It read 6:30 on my computer monitor. Everyone had left work for the evening, but I wanted to get this approval package done and ready for tomorrow’s team discussion. The sound of shuffled footsteps caused me to glance up from my screen, and I locked eyes with Brian as he strolled toward my desk.

“Hey, I figured you were still here.” He peered over my cubicle, leaning his arms against the ledge wearing a serious face that was unlike Brian. “Uh…I wanted to ask you to dinner,” he continued as he rubbed the back of his neck.

I started shutting down my computer, already mentally exhausted from the day, and my stomach growled at the thought of food. “Sure. Where are we going?” I reached for my wallet, stuffed it into my laptop bag, and turned off my computer monitor.

Brian’s eyes dropped to his shoes and up again to meet my eyes. I quirked an eyebrow, wondering what he was up to.

“Not today. I wanted to ask you to dinner this weekend.” He fiddled with his hands. “As in a dinner date.”

I took his words in and could not help but feel flattered. This usually confident banker was nervous for once, and it was because of me. “Brian, I thought we discussed this. We can’t go there.”

“I know what you said, Beth, but I’ve been thinking. I know it matters to you, but it doesn’t matter to me. Plus,” Brian looked nervously to the floor again, “I like you, and I’d like to take you on a date.” He lifted his eyes to mine.

I couldn’t help the smile on my face, which I felt gave him courage as his eyes lit up. “I don’t want you to think that I’m the kind of guy who makes out with girls at the bar,” he said. “I mean, I used to be that guy who made out with every girl at the bar, but you’re not that type of girl. You’re a dinner-and-movie kind of girl.” Determination was set in his face as he stood straighter. He didn’t break eye contact. “Listen, one date. That’s it. No commitment. If you’re embarrassed or don’t want to be teased, no one in the office has to know. Like I said, I’m into you. I want to take this one girl who is funny, smart, motivated, and unbelievably cute out for a nice dinner. Come on,” he said, giving me puppy-dog eyes.

Looking into the deepest pair of blue eyes, I knew I could fall for this guy if I let myself. Kendy’s voice rang in my head. Maybe I should live a little. Have fun and date. It wasn’t like we reported to the same boss.

“I don’t know,” I said, doubt in my voice.

“One date. Come on. We do have fun together, Beth, and it’s free dinner on me. How can you turn that down? I’ll pick a good restaurant, I promise,” Brian said, lifting two fingers in a Boy Scout oath.

“Fine,” I said, exasperated but still smiling.

His boyish, relaxed demeanor was back at my answer. “See? I knew my persistence and stalkerish tendencies would win out.” He winked.

When he turned to leave, I smiled and put my fingers on my lips, thinking of the other night. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I was excited about our date.

I grabbed my stuff and pulled out my cell phone. I knew it was too late to back out of my date. I’d already accepted going with Brian. I was excited, and I wanted someone to share in my excitement. I didn’t know if it was a good idea, but either way, I was jumping up and down inside. I hadn’t been on a date in quite a while.

The phone call went directly into voice mail.

“Hey, this is Kendy. Leave a message.”

“Kendy, where are you?” I huffed. “I’ve been calling you for days. Miss you, babe. Call me back.” I frowned, dropped the call, and stared at my phone. Where is she?

I’d always shared my giddiness with her. We had been talking about boys since we were in sixth grade. Also, I wanted her advice. It frustrated me that our calls were becoming less and less frequent. I knew part of the reason was due to her work schedule. Either way, it was at times like this I missed her the most.

Instead of walking directly home, I drifted toward Trump Tower and headed past security. Before I knew it, I was knocking at his door. I paused a little bit before knocking again. I was about to turn around when a pretty redhead wrapped in a navy silk robe opened the door. I looked at the numbers on the door and felt my cheeks warm. I was definitely at the right place.

“Hi, um…is Kent here?” I asked shyly, squeezing my hands together.

“Oh, yes, come in. He’s in the shower.” She pulled the door wide open to let me enter.

