Page 18 of The Present

9

The long ride back to her apartment gave Tess time to think about the few options she had with the deadline looming for saving her home. She’d been in Chicago for the past five years, having landed her excellent paying job right out of college. Her salary was generous enough that she’d not had any financial worries that entire time and had in fact lived large, at least for her. She’d bought clothes and accessories, gone to theaters and concerts whenever she’d wanted, went out with friends and co-workers after work and generally hadn’t given money a thought.

Looking back on it now, Tess bitterly regretted not implementing some sort of saving plan. When she’d been laid off her bank account had held a little less than two thousand dollars. Now it contained $23.95. Her unemployment benefits had taken up some of the slack, but not nearly enough.

She’d learned to economize, slowly at first when she thought she’d quickly be snapped up by another company. But as the months rolled by and interview after interview brought nothing but rejections, she’d learned how to make a dollar stretch almost to the breaking point. She’d stopped eating out, buying clothes, and any kind of entertainment early on. Then she’d looked at where and how her money was spent and devised a plan.

Her rent was the bulk of her expenses, so that had always been budgeted for first. Food had been easier to save on as she took a friend’s advice and began shopping at a much less expensive grocery story. She never went out drinking, opting to buy discount wine and then, when she started cleaning Janice’s apartment, drinking her sister’s liquor while she cleaned. Janice wouldn’t miss the rum for a rum and coke once a week and Tess needed the outlet. Her car’s gas was an expense, but fortunately parking was included in her rent and when she could, she took the train as a cheaper option. And still, by September, she’d fallen behind. She’d only managed to pay two thirds of the rent for the past three months, so she guessed she was now behind one full month’s rent.

She’d thought about moving to a less expensive place, but the ones she’d looked at were in not great areas. Plus, she doubted she could qualify for an apartment without a job. In hindsight she probably should have taken any job to tide her over until she could get another HR position but, somehow, she’d kept hoping that perfect position was just the next interview away. Now it was too late, and she faced the very real possibility that in a matter of weeks she could be out on the streets.

The Uber put her out in front of her apartment building, and she opted to walk up the three flights of stairs, her hood drawn up over her head as much to keep her warm as to avoid being recognized and stopped by Mr. Garrett if he was on the premises. She opened the door and hurried in, immediately looking around to make sure the management hadn’t tried to start the eviction early. That was ludicrous, of course. She had rights. They couldn’t put her out on the street this minute. But eventually they could. Unless she could come up with the money.

The first person she thought of who might be able to help her was Janice. That might strike some as strange, considering their recent fight, but she was Tess’s only family, here or anywhere. Their parents had each been only children, so when they died, there was no extended family to fall back on. Despite their squabbling, Tess couldn’t imagine Janice would stand by and allow her sister to be evicted when she had the means to stop it.

Tess took off her coat and dug her phone out of her pocket. Better call her right now and let her know what was going on. She glanced at the time. No, Janice would be at work. Not the best time to call. And maybe calling wasn’t the right tack to take. If she showed up on Janice’s doorstep with her plight, the sight of her might go far toward softening Janice’s Grinchy little heart. Better make plans to head over there this evening, try to make peace with her sister and beg for her help. And it very well might come to begging.

The only other person Tess might be able to approach, she refused to even consider. If the worst-case scenario came to pass and she got evicted, she might entertain asking Hal to let her stay temporarily, but that was about all she’d be willing to do. Her relationship with him was too new, too precarious to endanger it with a request for money. She’d barely let herself be persuaded to accept that pair of earrings the other night.

The thought brought Tess up short. She hurried to the bedroom, opened her small jewelry armoire, took out the velvet heart box, and opened it. The diamond earrings sparkled brilliantly against the red. She wasn’t an expert, but they had to be worth much more than fifteen-hundred dollars. This could be the answer to her prayers. Except selling them would seem like a betrayal of Hal. He would understand. And he likely would. But she knew if she sold them, it would hurt him, because it would turn his present into just so much cold cash, not the gift he wanted her to have for helping him taunt Janice.

Reluctantly, she put them away and mentally began preparing for the coming interview with her sister. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope. God help her if that were true.

* * *

Heart in her throat and stomach awash in butterflies, Tess rang Janice’s doorbell a second time. It was after six o’clock. Her sister should have been home before now. It would be Tess’s luck that her sister would choose this evening to work late or go out. She couldn’t stand around here for hours waiting for her to come home, although she had few other options. Maybe she should text her.

