Terrible Advice From a Career Temp- Chapter Three: Network, If You Must

It was the early hours of the morning by the time Piper slipped into the snug apartment. She had taken an Uber from her bus stop, too tired to care about the extra fare. Dena met her at the door and pulled her into a hug. “How was your trip?” Piper handed her the decoratively wrapped baby basket she’d picked out with Hawk for Sofie. Dena smiled and set it on the kitchen counter. “It was great,” Piper said, kicking off her shoes. “But I’m sorry I missed Sofie’s baby shower.” Dena’s eyes widened. “Oh, there was no baby shower,” she said.

Piper frowned, lowering herself onto the couch. “What do you mean?” Piper asked, confused. “Whitney said it was a baby shower,” Dena explained, “but what she actually threw was a ‘Grandma Shower.’”

Piper winced, guilt twisting in her chest. “That bad?” Dena nodded. “Benny saw the banner when he drove up and turned the car right around. We’re having a real baby shower this Saturday at Olive Garden. Whitney’s not invited—Benny’s orders.” Piper couldn’t imagine how someone as thoughtful as Benny could have someone as insufferable as Whitney for a mother. Piper could have talked for hours about all the fun she’d had in San Diego, but exhaustion tugged her under before she even made it to her room.

In the days that followed, Piper threw herself into helping Sofie plan her actual baby shower. Sofie mentioned she missed her old friends from school since switching to online classes. Piper realized she hadn’t reached out to any of her friends either—not since graduation. Life had gotten busy in a quiet, unnoticed way. Even her texts with Hawk had become sporadic. She missed him, but they were both chasing their own obligations, and after enough missed replies, even the words started to lose their weight.

Piper focused on her family and on finding work. Dena and Benny were out most days, taking every shift they could to afford the larger apartment Dena’s coworker had offered them. It was an over-the-garage unit—still just one bathroom, but with two bedrooms instead of one awkward master everyone had to walk through to reach it. It even had a full-size washer and dryer in-unit, something the girls hadn’t enjoyed since living with their father years ago. Best of all, it was in a better part of town: no more creepy old men at the pool, no mysterious stains in the shared laundry room, no overhearing late-night shouting matches through thin walls, and no semitrucks rattling the building from the nearby highway. It felt like a step forward, a sign that things were finally turning around. Piper was determined to believe in that.

The day of Sofie’s shower dawned bright and clear. Piper smiled as sunlight spilled through her curtains, the air humming with a kind of earned optimism. She’d expected Sofie to still be furious about Whitney’s hijacked event, but Sofie only shrugged.

“I had a feeling something wasn’t right,” she said. “Whitney insisted on planning everything but never asked for my friends’ numbers—or what I wanted. The biggest red flag was that the gift registry was private.” Piper asked if she was upset she hadn’t been there.

“If you had come,” Sofie said, “Whitney would’ve dragged you into it. It would’ve been a bigger scene instead of just a mess we could walk away from.”

Piper laughed softly. “You’re probably right. I’d have told her off.”

“Exactly,” Sofie said. “And that wouldn’t have helped anyone.” Dena must have had the same instinct, which was why she hadn’t even taken the afternoon off that day.

At Olive Garden, they had a small private space Dena had reserved as soon as she heard about Whitney’s fiasco. The atmosphere couldn’t have been more different—warm, light, full of laughter. Piper caught up with Sofie’s old school friends, swapping stories over salad and breadsticks. After the gifts were opened and the cake was cut, she found herself chatting with Chevy, one of Sofie’s former Girl Scout troopmates. “So what’s it like being out of high school?” Chevy asked. Piper shrugged. “Honestly? Harder than I thought. I can’t even land a week of steady work. Minimum wage, anything.” Chevy nodded sympathetically. “My cousin Ansel runs this poker event business—hires girls for charity and private parties. The hours are random, but the pay’s good. I can’t do it until I’m eighteen because they serve alcohol, but you could message him. His X handle’s BlackJackEventsCV. I’ll send you the link.”

That evening, once they’d packed up the last of the decorations and made it home, Piper messaged Ansel. Chevy had given her a glowing reference, and to her surprise, he hired her immediately.

The pay was solid—twenty-five dollars an hour, plus tips, which was where the real money was. Ansel warned her that most of the gigs were around holidays, maybe three or four a month, so she’d still need a day job. Piper didn’t mind. It was the best offer she’d had yet.

