Her fault

Chapter 6

Emily tapped her legs repeatedly, a movement she usually did to soothe her anxiety, but right now, it wasn’t helping one bit. It only made her more anxious.

She was currently sitting in the office of her late father’s account officer. After a failed attempt to obtain a loan from her bank, and Vanessa’s impossible request. She had decided to come to her father’s bank.

Her father, who had been a very good citizen before his death, had always spoken fondly of his kind accountant. The man who had helped him manage his funds and offered sound financial advice. So, she decided to try her luck.

She had been sitting here for over an hour after his secretary directed her in. And waiting this long did nothing to calm her nerves, but it wasn’t like she had a choice, he was her last chance.

The sound of the glass door sliding open snapped her back to reality.

Her head snapped up to meet a bald, chocolate-skinned man dressed in an expensive gray suit. The had a pair of round glasses on that framed is brown eyes.

He looked like he was in his forties,as he had an apologetic smile on his face.

“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting,” Mr. Samuel said, extending his hand upward for a handshake. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Emily.”

“The pleasure is all mine, sir,” she said, despite her racing heartbeat. She stood up and took his hand in a firm handshake.

After exchanging greetings he moved over to his large desk, pulled out his executive chair, and settled into it.

“So, Emily, what can I do for you?” he asked, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on the desk, his brown eyes fixed on hers.

Emily swallowed past the lump rising in her throat. “I wanted to ask you for a favor,” she said, leaning forward.

Her heart pounding loudly,she was so sure he could hear her. “I know you were a very good friend of my father. He talked about you all the time.” A bitter smile crept up her lips as the image of her father flashed through her mind.

“Yes, Frank was a very good and honest man,” he said, as his brown eyes darkened with grief. “You know, he often talked about you, and I’m sure he is so proud of you wherever he is.”

Emily felt her stomach drop as tears burned at the back of her eyes at Samuel’s words. If only she could actually believe that but right now, she was pretty sure her father was anything but proud of her decisions.

“So, what can I help you with?” he said, his voice echoing through her head.

Just spit it out, Emily, she scolded herself.

“I need a loan,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Samuel furrowed his brows as he leaned back in his chair. “How much are we talking about?” he asked, his gaze boring into her.

She exhaled silently, the words a little too heavy for her lips. “Two hundred thousand dollars,” she said, her ears burning as the words dropped from her lips.

Samuel’s eyes widened slightly. “May I ask what you need that kind of money for?”

Emily drew in a deep breath. How was she supposed to tell him what happened without looking even more foolish than she already did?

“I need it to save my parents’ house,” she said, the words dropping from her lips like a bomb.

******************

It had been more than thirty minutes since Samuel left the room to see if there was anything he could do to help her with the money she asked for.

She winced as she remembered the look on his face when she explained how she had been scammed out of all her money, and how she had foolishly added the mortgage funds to the money meant for her bakery space.

She exhaled, standing up as she moved to the floor-to-ceiling window in Samuel’s office, raking frustrated fingers through her hair as the tension of waiting for a response weighed down on her shoulders.

Rubbing her sweaty palms together, she lifted her head and looked out at the city view.

“Please, Lord, don’t let me lose my house. Please,” she prayed.

A sad smile found its way to her lips as she remembered that day at the hospital when she got the news of her family’s accident. She had gone straight from college and was told to sit and wait while her entire family was in surgery.

She had somehow found her way to the hospital cathedral, knelt down, and cried hopelessly, praying for her family to survive. Only to step out minutes later and be told that her entire family was gone.

That day, in her moment of grief, she had angrily cursed God for taking her family away and vowed never to pray to Him again.

She had convinced herself He wasn’t real. If He was, He wouldn’t have let her family die, leaving her alone in this cruel world.

But now, here she was eating her own words, praying to the same God who had let that tragedy befall her, hoping that this time, He would actually listen.

The sound of her phone’s beep made her heart skip a beat, pulling her from her thoughts. She used the tip of her finger to wipe away the tear that had gathered at the brim of her eye. She was determined not to cry today,at least not in this office.

Fishing her phone from her jean pocket, she tapped on the screen as her eyes glanced through it.

It was a message from Becca:

“Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope that rich bitch didn’t try anything with you.”

A soft chuckle escaped Emily’s lips as her eyes read through the message. Leave it to her best friend to always find a way to make her smile, even without her trying.

A soft chuckle escaped Emily’s lips as her eyes read through the message. Leave it to her best friend to always find a way to make her smile, even without trying.

Her fingers hovered over the screen as she began typing a response.

“I’m fine, Becca. I’m actually at the bank, trying to see if I can—”

She stopped halfway when she heard the door slide open, and Samuel walked into the office.

She shut the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. She’d respond to Becca later.

Right now she needed to be focused if she wanted to save her house. But the look on his face didn’t look like someone that had a good news for her.

Her heart sank as her stomach dropped lower than ever. Samuel started walking toward her, his eyes holding a sadness Emily knew all too well.

It was the same look the doctor had when he broke the news of her parents’ death.

But just like then, even though she already knew what he was going to say, she still needed to hear him say it.

“I’m so sorry, Emily,” he said, his voice laced with disappointment. “I did all I could, but unfortunately, the bank cannot grant your loan.” He sighed sadly as he leaned against his desk.

Emily felt the world go blank, just like it had the day the doctor gave her the news. She heard Samuel say a few more words, but she couldn’t process them as his voice faded into the background.

The tears she’d been trying so hard to hold spilled from her eyes. Her vision blurred, her legs gave out, and she stumbled to the ground. Samuel immediately rushed to her side, holding her as he guided her to a chair.

He was saying something, but she couldn’t make out the words.

This was it. Her last option had failed.

She felt dread gather at the pit of her stomach. She was going to lose her family home, and it was all her fault.