It's very expensive up here
You need a lot of money to rent an apartment
Cash up front
She knew Stacy didn't have the savings for a New York City apartment. You had to pay first and last months’ rent plus broker fees. It was not cheap, unless you wanted to live in a situation like she had with Arnold.
Well I shouldn't need one for long!
I've got some leads for a husband up there
What on earth?Allie thought as she furiously typed a series of question marks.
I'm a sugar baby!
Sugar baby? Wasn't that what Carter's grandfather had been going on about?
I don't think those men marry their sugar babies
She couldn't believe Stacy would have managed to find a New York husband unless she tricked some poor kid from the Bronx into thinking she was the love of his life.
This one will
The last message came with a string of emojis.
Allie was cross. If Stacy did somehow manage to snag and marry a rich husband, Allie would… well, she didn't know what she would do. She would have to accept that life well and truly wasn’t fair.
Of course life isn't fair,she thought.That Holbrook has ruined your perspective. You need to work harder—that will take your mind off of things.
She checked her bank account. Carter had stopped sending her money for Margot. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up with him. The dog didn't eat that much, but she missed having that extra money coming in.
You need to take control of your own future,the practical part of her thought.Carter won't save you.But she wanted him to! All they did was have sex in the print room, though, and she wasn't an expert or anything, but that did not sound like the beginnings of a real, serious relationship.
The romantic part of her that hadn't yet been snuffed out by hard-earned cynicism wanted Carter to declare his love for her or at least take her out for a nice meal or something.
The next morning in the print room, she was reminded once again about how much her dreams about Carter would never,evercome true.
She relished the way his body curved around hers, the way his muscles rippled under his skin, and how much pleasure he took from her. Carter was sweaty from working out, and she inhaled the scent of him and tried to ignore the voice that told her this was an exercise in futility.
Say something romantic,she thought.
Carter stretched, yawned, kissed her, and then said, "I'm going to shower. I love having you as my reward after a good workout."
Her heart sank as she watched him go.
A few moments later, she walked back to the gym as well.
She angrily combed out her hair after she got out of the shower after their clandestine tryst in the print closet.
"And that's all it is to him," she muttered to herself, angrily yanking out a tangle. "You let him fuck you and get nothing in return. Not even the courtesy of being respected."
Her original plan when she came to New York City had been to find a bartending job. She had been putting it off because she didn't want to give up her time with Carter. She supposed a part of her had been looking at it as… what? An investment in a relationship?
She knew she needed to cut him off, but a part of her still held out hope that he would evolve and treat her like a proper girlfriend.
Allie, you're an idiot, and you've been played.
On her way home from work that night, Allie walked past an upscale bar with a HELP WANTED sign in the window.