I stepped in and stood by the door as she shut it behind me. I felt the warmth creep up from my neck to the apple of my cheeks as I shifted from one foot to another. My eyes scanned the area in his condo but Kent was nowhere to be seen.

“Have a seat. I’ll let him know that you’re here.”

I stuck out my hand awkwardly and introduced myself. “Hi, I’m Beth, Kent’s friend,” I said, drawing out the last word. I didn’t want her to think I was another one of his girls, especially when they were obviously more than friends.

She chuckled and shook my hand. “I’m Anne. Let me tell him you’re here.” She glided into his room and shut the door behind her, leaving me standing there, wishing I wasn’t.

I sat down on the edge of the couch and contemplated leaving, but at this point, it was too late. He would already know I was here. When she returned, she was wearing skinny jeans, accentuating her height, and a tank top, showing off her perfect figure. Kent, wearing only a towel, followed right behind her. I caught sight of the well-defined lines of his eight-pack slightly glistening, not fully dry from his shower, and I dropped my eyes to the floor.

“Hi, Beth,” Kent said, using another towel to dry his hair.

I glanced up and concentrated only on his face. “Hey,” I said with a small wave before quickly dropping my hand to my lap.

A dimple emerged on his cheek, and I felt the warmth move from my face to my ears.

He turned to the redhead beside him. “Do you need money for a cab home?” he asked softly, walking her to the door.

Looking at my flip-flops, I felt as if I was intruding on something intimate. At that moment, I wanted to leave.

“No, I think I can manage. I’d tell you to call me, but I know you won’t.”

I glanced up to see a sad smile on her face, making me feel sorry for her. She tiptoed and kissed Kent on the lips before he led her out and shut the door behind her.

“I’m sorry. I know I should have called. I mean, it’s seven. I didn’t think you’d have company—obviously. Either way, I should have called.” I shook my head and stood up to leave.

“It’s fine. You didn’t interrupt anything. We were done anyway,” he said, readjusting his towel.

My eyes moved to where his hands were—right by his happy trail.

“Seriously, can you please put on some clothes?” I angled my head to the floor, embarrassed that he’d caught me staring.

“Stay right there. Let me change,” he said. “Don’t leave,” he commanded before heading to his bedroom.

I sat back on the couch and ran my hands against the black leather, feeling the cool material under my fingertips. Turning to the right, I looked outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows to the amazing view of the city below.

“So, Beth, did you need something?” he asked, pulling a gray shirt over his semi-wet hair.

My eyes moved to his chisled hard-tone abs again and I shook my head to focus. I thought back to why I’d come here. “I’m sorry for barging in. Next time, I’ll call. I called Kendy first, but she didn’t pick up. I needed girlie advice.” I smiled.

He sat right beside me on the couch. “Girlie advice?”

“Why are you smiling like a cheeseball?” I asked.

“Because you’re smiling like a cheeseball,” he said, motioning with his hands for me to continue. “Go on.”

“I have a date,” I said, eyes wide. “But with a coworker,” I added, overly frowning. I explained the situation with Brian and me—how I thought he exuded perfection but how working together complicated things.

Kent rested his ankle on his knee as he listened intently. He did not speak until I was finished talking.

“You’re interested in him, right?”

“Yeah, but we work together. If it didn’t work out, I’d still have to see him day in and day out. Plus, I’d be the gossip of One Financial,” I said.

I’d moved here to escape the gossip, the snickers, the looks of sympathy from the people of Bowlesville, and I didn’t want that to happen here—in my new home in a new city.

“Women are so confusing.” He shook his head. “From the way you described him, he seems like a nice guy.”

“Oh my gosh, he’s perfect,” I squealed. “He’s smart, nice, and successful. He’s funny and super cute. He has the nicest eyes,” I said, bouncing up and down slightly on the couch. “Seriously, he’s happily ever after material.”

“Well then, that’s settled. What’s the problem? Go out with what’s-his-name, have fun, and see where it leads.” Kent shrugged.

