“I’ll take her,” I said, walking up to them.
“No,” Lena declared when she saw my outstretched hands.
“It’s okay, I’ll carry her,” Sebastian said and walked out.
I followed, holding Luca’s hand. We dropped him off, Lena never moving from her comfortable perch.
When we got home, I put a snack together for Lena so she’d be busy when I made a phone call I didn’t want to make. Nausea churned in my stomach at the thought of what I was about to do. But I was out of options. And I just had to get over myself.
Things could always be worse. I could have no money left at all. But since I still had a bank account where my wages were paid into, I’d be okay. Just not for too long. And I needed to earn more money or forever live paycheck to paycheck. Jim taking my meager savings showed me how shaky my situation was. I had to make changes.
One wrong move and it would all blow over like a house of cards. I owed it to my kids to try harder, and that started with finding a job that earned more money.
I got Lena settled and walked into the living room. I could still see her sitting at the table, but she wouldn’t be able to hear my phone call. Not that she’d understand or care anyway, but it didn’t feel right to have this conversation in front of her.
Sebastian watched me pull out my phone. “I have to go out. A prospect is watching the house, but don’t go anywhere without me.”
I didn’t even care about him telling me what to do. I had a ton of work to do. And of course there was the call I was about to make.
“Wasn’t planning on going anywhere today.”
He studied me for another few seconds before lifting his chin and walking out.
When I heard the front door click shut, I found the number for Pepper’s.
Smitty picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“Smitty, it’s Nora.”
He grunted. “If you’re calling in sick, don’t bother coming back at all.”
“I’m not. I just wanted to find out if you’re still short a girl,” I said, sweat beading on my brows.
“Are you telling me you’re interested in the position?”
I took a deep breath. “I am.”
“It’s yours,” he said without hesitation.
“But you don’t even know if I can dance.”
“Don’t need to. With your body and all that hair, it doesn’t matter. The customers will love you.”
I unsuccessfully tried to control my breathing, hoping I wouldn’t pass out before I finished the call. “When do I start?”
“Monday. But come in early before your next shift so Tia can show you the ropes and help you with your routine.”
Monday was only four days away. Which meant four days to get a routine right. Four days to psych myself up to take my clothes off in front of strangers.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t be late.”
He hung up, and I ran to the toilet and threw up. I’d had a lot of bad ideas in my lifetime, but this one was probably the worst so far. But I couldn’t go back to an empty bank account. If I just did this for a few months, I should be able to build up a small emergency fund.
I had little hope in getting the money back from Jim. It wasn’t a lot, but it was most of my savings. And him taking it was only the icing on my disaster cake.How did I not see how selfish he was when we first met?
Once my stomach calmed down, I brushed my teeth and went back to the kitchen. Lena was still eating her dry cereal, something that usually kept her busy for a while.
