Severance

Convinced by her plea, Bob allows Candace to move into a roomier space, an old Sephora store. He also reinstates her walking privileges, allowing her to roam the mall like everyone else. She spends most of her time reading and thinking about her escape. At night she is again visited by her mother, who details an escape plan and urges her to act early the next morning. Ruifang then leaves, noting that if Candace does escape, they won’t see each other again for a long time. Left to wait alone until morning, Candace starts to pray.

It’s November in New York and the last day of Candace’s contract with Spectra. She has fulfilled her terms and the money has been deposited. She wonders if it even matters, recalling that her father used to say that “work is its own reward” (273).

Passing a looted Henri Bendel store, Candace remembers visiting it once before, on the day that she tried to quit her job at Spectra. A year in, she told Michael she didn’t see herself working as a product coordinator forever. Michael condescendingly implied that she was lucky to have found the Spectra job and advised her to take a few days off to consider her decision.