| |
The pristine white walls and sparkling marble floors of the luxurious apartment mocked Leela’s empty bank account and low FICO score. No matter how many times she crunched the numbers, they refused to budge in her favor. With a heavy sigh, she shoved the brochure in her bag and turned to face the leasing agent.
“Thank you,” Leela said, forcing a smile. “I’ll think about it.”
The leasing agent’s eyes roamed the room like she knew she was working with prime real estate. “Take your time, Ms. Ingram. We’ll hold the unit for twenty-four hours, but after that, I can’t make any guarantees.”
That’s what they all said.
Leela walked through the lobby, her Prada stilettos clicking expensively on the tile like she could afford them. She and Harper were the same size and Leela was appreciative of her cousin’s hand-me-downs so she could at least look the part when she met with clients and well...leasing agents who would certainly wonder if she had the money for their property. She did not.
Leela pushed the heavy door open and made her way through the thick humidity to her SUV. She was glad to be out of there. She was small and insignificant compared to the grandeur of the building. The only thing keeping her together today was the fact that the Tahoe helped her save face. It was a company vehicle, left to her with all the other collateral when she took over Dream Events. If she’d been driving her old Honda, the weight of her financial struggles would show up before she even entered the leasing offices. At least they offered her cookies and coffee with respect because they assumed she could afford their units. Frustration pressed heavily on her chest. She pulled the door shut. Its cavernous sound echoing her sense of hopelessness.
“Okay, Leela, breathe,” she muttered to herself, gripping the steering wheel tightly. She glanced at the rear-view mirror, catching sight of her dark brown eyes filled with frustration. Where was she going to live?
She’d come to Georgia for a fresh start, but her stale finances were holding her back. She started the engine and pulled away from the curb, her mind racing with thoughts of how she would find an affordable place to live in Forest Hills.
It was then that her phone rang, breaking her reverie. Glancing at the screen, she saw her sister Chelsea’s name flash across the display.
“Hey, Chels,” Leela said, her voice heavy with emotion she couldn’t hide.
“How’s the apartment hunting going?” Chelsea’s voice carried optimism Leela wished she shared.
“Ugh, not great,” she admitted, biting her lip. “I just left another place, and it was way over my budget.”
“Have you thought about asking Dad for a loan?”
Leela shook her head, even though her sister couldn’t see her. “No, I can’t do that. I already owe him money.”
“Leela, you know he’d help you,” Chelsea insisted, and then after a pause said, “Why don’t you stay with Harper and Logan for a little while longer? It’s not like they’re kicking you out, right?”
Leela had explained why she was moving to her sister, but Chelsea didn’t get it. “Harper’s due any day now. Logan’s already announced he’s going to be working from home for the first three months. I don’t want to be in the way.”
“But how could you be in the way? It’s an enormous house.”
Chelsea was right. Harper and Logan’s home was like six thousand square feet, but it only had four bedrooms. It was all kitchen and massive living spaces. With the new nursery, that only left two bedrooms for guests and she was one of them. After the baby arrived, they’d have other people coming and going. The Bennett family was huge.
“I’ve been living with them since last year. They’re sweet and I know Harper means it when she says stay, but it’s better to leave before the welcome mat gets pulled from under my feet.”
Chelsea conceded, “All right, well, let me know if you need any help. I’ve got to run, but I love you. Keep your head up.”
“Love you too,” Leela said, ending the call and doing her best to push her fears aside.
As she drove past the familiar streets of Forest Hills, Leela’s thoughts turned to the Ingram family house, her cousin’s home that hardly had anyone in it because Sienna was often in West Georgia working with her fiancé, Mason. No one had offered a room in the house. They were oddly territorial about their deceased parents’ home and of course no one knew her business. They didn’t know she was broke and uncreditworthy. She was too ashamed to say so.
Feeling overwhelmed by the cloud of uncertainty that hung over her, Leela decided to seek solace in her favorite thing. A cupcake. That’s what she needed, and it was also within her means. She turned on Main Street and headed to Sweet Delights Bakery.
Her phone rang. It was Brad, requesting a FaceTime chat. She sighed. Leela pulled off to the side of the road. She desperately needed to block him, but he had the dog and an important set of photo albums that she’d forgotten to take. She didn’t want him to burn her pictures. Brad had a temper, so blocking him wasn’t a good idea. She answered his call.
Brad was lying on the bed. His hair and beard were longer than he usually let them grow. He had a vape pen in his mouth and he looked tired, which meant he drank too much the night before.
He scrunched up his face and whistled. “Dang, babe. You lookin’ fine.”
Leela rolled her eyes. “What is it, Brad? I’m going into a meeting with a client.” She was not, but she still had on her workface and clothing, so she looked professional enough to carry the lie.
“Meetings and clients? You done came up.” He raised his arm and looked at his wrist. “It’s after five. Isn’t it late for meetings?”
“People meet event planners after work.” She cleared her throat. She wasn’t lying that time. “I have thirty seconds and you’re going to need fifteen of them to tell me about Ebony.”
Brad whistled and Leela heard the memorable sound of the bells on Ebony’s metal dog collar jingle. Ebony was her four-year-old Jack Russell Terrier.
“Hey, girl.” Leela’s heart melted. Ebony looked around, trying to follow her voice, but dogs, or at least Ebony, didn’t understand people were in phones. She barked.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine. She misses you. She’s not the only one.”
Leela was quiet. They were not about to talk about how his cheating behind missed her. He must have sensed that, so he moved on to whatever it was he’d called for.
“I was wondering if I could get—” The phone went blank and Leela thanked his bootleg cell provider. Now she could ignore him for a few days.
She sent a text to her sister to remind her to go over to the old apartment ASAP and get the albums.
Chelsea texted back: Tomorrow.
Leela was relieved. If she couldn’t have her dog, she could at least have her past, the part she’d lived before she met him.
She put the car in drive and continued to the bakery, ignoring her ringing phone all the way.