“Okay,” I said, clasping my hands together. All I needed was for someone to tell me that besides my doubts, everything would turn out okay. I always had Kendy for that, depending on her for advice when I needed it. I was surprised that Kent was beginning to take her place.

Before I could take it back, I jumped on Kent and wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. “I’m so excited. He’s über cute,” I said. I felt my ears warm when I realized I was practically on his lap and I backed away, embarrassed.

Kent’s smile matched my own.

“Just invite me to the wedding,” he said. “Since I won’t have a wedding of my own, you can have me stand up on your side.”

“Deal.” I nodded.

“Glad that’s decided.” He stood and walked into the kitchen. “I’m hungry. Did you eat?” he asked, opening the fridge.

On cue, my stomach grumbled. “No, but really, I should get going, I have a big day at work tomorrow,” I said, getting up. I reached my arms above my head in a satisfying stretch.

“I’m an excellent cook,” he said, poking his head in the fridge.

“You cook?” I laughed, thinking of his no-job lazy ways.

Kent glanced back at me and feigned insult. “Yes, I cook, and I’m quite good at it. I went to culinary school for fun a while back. Just stay. I promise to serve an excellent meal.”

My eyebrows shot up to the ceiling, but he couldn’t see because his head was back in the fridge. Every day, he surprised me with his unexpected behavior. I wondered what else he did in his free time. Must be nice to take classes just for fun, because he was most likely bored. When he took out steaks from the freezer, my mouth watered.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” I said, knowing my fridge at home was practically empty.

Rays of sunlight warmed my face as I stepped out of One Financial. Done with work and out on time for once, everything was absolutely perfect. I was going on my first date with Brian this weekend. He was the ideal male: cute, smart, and doting. I had the perfect job, a place that appreciated all my hard work yet challenged me every day. Kendy was not here with me, but I realized I had a good friend in Kent.

A grin was on my on my face as I rode the happy train, walking home from work.

And then, I spotted her.

My stomach dropped as tension rose to my shoulders.

It was my mother.

Jamie stood there in front of my apartment, wearing jean capris too tight for her figure and a red tank top that revealed her heart tattoo right above her breast. Her stringy highlighted blonde hair flowed down her back as she smoked her cigarette. Jesse was standing beside her, and I cringed. I didn’t know why Jamie still associated herself with that overweight, tattooed, balding, cheating alcoholic.

I couldn’t believe they were here, but in the back of my mind, I wondered what had taken them so long to find me. I was sure Kendy hadn’t told them where I was, but I had known it was just a matter of time.

I walked toward them and blocked their path to my door. “What are you doing here?” I snapped, already knowing why they had come.

“Baby, I’ve missed you.” She reached for me and tried to envelop me in a hug.

When I avoided her embrace, her eyes flashed with hurt as it had many times before, only I’d stopped believing her after the second time she’d hurt me.

“How did you find me?” I shook my head and crossed my arms in front of me. “Never mind. Leave me alone.”

The alcoholic said, “Beth, long time no see. We’ve missed you.”

“Sure,” I said, glaring at both of them.

I pushed open the door to my apartment complex, and they walked behind me, going past security. I debated telling security they were trespassers and didn’t live here, but I didn’t want to start a scene. Eventually, they would come back. They already knew where to find me.

When someone stepped off the elevator, I stormed in while Jamie and Jesse followed me.

I flipped around to face them. “Why are you here? Oh, wait, I know. Maybe I should ask, how much do you need this time, Jamie?” I glowered at both of them. “I don’t have anything. You took everything I had and then some.”

The elevator opened on my floor, and I stomped out, anger resonating with every step. I slipped my key in and opened the door to my apartment, and once again, they trailed behind me. If we were going to yell, I didn’t want the whole world to know my business involving my deadbeat mother.

“You clean up well, Beth,” she said softly, reaching out for a lock of my hair.

I reeled back, away from her grasp. After throwing my laptop bag on the floor and my keys on the kitchen island, I stared them both down.

“Tell me what you want,” I scowled, crossing my arms in front of me. I was tired of playing this game of figuring out why they were really here. It could only be for one reason.

