Lydia And Her Alien Boss
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Authors: Jessica Coulter Smith
Lydia and Her Alien Boss
Interstellar Love Agency #2
Jessica Coulter Smith
Copyright © 2016 Jessica Coulter Smith
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Published by Coastal Escape Publishing
DEDICATION
To my grandmother, who always believed in me. I’ll miss our weekly
writing updates and the merriment that she got from me writing about
purple and blue aliens.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Lydia loaded the last of her things into the trunk of her car and looked up at her bedroom windows for the final time. The flutter in her stomach reminded her that she had more important things to worry about now than her parents’ acceptance. Their financial support was another matter. Once the words “I’m pregnant” had left her mouth, her mother had shut her out and her father had explained that they would no longer be funding her last year of college and she would need to find a new place to stay. They were
generous
enough to let her keep her car, something else they’d paid for.
At twenty-one, she’d never had a job and had never lived anywhere but home.
She’d slept in the same bed since she was just a kid, the same pink walls surrounding her, and now everything she’d ever known was being taken away from her.
“Face it, Lydia, you know exactly how this happened. But no matter that it isn’t your fault, you’re always going to be the one blamed.” She blew her bangs out of her face and got into the car. Her friend, Jenny, was going to put her up until she could figure something else out, but Jenny’s place was small and Lydia would be relegated to the couch, which meant it needed to be a short stay.
Jenny lived on the other side of town near the college. As she pulled down the quiet street full of townhomes and duplexes, she noticed the beauty of things blooming everywhere. Spring had sprung a little early this year. Easter was behind them, but summer was still just a dream. Or possibly a nightmare. There wouldn’t be any trips to the beach with her family and friends this year.
She parked in front Jenny’s duplex and grabbed her suitcase out of the back.
Before she could even get to the steps, Jenny bounded out of her home, a huge smile on her face.
“You’re here! This is going to be so much fun!” Jenny took the suitcase from her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her into the house.
“I don’t know that fun is the word I would use,” Lydia muttered. “You realize I’m pregnant so I can’t be around smokers and there will be no alcohol consumption—
by me at any rate. I know you always thought if we lived together it would be one big party, but I’m just not up for it, Jen.”
Jenny chewed on her lower lip. “I kind of invited some people over. It won’t get too crazy, but when I told Lettie that you’d finally left home, we decided it was a great opportunity for a party.”
Lydia squeezed her eyes shut and blew out a breath. “It’s your home, Jen; I can’t tell you not to have a party. But I won’t be here for it. I’m a single mom without a job and without a home. I don’t have time to party or whatever else you have planned.
Once the money in my account is gone, that’s it.”
“You know you can stay here as long as you need to.”
“I appreciate it, I really do, but I need a place for my baby and me. I can’t live in your living room forever, especially as I get bigger. I need to start buying baby things and setting them aside for when my son or daughter gets here. You have your entire life ahead of you, Jen, and you should party as much as you want. But I’m not a college kid with her whole future ahead of her anymore. I have someone to think about other than myself and this life growing inside of me has no one else to rely on for his or her basic needs.”
Jen smiled a little sadly. “You sound so grown up.”
No one knew the truth of what had happened, not her parents and not her
friends. The truth was that a party terrified her now. Not that she would be drinking alcohol, but someone could easily drug her drink, which is what she suspected had happened. She remembered feeling lightheaded and like the room was spinning before passing out, but she’d just thought she’d had too much to drink. If only she’d realized what else had taken place, maybe something could have been done.
“I need to find a job,” she told Jen. “I’m going to take my laptop to the library and work on a resume.”
“Resume? You’ve never worked!”
“I thought I could do something around my marketing classes and put together a portfolio from my previous assignments.”
Jenny put a hand on her hip. “Lydia, no one is going to hire a college dropout to handle their marketing. You might as well go apply at McDonald’s because you’re going to be slinging burgers and running a cash register until you finish your degree.”
Jenny’s sharp words hurt. The bite behind them was uncharacteristic of her
friend, and she wondered if it was a sign of things to come. It just proved that she needed a job more than ever. If Jenny had a string of parties and trips to the lake planned, sleeping on the couch really wasn’t going to work. At all.
Lydia snatched her laptop and purse, and returned to her car. It was time to get on with her life and find something more permanent. After dumping her laptop and purse in the passenger’s seat, she nearly slammed her door and cranked the radio as she backed down the driveway. Somewhere along the way to the library, she changed her mind about sitting in a place so quiet. She needed a distraction, just not a party.
She pulled into a space in front of Espress Yourself, even though she couldn’t have caffeine any longer. Gathering her things, she went inside, claimed a table, then placed an order for a skinny decaf mocha latte. As she waited for her drink, she looked around. There was a new coffee display with a chalkboard advertisement as the special of the day. It was cute, but kind of plain. Too bad they didn’t need someone to handle their marketing. She’d love working here.
