Her leg is twitching now, her heel thumping on the floor. She’s excited. I can practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.
“As you saw from the photo, Kathryn and I have…a thinggoing,” I explain.
“Well, duh,” Francesca snorts. “I could tell by the way she was looking at you.”
“And that’s how you knew to take the photo, right?”
“Right.” She nods.
My hands are tingling. I think about Kathryn now, sitting at home on the couch, wrapped in her Christmas blanket.
If she could hear this conversation now…
“Well, Fran, did you not think to come to me before blackmailing Kathryn?”
Fran frowns again, processing. “Why would I come to you? You’re involved with her.”
I scoff. “Involved? Please. I’m with Kathryn for the same reason you are. Money!”
She stares back at me, and then finally, it clicks.There you go, girl.
“Wait, so you…you had the same plan as me?” I just nod. “To get incriminating photos and blackmail her?”
Again, I nod.
This time, Fran bursts into laughter. “Holy shit, dude! This is like…so fucking amazing! You want to like, team up and get more money out of the bitch!?”
Grinning, I lean closer. “I wanted to ask you, though—why blackmail her? She pays you well, right? And she has plans to promote you.”
You’d think I’d just asked the most ridiculous question in the world by Fran’s reaction.
She stands up and waves her arms around her apartment. It’s minimal but livable. And unlike me, she doesn’t have to share it with a roommate.
“Look at this place!” She sneers. “Have you seen Kathryn’s house? It’s like she lives in another universe than the rest of us!”
“Yeah, I see what you’re saying—”
“And sure, she gave me a nice Christmas bonus, but she could have givena lot more.”
She’s practically shaking with anger now and goes over to the table, picks up a plate, and throws it at the wall. It shatters everywhere.
“You know how many plates she could buy if she wanted? She could literally buy this building, and she thinks a Christmas bonus is enough?”
Again, I nod. “So you figured, why the hell not just blackmail her and get some more cash?”
“Exactly!”
“Smart.” I smile, getting to my feet. “Listen, I have to go now. I told Kathryn I was going to get some things from my apartment and she’ll get suspicious if I’m not back soon.”
“See?” Fran curses under her breath. “The bitch hasyouunder control too.”
“Yeah…” I reply, trying not to smile.How wrong you are.
I open the door, but before I can step outside, Fran comes up beside me and grabs me by the arm. “So…I’ll hear from you? About teaming up?”
I never noticed until now just how short Francesca really is. “Yes, you’ll hear from me.”
Her eyes are shining as I close the door behind me—gleaming with thoughts of all the riches she’s about to receive.
