Free WILD (Naked, Book 3) by Kelly Favor

service.”
    “Really?” Caelyn asked, surprised and a little hurt by the assessment. “Well, I promise you I’d work super hard to overcome any deficiencies, and I’m very open to constructive criticism.”
    Brittney’s mouth twitched but she moved on. “When are you available to start?”
    she asked.
    “Immediately. As soon as possible,” Caelyn said, trying not to sound overeager but failing miserably.
    Brittney looked at her with a piteous expression. “You might be in luck, Caelyn.
    I really do need a barista and I think, even with your limited experience and skill set in this field, you could eventually learn to be a good addition to our team if you dedicate yourself and listen to your team leaders.”
    “Thanks for saying that,” Caelyn said, hating that she had to scrape and beg for a job from this girl, who clearly was getting off on making her feel low.
    “I’m going to have you fill out an application, but since I’m the Assistant Store Manager, I can pretty much say that you’re hired if you want the job.”
    “Absolutely, I want it. Thank you so much, Brittney.”
    Brittney nodded at her. “But just so you know, I can’t cut you any slack because we know each other. I want to be a Store Manager and then a District Manager. I’m on a great career path, you know?”
    “Oh, yeah. Totally, I would never ask you to cut corners for me.”
    “Good.” Brittney allowed a tiny smile to appear on her lips. “How things change, huh? Who’d have imagined that someday I’d be hiring you to work for me .”
    Caelyn just smiled and held her tongue. She needed this job.
    A few minutes later, she was out on the street with coffee in hand. Part of her was upset by how Brittney had treated her, but the other part of her was simply happy that she had a job. She needed the money, and eventually she would move on and get something better. This was purely temporary.
    At least, you hope it is, Caelyn. But without a college degree—maybe this is the best you can do.
    She pushed that thought away and headed back to the apartment, trying to stay positive. Looking at the bright side of things, within the space of twenty-four hours, both her and Elijah had gotten work.
    Now there was an even better chance that he wouldn’t need to go back to doing anything illegal to make money.
    Not to mention, it would likely help Elijah’s court hearing in a couple of days, when he would go before the parole board. They hadn’t spoke much about it, but the fact of the hearing was hanging over Elijah’s head like an axe waiting to fall.
    Maybe now the axe wouldn’t fall. He was going to prove that he had his life together. Caelyn would help him do so.
    When she got home, she was feeling high from the iced coffee and the thrill of landing a job. She texted Elijah and told him the news but then she was still excited, hyper, wanting to spread the good news to other people. But who would even care?
    And then it came to her.
    She needed to call her mother and apologize for the way she’d jumped in Elijah’s car and taken off. For running to Florida without explanation, for lying, for not giving her parents the respect they deserved.
    Caelyn picked up her cell and quickly dialed her mother without taking enough time as to start to second-guess the idea.
    The moment her mother answered, Caelyn knew something was very, very wrong.
    “Why are you calling me?” her mother answered, her voice harsh and restrained.
    Caelyn was so taken back that she had trouble finding words. She put on a sunny voice, trying to break through whatever anger existed between them. “Look, I wanted to try and explain everything,” she said.
    “I don’t think you can.”
    “Well I can try.”
    “And I don’t think I have any interest in hearing your lies.”
    Caelyn felt like she’d been punched. “Mom, look—I know it seems like I’ve been acting crazy. I know that I didn’t do a good job of explaining myself, and I wasn’t totally honest