I felt him press up against me, felt the evidence of what he wanted from me. And, I won’t lie, the thought crossed my mind. Once. Very, very briefly. I needed this job. I was already two months behind on rent, three months behind on my electric bill, barely keeping up with my tuition and my brother’s, plus the ever-mounting costs of caring for Mama. I could do what this douche knob wanted, and keep my job. It wouldn’t take long. A few unpleasant minutes, if that long. He was old, past sixty, I’d guess. Fit enough for his age, but by no means virile.
But…no matter how desperate I might be, that would never happen. Not like this. Not with this guy. If he was hot, and I wanted to, maybe. It would be one thing if this were a kick-ass job that really paid the bills. But it was a temp job. Hourly, and a shitty hourly rate at that. Barely enough to cover one bill, much less all the bills I had to pay.I turned, letting him hold on to my wrist. For the moment. I lifted my eyes to his, putting on my best poker face. “Yeah? Just like that? That easy, huh? Suck you off, and you’ll let me keep my job? Let you fuck me over the desk, and I’ll get the permanent position, too, I bet.”He missed the dangerous calm in my voice. “Now you’re thinking.” He licked his lips, lifted a finger to touch the apex of my cleavage—the little of it that showed in my conservative work outfit. “You’re a very attractive young lady, Miss Lomie. I’m sure we could come to an agreeable arrangement.”God, I hated the arch, faux-formal way he spoke. An agreeable arrangement. I forced down my revulsion for a few more seconds. “What did you have in mind, Mr. Trevor?”My spine crawled with disgust as his eyes leered and his tongue flicked out over his thin, pale lips. He made short work of his belt, and I heard the telltale zzhhrip of his zipper going down. I didn’t look, didn’t want to see what he’d just pulled out.“Well, let’s just see how you do, and we’ll go from there.” He leaned back against the edge of his desk, a greedy smirk on his face. “And…unbutton the blouse a bit.”I toyed with the button of my shirt, staring into his sludge-brown eyes. “You want a little show, huh, Mr. Trevor?” I freed the top button, which I would’ve done on the elevator anyway. I felt my breasts loosen a bit, no longer quite so constricted. His eyes devoured the expanse of cleavage. “How’s this?”“Very nice. But…how about a bit more?”I nodded, as if this was perfectly reasonable, still refusing to look down at his crotch. And then, without warning, I snapped my head forward, felt my forehead connect with his nose, felt cartilage break. I stepped away as crimson blood sluiced from his nose. “How about fuck you, Mr. Trevor?”I left him bleeding, sagging against his desk. I shuddered as I caught an accidental glimpse of his wrinkled, veiny, now-flaccid penis hanging over his zipper. God, I could’ve gone the rest of my life without seeing that.I opened his door and walked out, glanced down at my shirt, and cursed as I realized I had a few droplets of blood on my blouse. I stopped in the women’s room and dabbed cold water onto the stain, then retrieved my belongings from my desk, I didn't not have much, it did not take me long to pack my belongings including my family photo, which has been the only thing motivating me at work to do better.Before Dad was murdered. Before Mom got sick. Before I went from innocent, naïve, privileged college girl to primary breadwinner for three people, one of whom didn’t even recognize me most days. Before life went completely down the drain, putting all my dreams out of reach, leaving me desperate, exhausted, stressed, and frustrated.I stuffed my things into my purse and walked with as much dignity as I possessed toward the bank of elevators, hiding my mirth as I saw Mr. Trevor being escorted out by security. His pants were buttoned, but not zipped, and his once-impeccable suit was spattered with blood. Two more security staff members were going from cubicle to cubicle, looking for me, I supposed.I took the stairs and exited the building.Since my temp agency never had any parking spots available, I caught the bus over to their offices, hoping I’d be able to find another job right away.My contact, Christiana, tapped on her computer for several minutes, then turned to me with a slight frown. “I’m sorry, Freya, but we just don’t have anything else right now.”“He sexually assaulted me, Christiana.”Christian let out a long breath. “I understand that, Freya, and he will be dealt with accordingly, but that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have any work available at the moment.”I tried to keep breathing. “Can yo
I took a deep breath, put the check face down on my lap, and blinked several times. Hard. Okay, look again. Yep. It said, Pay to the order of Freya Lomie, in the amount of twenty thousand dollars and zero cents. At the top left of the check was the payer: Trn, Inc.And there, in the bottom left-hand corner, on the single line opposite the illegible signature, was a single word. YOU. All caps, all in the same bold, neat script that appeared on the envelope. I examined the signature again, but it was little more than a squiggly black line, but there was no way to be sure. I guess that would make sense, given the fact that the payer was TRN Incorporated. But that didn’t tell me much.No note, nothing in the envelope except the check. For twenty thousand dollars.What the hell was I supposed to do? Cash it? Twenty thousand dollars would pay current rent due, as well as the past due amount; it would get the electricity turned back on after paying what I owed them…twenty thousand dollars wo
