When the accounting pulls up, it’s just for today and Flora whistles. “Jesus, girl. You have to tell me who he is. I could use that pay day.”
I know why she said it. I also know why it sends a spike of possessive jealousy through me. A feeling I definitely should not have.
I pick my wordsverycarefully.
“I’ll ask Phantom if I can tell you who he is.” I shrug. “Privacy clauses work both ways.”
Sighing, Flora sinks into her chair and says, “I know. I just want to get some more big tippers. There’s a boat I need to buy.”
“Youneedto buy it?” I ask, hoping my laugh doesn’t sound as uneasy as it feels.
“My brother wants it and I absolutely cannotlet him have it. It’s only two million, but that’s before taxes and fees and licensing, and I have not been choosing the best tippers lately.”She snorts and looks up at Coral. “How close are you to your goal?”
“I would be closer if I could get a loan, but there’s no trail for this money the underwriters can trace, so…” She shrugs. “Buying a horse ranch is a pain in the ass.”
I smile tightly and let them keep talking about their million dollar purchases.
Mooralan just paid off my last knee surgery.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to join them in their frivolity. For now…
“Now boarding,”the bot says overhead and the door to the ship opens.
… For now, I’ll go home and keep trying to dig my family out of the mess of my childhood dreams.
CHAPTER 1
Idrop my purse on the chair at the dining table and grimace at the pile of dishes in the sink. The house seems deserted, but it’s the middle of the day. Mom’s at work, Anne better be at school, and my little brother is probably hiding somewhere.
He’s twenty and mom still hasn’t made him get a job. Oh, the luxury of being the baby boy of the family.
But the quiet is nice. I open the fridge and pull out a can of the off brand cola no one else will touch and sit down at the table, pulling out my laptop.
The thing is old enough it takes a few minutes to power on, but when it does, I immediately log in to make this month’s mortgage payment and click through all the nonsense prompts, ignoring the offers and attempts to get me to give friends and family debt for a measly five hundred dollars.
Dad never should have bought this house.
He was adamant that we had to be close to the training gym… he was certain that my career was going to make all our dreams come true.
Dad bought when the market was cheap as hell, but he re-fied when the interest rates were too high and the taxes just keep going up each year. We were upside down in the place before hedied, and mom refuses to sell or move and rent it to someone else…
It’s where dad wanted us. Just because he’s gone, doesn’t mean anything has changed.
She would have defaulted on the place if Phantom’s ad hadn’t shown up at the right time.
But I amsoclose to getting it paid off.
The remaining balance pops up and my heart seizes. My skin feels like it’s covered in prickles and I can’t breathe.
“No.”
I stare at the numbers for too long… as if they’ll magically change to where they should be.
What had been in the low five digits before now shows an ugly $768,880.
“No, no no…” I click through to the information screen.
The interest rate is almost at eight percent and the loan term started…
