay, now that we’ve walked and talked our way through solving the problems of the world, where are we going?” I asked.
    â€œWhat do you want to do?” Dev said, “It’s pretty much your call since you had the roughest day.”
    â€œAt this point I think I need a drink.”
    â€œWell, let’s do drinks and