Chapter 8
1328 Words
The next morning, Riley woke up to a mad pounding at her apartment’s door.
She sits up, dazed, and looks around the room. Her laptop is sitting on her desk. A few posters hang from the walls. One is of a cat clinging to a tree branch, captioned “Hang in there!” Another shows a kitten holding a tiny sign that says, “I love you times world.”
When the pounding on the door only intensified, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and made a face. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt as pajamas, but there wasn’t any time to change. She stumbled to the door and unlocked it.
The moment she pulled the door, a woman with wavy blonde hair stormed inside as if she owned the place. She was wearing a black skirt that reached her knees, black boots that reached her calves, and a black tank top that was almost entirely obscured by a dark gray peacoat.
For a second, Riley just started, stunned. Then she said, “What the hell? Who are you?”
The woman turned around, a huge smile on her face, and that’s when Riley recognized her. It was impossible not to stare a little longer. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“That’s not a very nice way to say hi to your best friend,” Britney said and struck a pose, narrowing her eyes playfully at Riley.
“Wait. Since when are we friends again?”
Britney grinned. “Since that handsome Billionaire walked into that filthy diner and asked you on a date.”
Well, that made sense for sure, and Riley found her tense shoulders relaxed a little. But then her sleepy brain caught up to the apparent problem with that statement. “No. Not a date.” She was pretty sure it was something else.
Britney rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah yeah. I get it. Not a date. That wonderful man only asked you to make his ten-year-old darling happy by showing up for tea, but still. The point is, he showed up, and he wants to spend time with you, so why aren’t you running around getting ready like a normal woman would be?”
Riley was trying to find a good answer to that when she looked down and saw that she was still wearing the oversized t-shirt. Then again, it didn’t really matter. She still had a few more hours before her shift began. She could sleep in. “But I’m so tired,” she yawned, scratching her hair. “How about we do this some other day? How about never?”
“Bullshit.” Britney said and started shoving her towards the bathroom. “You have five minutes to take a quick shower and then fifteen minutes to change and get ready for the meet-up.”
“Hey,” Riley protested, “What makes you think you can come here and push me around like this? This is my place. I can do whatever the hell I want.”
“That’s exactly the kind of lazy attitude that has got you nothing but a job at a run-down diner and an empty savings account.” Britney said and pushed her again.
Riley grunted, damn annoyed by that point. “What the hell does that even mean? You work at a diner, too.”
“That’s where I am. That’s not where I’m going. And, thanks to the help of a certain billionaire, neither should you.” With another shove, Britney watched as Riley stumbled into the bathroom, and before a pouting Riley did something about it, she pulled the door shut and locked it from outside.
Riley groaned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was still early, and she could already tell it was going to be one of those days. “This isn’t fair.”
“Of course, it isn’t,” Britney said from the other side of the door. “But if you hurry, we can grab breakfast at that fancy little place across the street. They make the most amazing sandwiches. Oh, and coffee.”
Riley rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “I’m talking about you being so pushy.”
“Oh, please. I’m simply guiding you in the right direction.”
“Why? Because I’m suddenly directionally challenged?”
“No. Because you’re still as dumb as you look.”
Riley groaned and opened the shower faucet, deciding to save the argument for later. She stripped out of her t-shirt and stepped under the water.
“I don’t know why the hell you even care so much. He might have even forgotten about that whole thing last night. Rich people have a lot to do, a lot on their plate, you know. They don’t usually remember every single detail about a random person they’ve just met.”
“Maybe,” Britney said from outside the door. “But when it comes to their kids, they do. Trust me, that man isn’t going to forget about his daughter’s request so easily. If he said he’ll meet up, he will. So you should too. You need to show up looking your absolute best. You can’t go looking like a homeless woman.”
“I don’t,” Riley said, her voice a little muffled from all the soap. “I’ve got a job and an apartment and everything.”
“So?” Britney snorted. “I’ve got a job and an apartment, too.”
“Yeah. My point exactly.”
“Your point is invalid,” Britney said. “Just because the two of us can manage on our own, it doesn’t mean the rest of the world should live like that. That man is offering you an opportunity to make things better for yourself.”
After the quick shower, Riley yanked the towel off the rack and wrapped it around her body. “He offered nada. He just wants me so he can shut up his daughter. It’s nothing but a pitiful meeting. It’s ridiculous to even waste time on it.”
“You’re such a spoilsport.”
Riley glared at her reflection, knowing Britney wouldn’t see. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re an airhead.”
Britney laughed. “You’re such a drama queen. And no, I’m not letting you out until you promise you’ll take the offer and go.”
Riley thought about her past encounter with the rich and spoiled, and couldn’t help but shiver. Just the thought of that made her want to curl herself into a ball and never leave bed. She would rather work an extra shift at the diner than risk the chance of getting around such folks. If only she could tell Britney about it…
“Just open the door.” She grumbled to herself, deciding against her previous thought.
“No,” Britney said, sounding like a spoiled child.
“You can’t lock me in the bathroom forever.”
“Can’t I? Watch me.”
Riley sighed and sat down on the toilet. It was going to be a long day.
After ten minutes, Riley was already feeling cold, and she knew Britney was not going to let her out anytime soon.
She stood up and knocked at the door. “Open the door, Britney. This is too much.”
“Sure. Did you make up your mind?”
Riley rubbed her temples. “Yes, I did.”
“And? What did you decide?”
“I decided that I hate you and if I do as you say today and something awful happened, I’m going to kill you.”
There was silence from the other side. After a moment, the door opened and Britney was standing on the other side, a smug look on her face.
“Awesome! Let’s get started then. You’ve got about fifteen minutes to get ready.”
Riley wanted to choke Britney to death.
- Writer