“Jesse owes some people money,” she mumbled, finally letting out the truth. “And now, he’s in trouble. I promise, honey, I’ll pay you back. I promise.”

I glowered at her. Her hands trembled at her sides, revealing her fear—maybe for his safety from the thugs he owed or maybe for her own safety from him.

“Not my problem.” I lifted my chin in defiance and glared at the two losers in front of me.

“Don’t talk to your mom like that. She’s asking you a question,” Jesse said.

“She’s not my mom,” I countered. “She stopped being my mom when she left me and took me to the bank. She only came back to steal from me and she’s back again. What a surprise!” I spat.

“I said, don’t talk to your mom like that.” He inched forward, step-by-step.

I stood my ground and didn’t break eye contact. “I don’t have any money. Everything I earn at this job is used to pay for the debt that Jamie put me in and for my own bills. I’m left with nothing, and I have nothing. There’s no money to give you. Sorry,” I said unapologetically.

He laughed with no humor. “No money? I doubt that’s true.” His eyes glanced around my apartment and then back to me to do a once-over.

Jamie stopped him from inching forward more and gripped his forearm. “Beth, all we need is five thousand dollars. That’s all we need. I swear, I’ll pay you back, and we’ll leave you alone. I swear it.”

Her eyes begged me to give her what she needed.

I’d been here before. Many years ago, she’d needed my help, and I—being the stupid one—had lent her the little money I’d made from my side jobs in addition to cosigning on that car loan when I’d only been beginning to build my credit. I’d wanted to help her because I loved her, because she was my mother, and because I’d thought she loved me, too.

Now, looking into her emerald eyes that were so much like my own, I felt nothing. There was nothing left for me to give to this woman who had left me—not once but twice. It’d left me devastated, wondering why I wasn’t good enough. I had nothing else to give her, and if I had, I wouldn’t because I refused to be burned again.

“I don’t have any money. I don’t have it!” I shouted. “Now, leave!” I yelled, pointing toward the door.

Jesse shrugged Jamie off, changed his stance, and moved forward. “Listen, you will give us the money we need, and you’ll give it to us now. You got away with talking to your mother like that, but you will not talk to me that way,” he said, pointing a finger at me.

He stopped inches from my face, and I could smell the cigarette smoke on his breath.

“You understand?”

I automatically flinched and cowered. I’d seen him hit Jamie before. Although I’d shown no fear earlier, his proximity scared me. I doubted he would restrain from hitting me if he felt the urge to.

I heard a knocking on the door before Kent entered my apartment, holding a bag of Greek Island Gyros.

“Hey, Beth.”

All of us turned.

His eyes first showed confusion, taking the scene in. Once he saw my face, his demeanor changed.

“What’s going on here? Who are these people?” he asked protectively.

He dropped the food on the island and stalked in my direction before stopping in between Jesse and me. “Is there a problem here?” There was a seriousness in Kent’s eyes, I’d recognized. It’s the same look he had when he confronted the man at the club.

“Hi, I’m Jamie, Beth’s mom.” She flattened her hair, smiled sweetly, and offered her hand to Kent.

Kent stared at her outstretched hand and inspected the both of them. “What’s going on here?”

Embarrassed, Jamie dropped her hand and her eyes focused on my carpet.

“We just wanted to visit Beth. Plus, she owes us some money, and we are here to collect,” Jesse said, taking a step forward and sizing up Kent.

At Jesse’s words, I snapped. “I don’t owe you anything, you liar!” I tiptoed and peered over Kent’s shoulder and glared at Jesse.

His jaw tightened, but I didn’t care. My confidence had emerged as soon as Kent walked through that door.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Letting it all out, I screamed at the top of my lungs, “I owe you nothing! I. Don’t. Have. Anything! It wasn’t enough for you to use my name and rack up debt on credit cards I didn’t even know about. You had to take everything of Nana’s, too, and pawn it. Those things were hers, not yours!” I was fuming. My fists were clenched to my side, and my face burned red from anger.