Tess pulled out her phone and was in the middle of a sentence when the door jerked open.

Janice, hair wet and slick, piled up on her head, scowled immediately. “What the hell do you want?’

From the thick goo and the tell-tale dark color at her roots, Tess could tell she’d interrupted her sister coloring her hair.

“Hi, Janice. Merry Christmas.” She hurried on before the door slammed in her face. “I need to talk to you. It’s important. Can I come in?”

Frowning, and scanning the hallway for other people who might not know she wasn’t a natural blond any longer, Janice grabbed her shoulder and pulled her none too gently into her apartment. “I have ten more minutes before I rinse. You’ve got that long. What’s so damned important?”

Tess continued into the living room and sat on the white sofa while Janice hovered overtop of her like a vulture. “I got an eviction notice from Carrington today. I’ve fallen too far behind on my rent and they’re threatening not to renew my lease next year because of it.” Her sister’s face remained in a scowl, although her eyes seemed to have some mirth in them. “If I can’t come up with fifteen hundred dollars in two days, I’m going to be out on the street.”

“Well, if you’re asking to stay here, the answer is a resounding no.” Janice stalked back to the door. “You can go, with five minutes to spare.”

“I’m not asking if I can move in here.” Tess would rather move into a pit of vipers. “I’m asking you for the fifteen hundred. I can pay it back as soon as I get hired somewhere.”

“If you haven’t found a job in the past six months, I don’t know what makes you think you can get one just like that, with a snap of your fingers.” Her hostile look intensified. “And having betrayed me in the most humiliating way, I’m afraid I don’t feel inclined to be helpful to you in any way. You should have thought about where your loyalties lay before you let Hal use you to try to hurt me.”

“Oh, damn it, Janice, he didn’t use me. We didn’t do anything that night.” Did her sister really think she was that much of a slut that she’d screw any man who asked her? “We staged it. We took off our pants, draped them around the room, talked for a little while, then fell asleep together waiting for you to appear. It was all an act, for God’s sake.”

Janice’s scowl intensified. “And you went along with him? Instead of sticking up for me, you decided to help him hurt me?”

Oh, God. She wasn’t going to let it go, no matter what. “Let’s put that aside for a minute. I need you to help me. If I don’t pay them the money by Wednesday, I’m going to be put out on the streets in a matter of weeks. I need you to lend me the fifteen hundred.” Tess gazed up at her, but there wasn’t an iota of compassion in her sister’s face.

“Well, you should have thought of that when you were pretending to screw Hal. It might have made a difference to me, although maybe not.” She opened the door. “Now get out.”

Tess rose. This had been a mistake, but she’d had to try. She hadn’t realized life was quite so tough when you didn’t have friends or family you could count on. Maybe one day she’d have that safety net. Unfortunately, though, not now.

Almost out the door, she turned to Janice. Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. “I will say, though, Janice, you didn’t lie.”

Her sister’s eyes were suddenly suspicious. “What do you mean? Lie about what?”

“About how good Hal is in bed.”

Janice sucked in her breath, her face flushing deep red. “You just said nothing happened between you.”

“Not that night.” Tess thought of Hal’s sleek body and hard cock and let her smile grow. “Last night, however, was a different thing.”

Her sister’s eyes narrowed, then an arch smile touched her lips. “Did he take you to The Drake? That was always our hotel. We tore the bed apart whenever we went there.”

“Oh, well, no.” Tess tried to inject as much nonchalance into her voice as she could. “With the snow coming down, he just took me to his apartment.” Maybe another image would make her sister squirm. “We did it up against those huge glass windows.”

Janice’s face seemed to sag, and her voice took on a dangerous, guttural tone. “Glass windows? What do you mean he took you to his apartment?”

The desperate anger and hurt in those words made Tess suddenly realize Hal had never taken Janice to his home. He’d been willing to share that intimacy with her, but not her sister. The thought made Tess suddenly warm and oddly hopeful. “Yes, he did. We spent the night together there.” And one final dig. “Exploring every nook and cranny—in bed and out.”

“Get out!” Janice shoved the door against Tess, pushing her into the hallway. It smacked shut, just missing trapping her scarf, thank God. She was going to need every scrap of clothing to help her keep warm when she was tossed into the street.

Tess waited until she was in her car with the heater running before opening her phone and the Google app. She hesitated, then swiftly typed in pawn shops near me.