Sara blinked several times in the morning light. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep. What time was it? She groped around, but her purse with her phone in it was downstairs where she’d left it last night when they’d come upstairs. She rubbed her eyes and let her vision focus. She had to get Ian to school. She had to get to work.
She stood and stretched, then opened the door quietly. She snuck downstairs and went right to the kitchen. It was still early. She had time. But how would she get home? Wake up Saxton and have him drive her? She chewed on lip, thinking, then turned to find her purse.
Saxton sat on the couch, sipping coffee. She jumped and let out a shriek.
“Morning,” he said, chuckling.
“Morning,” she said, guilt returning and flooding over her. She’d ruined his night, too. Would he be able to get back his two grand from the club? Probably not. On top of everything else, she now felt like she should pay him back for that. But she’d never be able to. Maybe when she called Carter, she could work that in. Get Saxton his money back.
“There’s coffee,” he said.
He pointed behind her and when she turned, she saw the half full pot. She must be so used to smelling coffee working at two restaurants, that she hadn’t even registered the smell when she came down.
“Sleep okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it was okay. You?”
He shrugged.
“I’m sorry about last night, I—”
He held up a hand. “Enough said. I’m not mad. Disappointed maybe, but not mad.” He winked at her and her face went warm.
He was just as gorgeous first thing in the morning. Maybe even more so with sleepy eyes and rumpled clothing. Under any other circumstance, she’d be thrilled he wanted her. Just not when it involved him paying her for it.
“I’ll call a cab for you,” he said, picking up his phone. “I need to head out.”
“Oh, okay.” She stood awkwardly at the edge of the kitchen while he called. She wondered if he would pay for the cab. She sure didn’t have money to cover it. But she couldn’t ask him to do that. Not on top of everything else. What would happen if she couldn’t pay? Maybe her neighbor could loan her some cash until payday. How far away was she?
He stood up and walked over to her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of cash. “Here.” He handed it to her.
She gaped at him. “What’s this?”
“The eight grand I owe you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You paid for—and you didn’t get—”
“I paid for a night with you, and that’s what I got.”
She looked at the money. God, how she needed it. But there was no way. “I can’t accept that. Not after how I behaved.”
He stuck out his hand to grab her purse, opened it, and shoved the money inside. Then he reached for his wallet. He opened it and pulled out two twenties. “That should cover the cab.”
Tears sprung to her eyes again. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to. Take care of your son. Keep him in that good school. Don’t let him end up like me, running scams for a living and having to buy sex because I can’t handle being in a relationship.”
She stared down at the floor. How could he do this? She wasn’t worthy, and she could never repay him. She should have sex with him right now. “You seem like you’d make a good boyfriend.”
He harrumphed. “Wish that were true, but my many exes disagree with you.”
“I don’t see how they could.” She met his eyes and blinked away her tears. “Thank you.”
She leaned forward and pushed up on her toes to kiss him. He kissed back, pressing his lips against hers. This kiss felt much nicer than their kisses last night. Maybe because she’d started it? But instead of pressure and obligation, this kiss was filled with guilt and regret. She should have slept with him.
Outside, a car honked.
“Cab,” he said.
She turned to leave.
“Hey,” he said.
She stopped and turned back around. He held her purse out to her.
She grabbed it and kissed him again. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Outside, the cab waited in the driveway. She opened the door, climbed in, and gave the driver her address. As the car pulled away, she stared up at Saxton’s house in awe. Who was this guy? Why had he treated her so good when she didn’t deserve any of it?
The cab stopped in front of her house fifteen minutes later and she handed the driver the two twenties. It had been enough to cover the bill, plus the tip. She dashed inside and up the stairs to her floor. She knocked on the door of Patty’s apartment and a minute later, she heard small feet pounding, then the door flew open.
“Mommy!” Ian jumped into her arms. “We played Sorryfour times last night!”
“That’s great.”
Patty walked into the living room wearing a thin nightgown over her plump frame, shaking her head. “And he beat me every time.”
“You look so pretty, Mommy.”
“Thank you.” Oh, why hadn’t she changed first? “I had a very fancy dinner last night.”
Patty smiled and nodded. She assumed that her date had gone so well she’d slept with him. If she knew the truth, what would she think of her? Would she be ashamed to live beside such a woman? Would she think she was a bad mother?
“Thank you so much, Patty.”
She waved off the thank you. “My pleasure. Glad you had a good time.”
Sara forced a smile. “I did.” Well, if nothing else, she’d made a ton of money last night for doing little more than talking to Saxton and giving up her dignity.
She took Ian next door to their apartment. “Okay kiddo, go get dressed so I can take you to school.”
Sara took a fast shower and dressed in her uniform. She wished she’d drank some coffee at Saxton’s. The fatigue settled in her bones. It was going to be a long day. But she could get coffee at work. Lots of it.
When she was dressed, she reached for her purse. The edge of the wad of bills stuck out. She pulled it out, made sure Ian was busy eating his cereal, and counted the money. All eight thousand was there, in hundred dollar bills. She’d never held so much money. It looked like a lot. A stack of large bills, all hers. Well, Saxton’s.
The guilt washed over her again. Ian wasn’t his responsibility. He shouldn’t have given her this money. And she had no way to pay it back. She could never afford to give him all ten grand. It’d take her fifty years to save that up. She didn’t even have his address to write him a thank you note. And she didn’t think the club would have it. She hadn’t seen him give out any personal info, and why in the world would they keep files like that? Besides, she wanted to be nowhere near that warehouse ever again, even if it was just to collect information. She should have paid attention to his address when she was there.
“All done!” Ian came running into her room.
Sara quickly shoved the money back into her purse. She’d deposit it first thing to make sure nothing happened to it. She felt a little paranoid having so much cash. What if she was robbed or lost it somehow?
“Let’s go,” she said, and gave Ian a big kiss on the forehead.
They piled into the car and Sara secured her purse in the glove box, after making sure the money was safely tucked inside and her purse was zipped up. She dropped Ian off and rushed to the bank. This might make her a few minutes late for work, but she had no choice.
She hurried into the bank with her purse under her arm. At the small counter, she filed out a deposit slip and waited for a teller. When she approached the window, she set down the cash and slip and waited as the woman brought up her account info and counted the cash.
What would this woman think? If she could see any sort of account history, she would know that there was hardly ever more than a few hundred dollars in her account, and that she’d overdrawn it several times in the last year. The woman had to know she hadn’t just worked for it. Would she think she robbed someone? Or would she assume correctly, that Sara had sold herself?
The woman smiled at her. “Here’s your receipt. Have a nice day.”
Sara smiled back. There wasn’t a hint of judgment in the woman’s face. Maybe she was just used to strange money flow patterns in people’s accounts. Maybe she assumed Sara had a rich relative who died. That sounded like a good option. If anyone asked, that’s the lie she’d go with. Poor old Uncle Harris. Died of lung cancer, poor man. He’s in a better place now, and can you believe he left all his nieces and nephews money? What a guy.
“Thanks, Uncle Harris,” she muttered to herself as she backed out of her parking space and drove to work.