“I’ve never asked you for anything. I raised myself and worked to pay for everything on my own, and now, I’m paying your debt! And you still want more? What else do you want? Blood? I have nothing left to give!” I screamed. “Nothing!”

“How much do you need?” Kent asked, shooting them a deadpan look.

“Five grand,” Jesse replied.

Reaching into his back pocket, Kent pulled out his check book.

I pulled his wrist back. “No.”

“Beth, it’s only money,” Kent said.

His brown eyes filled with sympathy, and all of a sudden, I wanted to cry.

“No, Kent. Please, don’t. This is my problem, not yours,” I pleaded, peering up at him.

“I’m sure he can afford it.” Jesse smirked.

With all self-control lost, I grabbed my hair and stomped my feet like a three-year-old. “This is bullshit! This will never end. They are always going to want more. It’s never going to be enough. It might not be next week or next month, but they will come back. I hate this. I hate this! I’m so tired of this crap.”

I pulled on my shirt, frustrated, wanting to rip it into shreds. “I told you, I have nothing left. Nothing. Left. I just want you to leave me alone. Leave. Leave! LEAVE! Get the hell out of my apartment! Get! Out!” I yelled as I fisted my hands at my side.

Kent filled out the check and handed it over to Jesse. “You have your money. Now, go.” His expressionless face remained as he looked at Jamie and Jesse. “That is the last thing you will ever receive from Beth or me. Unless she reaches out to you first, you will never call or see her ever again. Do you understand?” His silence required a response. “Do you understand?” Kent repeated, enunciating each word as if he were speaking to toddlers.

“Sure thing.” Jesse nodded as he smiled victoriously. He grabbed Jamie by the elbow and led her toward the door.

“One more thing,” Kent said.

Jesse peered over his shoulder to look back.

“If you ever contact Beth again, I will make sure you go to jail for a very long time for fraud and identity theft. I’m sure the judge would not agree with you using Beth’s social security number without her knowledge and forging her signature on credit cards that weren’t hers.”

When Kent locked the door behind them, I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the direction where Jesse and Jamie had just left. They’d come back, I was sure of it. Despite Kent’s warnings, I know I’d see them again.

“I wanted to start over and forget the past,” I said, my voice toneless. All of a sudden, the fight left me. I felt tired. “Whatever I do, I can never win. The past is always coming back to haunt me,” I whispered mostly to myself.

His warm arms enveloped around me while my arms remained wrapped around myself.

“I told you not to do it, Kent. It’s not your problem. It’s mine.”

“It’s only money, Beth, and it’s unsettling to see you this way.”

His arms tightened further, and the tension that I’d been holding in released as I reveled in his comfort. My shoulders went limp while I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.

“I was devastated after hearing that Nana had died,” I said softly. “When I rushed home from college to bury her, everything was gone. Everything, Kent,” I whispered. “She’d pawned all of Nana’s stuff, and at that moment, I knew I hated her. I hated her for what she had done to me, but most of all, I hated her for doing that to Nana. Jamie couldn’t even respect the mother who had loved her and had forgiven her time and time again.” I leaned into him, the tears threatening to spill over, as my voice shook while I spoke, “She was dead. Dead. And Jamie couldn’t even let her leave in peace.”

He placed his chin on top of my head and exhaled. He pulled me closer, caging me in with his arms. Silence ensued, and I was comforted by our breathing, by the rhymatic compressions of his chest and by the quietness.

“Everything will be okay. I’m here. We’re friends, right?” The continuous motions of Kent rubbing my back continued to calm me. “Well, friends help each other.”

I exhaled a heavy sigh. “Kent, friends don’t just give friends five grand. I can’t pay you back anytime soon. It’s not the end. I know they’ll come back.”

“What you don’t know about me is that I have excellent lawyers, and if they come back, I’ll go through with what I told them. The five grand…well, let’s just say that’s an advance. You can come clean my condo every week,” he said, trying to break my mood.

I closed my eyes and listened to his breathing while feeling the expansion of his chest against my cheek. Exhausted, I had no energy to even laugh.