“Lydia!” the barista called out.
She picked up her drink and hurried back to her seat. Letting her cup cool, she opened her laptop and logged into the free Wi-Fi. Lydia really had no idea what kind of job she wanted. Something in an office sounded nice, but with no experience that wasn’t likely to happen. Maybe Jenny was right. Who would hire her to be on their marketing team when they could hire someone fresh out of college with a real portfolio and more experience?
Going back up to the register, she picked up a newspaper out of the bin by the counter and paid for it. Perhaps what she needed to do first was look through the classifieds and see what was available in their bustling little town. She just hoped that whatever job she got would give her insurance. How the hell was she supposed to pay for doctor visits and a hospital bill if she didn’t have insurance? Anything was better than nothing, she supposed, but it wasn’t like she had enough money to buy an insurance policy and survive until she received her first paycheck. Thankfully, her parents hadn’t been able to remove any of the money from her account. Just knowing there wouldn’t be any future deposits made her dizzy. She’d never been homeless before and she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to pull through.
Most of the jobs in the paper were for restaurants and fast food places. The few jobs she saw that didn’t involve food service had qualifications she knew she’d never meet. Her future was looking rather bleak. How was she going to survive and provide for a baby on minimum wage? Was it even possible to rent an apartment making so little? She’d never exactly researched rent around town, always having a place to call home.
A barista wiping down a nearby table gave her a smile. “If you’re looking for work, we’re hiring. The application is online so you can attach a resume, if you have one, and if you don’t have one, that’s okay too.”
“Is it hard? I mean, making all those coffee drinks?”
The barista’s smile broadened. “It was confusing at first and there’s definitely a learning curve, but really it’s just remembering how many shots of which syrup goes into what drink. And if you forget, there’s a bible under the counter with everything typed out.”
“Do you know…” Her cheeks flushed. It was rude to ask this girl how much she
made.
The barista tipped her head. “Do I know what?”
“The pay? And is there health insurance?”
She smiled. “The starting pay is nine dollars an hour, which is better than
minimum wage, and after your six month review you have a shot at a raise. Every six months we can make twenty-five cents more until we top out at twelve dollars an hour.
And yes, there is health insurance, but you have to pay for it so it would come out of your check.”
It didn’t sound horrible. She imagined working in a coffee shop would be fun, and she could make some new friends at work, but why would they hire someone with no experience? Still, it wouldn’t hurt to apply. The worst that would happen is they didn’t call for an interview. She pulled up the Espress Yourself page and opened the online application. There were some things she couldn’t answer, like previous job experience and training, and references stumped her.
Lydia chewed on her thumbnail as she stared at the screen. Accomplishments?
She doubted they wanted to hear that she’d been a cheerleader in high school, or that she’d won a writing competition her first year of college. Then again, the competition wasn’t a bad thing to share. She typed in the information then second guessed herself.
In the end, she left it and then mentioned that she was working on a degree in marketing, even if she wasn’t actively going to class. Once she was more settled, and possibly after the baby arrived, she’d go back to school and finish her degree, even if it meant taking out loans to do it.
Before she could change her mind, she hit submit and sipped on her drink. The barista wandered over and pulled out the chair next to her.
“Did you apply?”
Lydia nodded. “I don’t know that I’ll get a call though. I don’t have any work experience.”
The girl’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve never worked anywhere? How did you pay
for a place to stay?”
Humiliation burned her cheeks. “Until this morning, I lived with my parents
while I took classes at the college, but as of right now, I’m camping out on a friend’s couch until I can get a place of my own.”
The girl snorted. “You’re one of those.”
“One of those?” Her brow furrowed.
“Rich kids. Your parents probably gave you everything. Paid for college, bought you a car, let you live at home. If you had it so good, I don’t know why you would leave.” The girl’s lips twisted in a bitter smile. “Some of us never had a place to call home.”
Lydia felt badly for her, but she doubted the girl wanted her pity. She couldn’t be more than eighteen, if even that, and yet she seemed far more worldly than Lydia herself was. It was true, she’d led a sheltered and charmed life up to this point.
Apparently a baby out of wedlock was the last straw for her parents though. They’d put up with the partying and late nights, but a baby was too much to ask of them.
She gestured toward her stomach. “I’m no longer wanted at home.”
“They kicked you out because you’re pregnant?” Her nostrils flared and her lips thinned. “Assholes.”
Lydia snorted. She doubted anyone had called her parents assholes before, but she couldn’t deny the name suited them at the moment. They hadn’t let her explain, and even if they had, she wasn’t sure she would have. They would have blamed her in the end anyway so what difference did it make?
The girl held out her hand. “I’m Carrie.”
“Lydia,” she said, shaking her hand. “Thanks for telling me about the job. I need to find something soon so I can start saving for a place of my own. I’m not looking forward to sleeping on the couch at party central.”