at the grape. “Hmm, you gonna make me a rewards chart too? With stickers?”
His blank stare wasn’t comforting. “That depends. Are you six?”
I popped the grape into my mouth. “I was kidding, Lex. And what kind of food are we talking about here?”
“Baskets of food.” It had been two weeks of baskets. Two glorious weeks. I was so thankful I could cry, but for some reason it seemed to piss him off when I said thank you. So instead I pretended I deserved them, and he continued dropping them off.
The notes were getting more and more hilarious: “From the villain who lives under your bed.”
Friday’s was “From the badass antihero who kicked Superman’s ass, which was sadly never recorded in comic book history.”
“I’ll let you pick what you want in your basket,” Lex grumbled while I danced in my chair. “But!” He held up his hand. “Be realistic. Don’t go asking for puppies and shit.”
“I would never ask for shit.” I held up my hand as if swearing to him.
“Gabs . . .”
“Or puppies.” I slumped in my chair. “What about for Christmas, though?”
“I’m sorry, are you under the impression that I’m giving you baskets until Christmas? And why won’t you tell me where all the food goes? You haven’t gained thirty pounds in the last two weeks. Therefore, you’re sharing it.”
“A girl’s got her secrets.” I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with the entire situation. Guilt stabbed me in the chest. I was thankful, sure, but he was spending his own money because I was giving all of mine away.
It was for my family, but still.
“So.” Lex pulled open his laptop. “Things with Steve seem to be going well. You’ve moved past making Stella jealous and straight on to her basically stalking him. Well done.”
I grabbed another grape. “All in a day’s work.”
“When’s your end goal with him? This weekend?”
Anxiety spread across my body. “Well, I took a double shift at the club this weekend, so . . . can I do it maybe Sunday?”
A muscle popped in Lex’s jaw. “Gabs, I’m not trying to be an ass, but a key part of Wingmen Inc. is that we promise to get the job done fast, so I need you to be focused on that, not taking double shifts at the club. I know funds are tight, but once you’re done with Steve we can talk about giving you more clients.”
I hated that he was right. Shame made it hard to breathe. So did the fact that my dad still hadn’t found a job, and my mom’s job only brought in enough to cover the essentials. Last visit she’d cried when I’d dropped off my check.
Apparently, they hadn’t been able to purchase groceries and, for the first time in her life, she had to go apply for state aid, only to find out that they still made too much.
And that was the sucky part about our system. They had no debt besides the mortgage and one car, but they lived on the other side of Lake Washington! It was even more expensive than Seattle. Their house payment was nearly three grand a month. Add in one car payment, food, and everything else, and things were tight, even without me living at home.
She said they’d missed the mark by a hundred dollars.
“Um, Gabs?” Lex tossed a pencil at me. “You paying attention?”
“Yeah, sorry, just tired.” I yawned. I really was exhausted. Between working for Lex, trying to find a new roommate, being late on the last rent payment, and working doubles, I was done.
My classes were ridiculously hard, and I’d failed my last Human Anatomy test.
Things weren’t exactly looking up. I’d even thought briefly about quitting school for a semester to work full time, but my parents would kill me.
“Just finish up with Steve this Sunday and let me know if you plan on taking any more double shifts with the club, okay?” Lex asked, his tone gentler this time.
I had to respect his business sense.
Just because I was Ian’s friend and his . . . employee didn’t mean that I got special treatment. He’d tell any of his employees the same thing. Be on time, get the job done on time, and don’t waste his time.
“Got it.” I nodded just as my phone rang again. I let out another groan. They were going to ask me to work.
“I gotta get this.” I slid the phone out of my pocket. “Yeah?”
“You’re late.”
“What?” I frowned and looked at