CHAPTER THREE

Kimberly

“Take a good look at what your slut staff did to me!” Blondie yells at the top of her voice. Her face is red from the heat of the coffee. She’s definitely going to be scarred for a while. “Is this how you train your work dogs to behave?”

Now, She’s trying to blame Nancy for what happened between us. Could this teen-child be any more malicious.

“Get ready for me,” she threatens. “I’m going to sue you both for every measly penny you’re worth. My daddy’s a lawyer. I’ll make sure he puts your rundown coffee shop out of business.”

“Please,” Nancy begs her. “You don’t have to do any of that. We’re sorry.”

“It’s too late to apologize,” Blondie turns to her friend with the camera. “Did you get everything on camera?”

She nods and gives her a thumbs up. “Yes, I did. I’m posting it online now.”

“No!” Nancy presses her palms together in a pleading gesture. “Please, don’t post it. Tell me… what can I do to make up for this? I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I want you to fire her,” blondie points an accusing finger at me. “If you fire her right now, then I’ll make the video go away. Also, I won’t press charges against your little establishment.”

“What? No!” I turn to Nancy and start to explain what had happened. “She attacked me first. On top of that, she called me—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Nancy cut me off, not caring to hear what I had to say. “Honestly Kimberly, I don’t give a shit what they may have said or done to you. You had absolutely no right to attack a customer. The fact that you made poor life choices doesn’t mean you have to drag me down with you.”

“Nancy.” I stare at her in shock.

“I hired you because I felt sorry for you. Regardless of what everyone else was saying about you, I chose to give you a chance. My mistake.”

“How can you say that to me? I’ve worked here for three years and have never given you reason to doubt me.”

“You should have kept it that way but you didn’t, but you didn’t. Now, I’ve got no other choice but to let you go. Take off your apron and get the hell out of my shop.”

“Nancy, please don’t—”

“Get the fuck out!” she grabs my apron and yanks it right off my neck. Just like that, I join the ranks of the unemployed.

***

“You got into a fight with a bunch of teenagers? As if we don’t have enough problems already.” My mom huffs and faces away from me. Her disappointment is evident in the stiff way in which she holds her shoulders.

My sister, Sophia is way more sympathetic about my misfortune. Even though she’s bedridden, she reaches out her hand to me. I take it and press her palm to my cheek. She’s colder than usual. It’s usually how we know that she’s due for her monthly treatments at the hospital.

How the fuck am I going to afford that this month? Nancy had only given me half of my monthly pay before I left the store. That’s barely going to be enough to cover groceries for the month.

“I’m sorry you lost your job Kimmy,” Sophia smiles at me. Her smile is pretty and innocent like her. “Don’t worry though. I’m sure you’ll find another one in no time. You’re smart as hell. Any organization will be lucky to have you.”

I wish I shared her optimism. “Thanks Soph.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” mom asks. She’s back to hounding me. “How are we going to take care of our bills this month? The rent is nearly due. There’s also last month’s rent to settle. Don’t even get me started on the hospital bills we have to pay.”

“I know mom. I’ll figure something out.”

“That’s not good enough.” She’s still staring at me with that look of disappointment in her eyes. “You know what? I think it’s high time you reached out to that ex-husband of yours. You were married once. Who knows? If you beg him, he might be willing to help us out with some cash.”

“What!” I flare up. I glare daggers at my mother. “How can you ask me to do that after everything he did to me?”

“Why not?” she challenges. “There was a time when you were willing to do anything for him. Hell, you cut yourself out of our lives just to marry him. Now, look at you. After you crashed and burned, you came crawling back, begging me to welcome you back into the family.”

“How many more times do I need to apologize for you to let it go?” I seethe.

“Please, don’t fight,” Sophia begs us, but we barely hear her.

“How can I let it go when you hurt us so irredeemably?” mom explodes. “If only you had stayed with us, you could have joined your father’s company. You could have helped him keep the family business afloat. Then, we wouldn’t have gone into debt and maybe, just maybe, he would still be alive today.”

“So, it’s my fault Dad died? Is that what you’re saying?” my mom sure knows the best ways to hurt me. It just sucks that she chooses to do it today of all days.

I want to cry. I want to scream at her and ask her to take it all back. But I don’t.

I get out of the house and start walking with no real destination in mind. It’s raining heavily but I barely feel it. I’m too numb to feel much of anything. Within seconds, I’m drenched to the bone. I shiver and take more steps forward.

That’s when I collide with someone. Our collision is hard and I nearly go crashing to my death. Strong arms shoot out to break my fall.

“Are you okay?” a sultry baritone asks. It’s a voice I’ve heard before. A voice I would recognize anywhere, anytime.

The rain is still falling in harsh torrents. I blink rain water out of my eyes, intent on putting a face to the voice.

It’s him.

Nathaniel Rothschild. In the flesh. Impossibly tall. Wearing a six thousand dollar suit.

His hair is shorter than it had been three years ago. His eyes are still amber. His cheekbones are higher, giving him an even more intimidating look. And he’s still holding me on the sidewalk.

He recognizes me. I see it in the way his pupils widen ever so slightly.

I wonder what he’s thinking right now. Is he remembering the night of the product launch gala? The night when I’d been utterly and irrevocably destroyed?

I don’t wait to find out.

“S-Sorry.” I extract myself from his arms.

And then, I run.