Wow, I couldn’t believe it.
I met Eliza Rousseau of all people today and was even offered to work for her. Now, granted, I knew it all sounded like some weird sort of brothel thing, but she was in the market of finding people love, too— not just sex. I remembered a couple she had brought together. They ended up getting married, and stayed married.
I sighed. I wasn’t doing this for love, though. And I think Eliza knew from seeing me in the Red Light district that I needed money. And quick. Even though she said she’d call me, and call soon, I knew that would have to come through in order for this to be a done deal. The survival of my family depended on this.
Sex… optional. But with some men it would be a must. Too bad, I was saving my virginity for that special someone… and if anyone had asked me years ago who that person was, I’d have gladly told them it was a boy named Sam Reign. But no, that didn’t work out.
And neither did the boyfriend I picked up during my first year of college either. I was nestled in my bed, glancing out the window at the darkening sky, it was night fall now, and I was sitting next to my phone, staring at it as if it were going to come alive and pole dance.
What if she never calls? I thought aloud.
Tapping my fingers on my jaw, I looked at the time. It was near dinner time— or, I should say, it was time to eat the small bit of dinner we had, anyway. There was grunting and slight thumping coming down from the hallway and I jumped up to see who it was.
I opened my bedroom door and peaked out to see my father slowly making his way up the small hall to the kitchen.
“Damn, I forgot to cook something.”
Dad was having a hard time walking, so I rushed up behind him and supported him at his side so he could get into the kitchen without having to risk a faceplant onto the floor.
“There we go, Dad, I got you!” I said, wobbling under his weight.
“Thanks, Wendy, such a good daughter,” he mumbled.
Damn, it really did hurt to see Dad this way. And there was no way I could cheer him up either. Unless Eliza called with good news. Maybe a gig that’d give me millions!
Hah, talk about a daydream. But even a few thousand would help substantially.
“Here we go, Dad. I’ll get something put together. Are you cold?” I asked, noticing his skin had a slight chill to it.
“I’m good. Take your time. I just wanted to get out of the bed,” he said, shifting in his chair.
The kitchen was cramped even though it was an eat in kitchen. I maneuvered around the other chairs and went back down to his room to get his robe. Dad was such a bad liar sometimes.
“Oh my god, what the hell?!” I hissed, looking at a pile of cash near my father’s bed.
I hadn’t seen it earlier since it was stashed to the right. But now since I was all the way in his room, I had a nice and clear image of fifty dollar bills piled up against his drawer. On the floor.
He must have gotten drunk— which he sometimes did, when depressed— and hadn’t realized he had kept this much dough out on the floor. Kneeling down, I scooped up the money and began to count. It was twelve hundred dollars.
“Well, this is enough to cover rent and a few groceries…”
I stacked the money nice and neatly and went back into the kitchen area to ask my dad why the hell he hadn’t told me about this before.
“Dad, what’s up with this?” I asked, holding the money up into the air so he had a good view of what I was talking about.
“Oh, I won that at the casino. For rent and stuff… Sorry, I forgot to—”
My anger vanished into thin air and I sat down beside him. Even through his pain and problems he was still trying to hold our little family together. Nice to know I wasn’t alone in that struggle.
“Thanks, Pops,” I said, rubbing his shoulder. “Let me cook up the rest of that fish.”
“Take a break and order a pizza for once,” he said, forcing a small smile.
Oh, Dad… I stared at him, tears threatening to spill out my eyes. Like we have money for take-out.
The burning in my eyes and the strength it took for me to not let tears spill out of them was immense. I would only make Dad more upset if I cried. There had to be some way—
Brrrring, brrring.
I perked up, and sprinted back into my room, leaping for my phone and bouncing onto my bed.
“Hello?” I said, answering it while still bouncing on my bed.
“There you are, Dear, I was expecting you to pick up on the first ring,” Eliza said, a small chuckle to her voice. God, it was nice to hear from her.
“Sorry, I was in the kitchen!”
“Well, be prepared to be at my establishment tomorrow. I have a date for you. And, it might even be a bit of a lengthy assignment as well.”
“Lengthy, does that mean…” God, I hated to sound like such a gold digger. “Does that mean more money?”
“Always,” Eliza said slowly with a hint of deviousness. “But he’s a good man. And you match his requested points to the tee. I’m glad I found you. He comes from a good family.”
“Really?” That made the twinge in my gut settle down.
Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to put up with one of those weird rich men that were into extremely kinky stuff that probably didn’t always feel so good.
I was willing. But afraid.
“Yes, really. Be here tomorrow by five o’clock. We’ll handle the clothing and makeup.”
My face felt like it began to sparkle. No one had ever given me a makeover before.
“Wow, okay! I’ll be there. Early too.”
Eliza chuckled and gave me the address. Phew. Right on time. Rent was taken care of and now it looked like other things were going to be taken care of as well.
I hung up after wishing her a good night and danced back into the kitchen.
“Hey, how about we order some good Chinese food, Dad?”
“Sure. You seem happy. Was that a new boyfriend of yours on the phone?”
“Pfft, please, Dad. You know I’m beyond that—”
Bang, bang, bang.
My dad cocked an eyebrow and got up. That banging sounded like a threat.
I went to the door, but Dad gently pushed me to the side so he could see who it was banging on our door.
“Wendy! Come on, answer the damn door,” my ex-boyfriend demanded.
I slapped my forehead and drew my hand down my face. Gross. It was him. Speak of the damn devil.
Dad opened the door.
“Dad?”
My ex, Daniel, saw my dad and backed up. My dad didn’t look too pleased to see him. I could bet that the bruises he saw on me once flashed through his mind, fueling a dormant rage he held for Daniel ever since that day…
“Get away from my door,” my father growled.
Daniel looked over and saw me behind him. “Wendy—”
My Dad lunged at him and picked his body up, throwing him down the hall of our building. Daniel’s body hit the cement floor with a thud and a loud pop. Ugh, that was probably the shoulder.
“Ooohh,” I groaned. “Nice one, Dad.”
Daniel picked himself up off the ground and scowled at my father. “I’ll be back,” he coughed, limping away.
“Come on, Wendy, let’s order some food,” my Dad said, yawning.
With his shoulders slumped over, he trudged back into the apartment.
Just for a second, I saw my old father. The one that used to be happy and full of life, and strong! Ready to defend his daughter. I had had my Dad back, but only for a second. That lit a fire in me. If I could get things more stable financially, maybe Dad wouldn’t be so depressed, then there could be a shot of seeing my Dad again. The real, non-depressed him.
This gig that Eliza was setting me up for better work out. I didn’t care if the guy was amazing, average, or awful. I just needed the money. It was my only hope.