The VIP Room(121)

Emma looked down at her hands where they were twisting in her lap. This interview might as well be over. He clearly wasn’t going to get over the fact that she got her GED after leaving school in the eighth grade and spending less than a month with the study guide.

No one ever wanted the details. All they ever wanted were the cold, hard facts.

A few minutes later, she thanked him and politely shook his hand as he promised to call her in a few days. She knew that wasn’t going to happen.

She walked to her next interview. It was for a cashier’s job at the same grocery store where she and Sophie had been shopping for the last two years. It mortified her, having to apply for a job at a place where people knew her face, but she was hoping it would help her land a job. At least it would be convenient to the apartment.

The manager was nice, polite despite the fact that his eyes kept dropping to the front of her thin blouse. Even when she crossed her arms over her chest, his eyes kept searching for just a peek of her barely visible cleavage. And here she thought she had dressed conservatively when she left the apartment.

By the time she pushed open the front doors of her apartment building, she was exhausted. So exhausted, in fact, that she nearly missed the pretty pink envelopes that were taped to the front of each of the mailboxes.

She grabbed the one stuck to hers along with the mail, and began the slow climb up the stairs. She kicked off her shoes as she tore open the phone bill, mumbling under her breath as she did the math in her mind, trying to decide if they would be able to pay it with the little bit of savings she had. But then the water bill was there, too, and she realized she wouldn’t be able to pay both.

“Sorry, Soph,” she said to the empty room.

Maybe they could get prepaid phones sometime down the road. Or a miracle could happen and she might get one of the jobs she’d interviewed for today and they would, by some miracle, pay her the same twelve dollars an hour Martha had paid.

And maybe she would meet some billionaire who would sweep her off her feet and steal her away to his castle.

Emma poured herself a glass of tea and picked up the pink envelope. It didn’t say anything on the outside, just her name and apartment number. That meant it probably came from the management company. Maybe they were changing the dumpster policy again. Or maybe, just maybe, they were finally going to fix the elevator.

She tore the envelope open and pulled out the single sheet of paper.

Dear Ms. Allred,

South Plains Village has been bought out by DJC, Inc. As a result, all tenants will be asked to leave when their leases come to an end. According to our records, your lease ends November 30. We will expect you to vacate your apartment before this date. If you have any questions, please call the management office.

Emma couldn’t believe what she was reading. Not only had she lost her job, but now she was getting kicked out of her first, real, paid-for-by-herself home. And a month before Christmas.

Could things get any worse?

But, again, maybe she shouldn’t ask. Because maybe it could.

She folded the letter back up and stashed it in the top drawer of her dresser. The last thing she wanted was for Sophie to see it. They had almost two months. Maybe she could get a new job and find a place to live…maybe.

Maybe she should have let Martha give her money. At least then they’d have security and first month’s rent on a new place. But she couldn’t let herself do that. Once she started taking money from people, she was afraid she would start to rely on it. And that was one thing she was determined not to do. Never again would she rely on anyone for anything.

She’d figure it out.





Chapter 5





Emma went on another round of interviews the following day. She was discouraged. She’d been almost positive the guy at the grocery store would call, but he didn’t. And when she walked into her last interview of the day, she found out why.

“You showed up.”

“I’m Emma Allred. I have an interview scheduled—“

“I know who you are.” The woman stared at her over the length of her desk. She was the head of personnel for a local department store. Emma was interviewing for another cashier’s job.

“Is there a problem?”

The woman snorted. “If I had people calling all over town, warning perspective employers off of me, I think I would have a big problem.”

“I’m sorry,” Emma said, gripping the back of a chair as her head began to swim. “What are you talking about?”

“We got a call this morning. This person said that if we hired you, we would regret it. They said you were uneducated, unprofessional, and hot tempered. They said if we hired you, we would lose key investors.”

“I see.”

“You’ve made yourself a serious enemy, Ms. Allred.”

“I suppose I have.” Emma turned, her shoulders almost too heavy to hold up.

“Where are you going?”

Emma paused, her hand on the doorknob. “I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”

“Well, it’s my time to waste, isn’t it?” There was a look of determination on the woman’s face as Emma turned to face her again. “I don’t like to be threatened.”

A small seed of hope ignited in Emma’s belly as she took a seat and settled in for the interview.