The uniform was simple but sleek: a fitted black collared dress, low black heels, dark lipstick, and modest nails. Her hair had to be worn down. Her shifts ran from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays through New Year’s.

Her only problem was transportation—she didn’t have a car she could trust to make it across town. Ansel added her to a group chat with the other servers, seven in total, who usually carpooled to save on parking. Ramon, the caterer, offered her a ride if she helped with dishes afterward.

Piper hated doing dishes, but agreed. He was the only one who had offered, after all. Ramon was known for recruiting Ansel’s staff to help him clean up—a habit that made the work go faster, even if it meant an uncomfortably packed van ride home. Now all she had to do was learn how to deal cards without looking like she was learning. Benny and some of his construction friends helped Piper with that. It was more fun than she expected. When Hawk finally did catch up to her messages, he made her blush when he told her she looked "hot" in her uniform.

The first gig she was added to started with Piper crammed in the back of Ramon's catering van, making sure the cake didn't fall when he hit the brakes. With her were John, Al, Trish, and Daisy. Each had their own story. John was young and fresh out of jail for throwing a brick into a rival's driver's side window. He was twenty-two, quiet but always smiled at whatever joke someone was telling. Next was Trish, Piper's supervisor. She was in her mid-thirties, but looked much older from a life of tanning beds, over-bleached hair, cigarettes, and drinking. "Are you sure about that?" might as well have been her catch phrase. Al was a charming server who was Ansel's personal friend but actually worked for Ramon. Daisy was new like Piper. She was very thin, and her eyes watered at the drop of a hat. Daisy hadn't gone to school with her because she was homeschooled, or so she assumed. Piper wasn't sure if she was about to cry or not, but tried her best to put Daisy at ease.

When they arrived, it felt like they were getting out of a clown car at the circus. Piper met the rest of the crew. Most were one-time hires just for the night. Piper immediately took a dislike to Petie and Sawyer. The two were friends who came together in Petie's Honda. Sawyer especially hovered too close to Piper, critiquing her needlessly, despite not doing his work himself. Last was Malika, whom Piper stayed closest to. She was a college student who was only there to set up. She noted loudly and often that she was leaving after the second break cycle, because she was "working her way through med school." Malika added a heavy wink-wink motion as if the world didn't already know what that meant. Piper felt like she was putting on a front and that she'd probably take up more shifts in the future.

The event was a retirement party for a group of old harbor workers and their wives. The crowd was grey, but hardy. Piper thought this was a nice way to ease into her first time. They set up and were serving before Piper realized. Piper was one of three dealers and the only female who dealt cards. Daisy worked the craps table and Petie the roulette wheel. She was so practiced at playing with Benny's friends that she could easily switch between blackjack and poker. By the end of the night, most of the guests were laughing and drinking around her table. One of the old timers chuckled; she was the "one to beat." Piper's tip cup was filled to the brim.

After the cleanup, Sawyer and Petie approached Piper, wanting to split her tips. Piper felt attacked. Al stepped in, chiding them, because it was already discussed that tips belong to the individual and were not pooled. Piper was relieved because they seemed to wait for her to be alone. "Thanks, Al. Those guys are really rough." Piper said. Al, looking at them leave, "Sometimes these guys think they are real sharks, but they're just pool hall washouts. Ansel only hired them for the night because there were supposed to be more people coming. He already said they won't be back." Piper felt her shoulders relax, hearing that. She did not want to see either again anytime soon. She asked Malika if she could recruit any of her friends from school or work for the next event so that no one as bad as Petie and Sawyer would be back. Malika said she'd, "see what she could do."

Back at home, Hawk texted Piper, wanting to know how her night went. "You should be jealous. I got two guys' phone numbers and a marriage proposal." She quipped. Hawk interguied messaged back, "Don't go breaking my heart. I thought you were my girl." Piper replied, "Don't worry. Men over seventy aren't my type. Lol," She sent him that message with the poker table taken from earlier. All were as salty in looks as could be expected, with smiles around Piper.

Hawk sent her a laughing emoji. Piper texted, "What are you up to?" Hawk replied that he was in San Diego, but was likely to be working out of North Carolina for the foreseeable future. Piper was sad about it, but they could always stay friends. She said they would have to hang out if he were ever nearby. He promised he would.