She ran a fingertip over the business card, getting a subversive electric thrill as she considered the offer Traci Eddings had made. Two dollars an hour more than what she was making at BluePointe? Plus a hundred-dollar signing bonus? That was nothing to sniff at.
With that kind of money, Livvy could save up enough to transfer to a college out of state. She could even maybe buy a new-to-her secondhand car. But most important was that last bit Mrs. Eddings had mentioned at the end of her pitch.
Free, on-site housing. It wasn’t that Livvy didn’t love her mom. Shannon had been a single mom, and she’d never let Livvy forget that she had sacrificed everything to raise her. But she was twenty now, for Pete’s sake, still living with her mom and her mom’s strict rules. She longed to live on her own, paint her walls whatever color she pleased, maybe even leave a sweater on the back of a chair.
Was that so wrong?
Twice she started to call the number on the card, and twice she chickened out. She took a long swallow of wine, then, finally, made herself take the leap. She sat up, cross-legged on her bed, called the number on the card, and when instructed, left a rapid-fire voice message.
“Um, hi, Mrs. Eddings? This is Olivia Grayson. I waited on you today, at BluePointe? Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the job you offered me. You can call me back at this number. Thanks.”
Just as she was about to disconnect, the front door opened. Her mother was home. Livvy felt her face burn with shame mixed with relief. She’d done it! And it felt fine.
“Liv?” Shannon opened her bedroom door without knocking. Why should she knock? This was Shannon’s house, Shannon’s rules. For now.
They were at the kitchen table eating dinner—Stouffer’s mac and cheese and bagged salad—when Livvy’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID screen and grabbed for it before the call could go to voice mail.
“Who’s that?” Shannon asked, her eyebrow quirked.
“Just somebody returning my call about a job,” Livvy said, pushing away from the table and heading for her room.
Shannon frowned. “Tell them to call back. You know how I feel about using your phone at mealtime.”
“Can’t,” Livvy said.
“Just a moment, please,” she said into the phone, before closing and locking her bedroom door.
“Hi, Livvy. This is Traci Eddings. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time, but I was so happy to get your call earlier. Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Yes,” Livvy said, sinking down onto her bed. “Now is good.”
“Okay,” Traci said. “As I told you earlier, we’re starting to staff up for summer, and I have several positions open at the Verandah.”
“The Verandah?”
“Yes. That’s the main restaurant on the property. There’s also a men’s grill, and an ice-cream shop too. Have you ever visited us here?”
“Don’t think so.”
“Well, we’ll have to fix that. When could you come in for an interview?”
“I could come in tomorrow. Any time before four,” Livvy said.
“Perfect,” Mrs. Eddings said. “You won’t have a problem with drug testing, right?”
“No, ma’am. Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“You mentioned something about on-site housing for employees?”
“We’re renovating an existing building on the property,” Mrs. Eddings said crisply. “We’ll provide a dorm-type experience. Furnished, private rooms but with two shared communal baths.”
“Sounds good,” Livvy said, trying to sound casual.
“The dorm won’t be ready for at least another two weeks, but if your interview goes well, and I have no reason to believe it won’t, we’d want you to start training immediately. Will that work for you?”
Livvy took a deep breath and chewed at her cuticle, a bad childhood habit she’d never outgrown. Things were moving so fast. But maybe that was good. Change was good, right?
