For that reason, and because the balance of her savings was rapidly headed in the wrong direction, every choice came with a price. She’d emailed the apartment manager about moving into a one-bedroom as soon as one became available and bought a new laptop. Boxed samples and her resume had gone out to over two dozen bake shops and caterers. A blowout on the interstate during those deliveries meant a new tire, so when it came down to it, replacing the mixer just wasn’t feasible.
Besides, she had her grandma’s old one. It still worked…ifshe held the cord just right.
So far, no call backs.
With a sigh, Jo headed back toward her room to put sheets on her new bed. No more mattress on the floor. Brooke had insisted Jo have her bed since there was no room for it in Aaron’s one-bedroom loft.
As she entered her bedroom and reached for the sheets, the steady knocking from the other side of the wall stopped her.
Ugh. Again?
A sharp cry and a long moan loud enough to rattle the vents told her she’d caught the tail end of her neighbor’s sexcapades.
With dreams of Avery Preston “making her dreams come true” every night for the last two weeks, her libido was already in overdrive. She didn’t need the added stimulant.
Her phone buzzed. She pulled it from her hoodie pocket and glanced at the incoming text.
Walt: You haven’t RSVPed.
Jo groaned, the horny couple forgotten. Not only was the text not from the one place of employment she hadn’t heard from. It was from her dad, and though they were only words, she could hear the angry disapproval behind them.
I’ll deal with him later.
She tucked her phone back in her pocket as Brooke breezed into the room with Viv in tow. “Look who I found.”
Viv rushed forward, the swish of her oversized, purple puffer jacket loud in Jo’s ears. She wrapped Jo in a tight hug. “Damn, girl, I’ve missed you.”
“Missed you, too.” Jo squeezed her back.
They parted, and Viv checked her watch. “I gotta run, but will you come check to make sure I got everything before I go?”
“Sure.” Jo led the way down the hall.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t make it over here sooner. Your stuff’s been rattlin’ around in my back seat, remindin’ me to keep mypromise, but ever’ time I started to head this way, somethin’ came up. We got slammed at work after the Reese-Preston shindig, and Cal’s had the flu.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just grateful for the favor.” Actually, after she’d heard from Viv that her things were safe, Jo had forgotten about them.
“It’s been miserable without you,” Viv said. “Everyone’s so mad. Me and Theo are lookin’ for new jobs. Have you had any luck?”
“Nah,” Jo said, grabbing the box by the door and setting it on the kitchen table, “but I still have a few places I haven’t heard from.”
A lie, but she didn’t want Viv to worry about her. Brooke was worrying enough for both of them and threatening to slash Giselle’s tires on a daily basis. Jo had laughed until the tire shop showed her the gash in hers yesterday.
“You reap what you sow,”she’d reminded Brooke that night in her best grandma voice.
As Jo went through the box, Brooke asked what she couldn’t bring herself to. “Do you think Giselle might have blacklisted Jo?”
Jo held her breath as she placed her extra piping bags on the glass tabletop.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past her.” Viv looked pointedly at her. “She’s been bitchier than usual, especially after Just Avery showed up first thing the Monday mornin’ after.”
Jo’s stomach dipped. “He what?”
She’d almost managed to forget about the part he played in getting her fired. Almost. When she did think about him, it had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with his filthy mouth and the fantasies it induced.
“…a long night of hot and sweaty, down and dirty fucking.”
A hot flush warmed Jo’s cheeks as a big grin split Viv’s face. She bounced on her toes, black curls bobbing. “He waltzed in lookin’ like a million bucks, and let me tell you, Gruella was simpin’ hard, practically had drool drippin’ from her fangs.” She laughed. “She thought he was there to schedule an event. Anyway, I couldn’t hear what they was sayin’, but when they came out, she told me to show him to the door and…” Her eyes danced as she paused for dramatic effect. “He asked about you and for your phone number.”
