Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
I stepped into the office and took a seat on the little chair against the wall. The whole room was covered in browns, from the panel walls to the scratchy carpet. While my dad had remodelled little bits of the inn to keep it looking modern, he never spent any money on his own stuff. I could still remember playing with little toys at his feet on that very carpet.
I watched my dad roll back from the desk and cross his arms. Something was wrong. “What’s happened?”
My dad sighed. “That man on his way to Chicago… Well, his card was declined.”
“Dad. I thought we talked about this. Things aren’t the way they used to be. You can’t just trust people at their word, you have to run their cards right away.”
“I know.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Things like this happen. It’ll be alright.”
I leaned over and gave his arm a squeeze, but he didn’t seem to be feeling any better. And when he glanced up at me, I knew something else was bugging him.
“What?”
My dad closed his eyes for a breath. “The roof is leaking into the upstairs bedroom. I have to fix it, or I can’t rent out the room.”
I sat back in my seat. “Okay.”
“And with business being slow, and this latest invoice not paid, I’m afraid I can’t pay your wages this month.”
No pay? It felt like a ton of bricks had just hit the bottom of my stomach.
“Beetle, don’t be mad, please, I’ll make it up to you once I get the roof fixed.”
“Dad, no,” I reached over again and touched his arm. “You owe me nothing. We’ll fix things up and soon more people will want to stay here.”
He drew a slow smile. “I don’t know what I did to deserve such a great daughter.”
“Oh, Dad, come on. I’m just doing what you’ve done your whole life. I like helping people, taking care of them whenever I can.”
“And who takes care of you?”
I shrugged. “I’ll figure things out. You just focus on getting the inn fixed up.”
“Alright.” He turned and faced the computer again as I got up and left the room.
The second I got into the hall, I felt the tears start to form.
It really wasn’t fair. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t catch a break. I went straight out the kitchen and to the stoop, finding Parvati sitting there on her phone.
“Hey, I picked up a shift at the café this afternoon,” she said as I slumped at her side. “So, I know we talked about maybe getting pizza later…” she trailed as she looked over at me. I must’ve still had tears in my eyes, because she turned quickly and started to console me. “What’s wrong?”
“I just lost some of my wages for the month because some idiot didn’t pay his bill. And the roof is leaking.” I laughed at the nonsense as though I couldn’t believe all that was happening. In the process, I had to wipe a tear from my cheek, which just made me feel more pathetic. “I just need to be real about life, you know?”
“Don’t say that! You should always chase your dreams. You can achieve anything, Jourdanne. I know you can,” she said as she wrapped her arm around me and pulled me to her chest.
After my eyes dried a bit more, I noticed her phone in her lap. She was browsing the sugar daddy website again, and the whole thought of it made me laugh.
“Are you going to do it?”
“What? This?” She laughed too. She gave the screen a quick scroll. “I doubt I’m pretty enough to wow these types of men.”
“Hey, you can do anything, remember?” I raised my brow at her as I nudged her shoulder with mine. “We both can.”
“Yes. Yes, we can.”
She flicked the screen once more, and when it landed, I couldn’t take my eyes off the picture staring back at me. The man—the sugar daddy—took my breath away.
There was something about his eyes, something serene and soft that made me completely forget about everything that was troubling me. He had a strong, square jaw, a bit of stubble, lush dark hair, and he was fit and lean. He was also inviting and warm, like I could lose myself with him and just escape everything.
“And we should totally celebrate ourselves, right? I’m thinking drinks at that rooftop bar you like. Maybe around eight after the café closes? Um, Jourdanne, are you listening?” Parvati waved her hand in front of me, snapping me out of my trance.
“Sorry,” I replied, shaking my head. I could feel my face flush with heat, but I couldn’t help myself. I glanced back over to the phone and looked at the man again. Matt. His name was just as kind as he appeared to be.