At Kelly's apartment, I kicked off my shoes and accepted the Bud Light she handed me. Kelly was half-black, half-Italian, all attitude and curves. Long black hair, dark brown eyes, and flawless mocha skin. We had been best friends since the first day of college, roommates for two years, until she met Tom and got serious enough to move in with him.I sat back on her ratty couch, drained half of my beer, and then handed Kelly the envelope. Or, as I thought of it, The Envelope. “I got this in the mail today. Just like that. Out of the blue. Open it.”She frowned at me, then examined the outside. “Nice handwriting.”“I know. But look inside. And…maybe sit down.” I took another long pull of my beer.Kelly perched her butt on the arm of the couch beside me and withdrew the check. “Holy shit!” She looked at me, her eyes wide. “Frey, this is twenty thousand dollars. You know what you could do with this?”“Yeah. I do. But…where did it come from? Who sent it? Why? And more importantly…do I dare
Here.” I folded her fingers over the edge. “I know you need it.”She stared at me. “Um. No.”I nodded. “Um, yes. You didn’t think I wouldn’t share with my best friend, did you?”“Freya. You can’t give this to me. You need it.”I smiled at her. “You do, too. I have enough now. You’re not just my bestie, Kelly. You’re…you’re like family. So just take it and say thank you.”She sniffled. “You’re gonna make me smear my mascara, hookerface.” Kelly took a deep breath, blinked, and visibly forced away the tears. “Thank you, freya. You know I love you, right?”It was a big deal for her to say that. She had grown up in a tough household. No abuse, just cold and closed off, not the kind of family that exchanged declarations of love on a regular basis. I knew she loved Tom, but I’d never heard her say it.I was very much the same, growing up in a stable and happy home, but not one where everyone was given to frequent hugs or I-love-you’s. Kelly and I had been best friends for more than five year
Shit. Not good. Not good. Not good at all. I called Kelly, and she agreed that the meaning could be ominous, but she also agreed that since I had cashed the first one, I might as well cash the second one. I was in deep; I already owed whoever it was more money than I’d ever be able to pay back, so why not dig myself in that much deeper? If they came collecting I’d be just as fucked, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasted, right?So I cashed it. Paid bills. Fixed the AC on my car, and replaced the long-dead radio. I went behind Kelly's back and paid her rent. Attended class, went to work, begged for extra shifts, begged to be trained as a server. And, eventually, I got the server position, which helped a lot. The month passed, and soon it was the middle of the month again. As the days folded one into the other, I tried to ignore the hope that I’d get another Envelope.And I did.My hands shook, as they always did, when I opened it. This time, there were two words on the notes line
I feel a tear prick my eye. “No, Mama. I love you. You know I love you.”“You love me. My daughter would never say that. You’re an impostor! A fake! You’re their agent! Get out! Get away from me!” Mama rushed at me, and I had to back away quickly to avoid her flailing hand.I jerked open the door and fell backward through it, felt myself caught by a nurse.“We’ve got her, sweetie. She’ll be okay—she’s just having a hard day. She didn’t sleep well last night. She hasn’t had her meds yet, and we’ve got to give her a shower today.” The nurse patted me on the shoulder. “She knows you love her. She was asking for you the other day, you know. Asked if you’d come to visit her soon.”“She—she did?” I heard my voice break.“She did.”“Well, if she asks again, tell her I love her. Tell her—tell her I’ll visit again soon.”Inside the room, another nurse was talking Mom down. I watched for a moment and then turned away, waving at the nurse.I cried on the way home, as I always did after visiting
“Collect me?” I spat the word. “What am I, a piece of jewelry?”“Did you or did you not cash twenty checks, twenty thousand dollars each, for a total amount of four hundred thousand dollars?”I swallowed hard. “Yes, I did.”“Do you have the funds available to repay it?”I shook my head. “I don’t. Not all of it.”“Then you will comply. Now. Please, dress. Your finest lingerie, the blue evening dress, jewelry. Style your hair. Apply makeup.”“Why?”“I am unable to answer any questions.” He stepped closer to the door. “May I come in, please?”“I’m—I’m not dressed.”“I am aware of this. I will pack your belongings while you dress.”“Pack my belongings? Where am I going?”He lifted an eyebrow. “Away.”I swallowed again. “For how long?”“Indefinitely. Now, no more questions. Will you let me in, please.” It was phrased as a question, but it wasn’t. He could easily break down the door—of that I was certain. And he had a pistol. His eyes pierced mine. “Please, Miss Freya. I know this is an unu
I sighed. “Fine.” I closed the door, unlatched the chain, and let Marcus in.He eyed my apartment with open amusement. “I must say, I would have expected you to find yourself a nicer place with the money you’ve received.”“Nothing lasts forever. I had no guarantee the checks would keep coming. I can afford this place on my own. Sort of.”“Wise of you.”Trying to delay things, I asked. “Can I get you anything to drink?”Harris blinked at me. “No. Thank you. We don’t have much time. Get dressed, please.”I went into my bedroom, rifled through my closet until I found the blue dress I had worn to a fundraiser gala with my last boyfriend. It dawned on me that Marcus knew I had a blue dress, and that in itself was terrifying.It wasn’t an expensive dress, but it fit me like a glove, showed off my curves and accentuated my skin and hair. I glanced at Marcus who had my two suitcases—Mom and Dad’s old luggage—on my bed and was packing all of my jeans, yoga pants, skirts, blazers, dresses, and