Thirty Days to Thirty

Courtney Psak

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Chapter One

I glance at my watch and notice it’s nine thirty at night, just another late night at the office. I’ve been killing myself at work trying to make partner by the time I turn thirty, which is now a little over a month away. I feel like I’ve gotten a handle on everything, and that’s exactly when my boss Kimsley comes in.
“How are you making out?” he asks. I’m surprised to see him, as this is the latest I’ve seen him stay in a while. He’s got his jacket off and his suspenders are hanging on for dear life.

“I’m good. I finished up your summaries and I was just going to go over a couple of case files.” I stand and hand over a few folders, then search through another pile.
“Listen,” Kimsley starts as he puts the files back down on my desk. He seems pretty uneasy and he’s sweating more than usual. He pulls out a handkerchief and dabs his shiny head, not looking me in the eye. “The firm recognizes everything you’ve done for us in the past six years that you’ve worked here, and especially in the past six months.”

This is it, I think. Finally my moment has come—they’re going to offer me partner! I try to keep my composure as my legs bounce under my desk. I pull strands of my strawberry blonde hair behind my ear and try to keep my seemingly large smile under wraps.
“I appreciate that, sir,” I say, trying to keep my expression stern.
“But as hard as you’ve been working, we aren’t seeing the level of excellence that we had expected you to reach by now.”

I feel my heart drop into my stomach and my eyes grow wide. You know when all of a sudden in a movie something happens that’s not supposed to and you hear the sound of a record getting scratched? That’s what I hear in my head. “I beg your pardon?”
“We’re going to have to ask you to seek new employment,” Kimsley finally says.

My fingers go numb and I suddenly feel myself getting hot. Thirty seconds ago, I was planning my gracious acceptance speech, and now I’m scrambling for my words. “What do you mean? I’ve done everything I can for this firm. If I haven’t reached the level you wanted me to, maybe it’s because I need to be given more challenging cases. I strongly suggest you give me a few more months to prove myself to you.” Suddenly I realize he’s already motioned to the security guard that I hadn’t noticed standing outside my office to escort me out.

I’m defeated. All my hard work, all of my dreams, have been crushed just like that. The security guard, who looks like the big guy from The Green Mile, hands me a box for me to pack my stuff. He’s completely stone-faced and looking at me as if I’m a prisoner who’s just been sentenced. “I’m sorry, Jill, I really am.” Kimsley looks genuinely upset, at least. With that, he walks out the door leaving me alone with the security guard. I’m only thankful no one’s here to

Thirty Days to Thirty Description:

What if you were on the cusp of marrying the guy of your dreams and reaching that career goal you set for yourself, only for all of it to be taken away in one fell swoop? What if you then had to start from the very beginning, right down to moving out of the city and back to the suburbs to live with your parents? What if this all happened a month before you turned 30? This is the story of Jill Stevens, who after being forced to move back home, finds a list she made in high school of thirty things she wanted to accomplish by the time she turned thirty.

With a month left and hardly anything crossed off, she decides to team up with her best friend and her old high school sweet heart to accomplish as much as she can before her birthday. Along the way she discovers that it’s not about the achievements in life but what you learn about yourself getting there. With the help of an old friend and a former high school sweet heart, Jill tries to get her life back on track by trying to accomplish the rest of her list in the next 30 days before her birthday.

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