“You have a good day, and thank you for doing business with Regional Advantage Bank.” Pause. “And say hi to Noah Douglas for me the next time you see him.”
She hung up, having shot that last barb at me with a slightly sarcastic tone. Someone nicer probably would have assumed she was being polite, but I knew my own kind and how we threw shade at others.
I needed money. Like, now. Not fifteen days from now. And business days were stupid. Our world was international and open 24-7. There should just be days, and weekends should count when someone took all your money.
A cold chill enveloped me, and I shuddered a little. I was just now understanding what had actually happened—and there was a sense of violation that some unnamed person had stolen from me. Taken everything I’d worked so hard for and blown it all in just over twelve hours. It seemed so unreal that I’d been robbed. My normally dim outlook on humanity had grown even bleaker.
I glanced at my phone. I needed to take that shower and get ready. I had an appointment in a couple of hours. I relied on muscle memory to carry me through the motions as I considered my options.
There was always my mom, but she had a major hang-up about me not repeating her mistakes. She didn’t want me to marry someone older than me who had a reputation as a player like my dad apparently had (I found that hard to believe) and who would walk away when things got too hard. She’d always counseled me to be sensible and get a steady, well-paying job. She had not been pleased when I’d graduated with an accounting degree but no plans of becoming an accountant. That I would figure out what I wanted my job to be.
When I told her about my plan to buy the van and start Waggin’ Wheels, she reminded me that I wasn’t prepared and didn’t know how hard it was to start your own business (which she had done, so she knew better than I did). I kept insisting that I could do it and she didn’t have to take care of me. There was no way I was going to run to her now and admit that she’d been right about everything and I needed financial help.
Especially since she was being so careful with her own expenses because she was pursuing her degree full-time. I knew her concern came from a place of love and that she would help if I asked, but it was important to me to be independent.
I could ask Shelby, given that Noah was paying her so well and all, but I wondered if that would be akin to him giving me money, and I definitely did not want that.
It was something I kept running over in my mind. Part of me hoped that the bank would do their investigation quickly and that I didn’t need to worry about bringing in some extra money, but I knew I couldn’t depend on it.
I spent the day helping out at an adoption fair for a local animal shelter. Volunteering always put me in a good mood. While there I also handed out fliers offering one free grooming session to anyone who adopted a dog. There was nothing better to me than knowing animals were going to a good home, and I could definitely use the karma points. The hours flew by and thankfully distracted me from my current circumstances.
After the fair ended and we’d packed everything up, my problems came rushing back. What was I going to do? What could I do?
I could sell my plasma. I could try to get some gig job like delivering food or doing people’s grocery shopping. The problem was that I didn’t have a car, just my van. And by the time I added in the gas costs, I probably wouldn’t be making any money. I could try to borrow Shelby’s car, but now that she had a full-time job again, I knew she’d be driving all over the place to meet with her contractor and look for samples to show Noah and pick up band saws and jackhammers or whatever she did with her day, and her car would not be available.
When I got into the van, my phone rang. It was Shelby.
I answered and said, “This is a coincidence. I was just thinking about you.”