Chapter Five
1277 Words
Chapter Five
“I’m sorry,” Jenny whispered.
“I understand. I saw it coming a mile off. It’s not your fault, I know you deserve way better than this.” Adalia gave a weak smile.
Jenny burst into tears and wiped them away with the back of her hand. Adalia reached into her desk drawer and brought out a box of tissues. She offered them to her pastry chef – ex-pastry chef, now – and Jenny swept one up and used it to blow her nose.
“We built this place together.” Jenny sniffled and dabbed at her eyes, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I’m not going to work here anymore... it feels like I’m leaving home.”
Adalia gave a heavy sigh, and rose from her chair. She circled the small desk and flung her arms around Jenny. “Everybody leaves home at some point. I guess it’s fitting that you set yourself free. You’ll fly high, Jenny. You’re one of the best pastry chefs in the city. It sucks to lose you because of this, but I know there’s nothing I can do.”
“I could stay,” Jenny said, stiffening because of her stubborn streak, going back on the words she’d just spoken.
“I can’t afford to pay you what you deserve,” Adalia answered. “Hell, I can’t even afford to pay you what a dishwasher deserves. It’s a shitty situation, and I can’t make it better this way.”
Jenny sobbed, and Adalia patted her on the back then let go.
“But you can bet I’ll be banging down your door the minute I can afford to have you onboard again,” she said with a smile. Like that would ever happen. She hadn’t seen an increase in customers or requests since the charity event at all. The money had just about run out.
“I’ll be waiting for that call.” Jenny reached out and grasped Adalia’s hands in hers. “Thank you for making me feel like part of your family.”
“Oh honey, you are a part of the family.” Adalia welled up, the emotion finally breaking her tough exterior. She wanted to ignore the pain and move past it, but she couldn’t. Losing Jenny was like losing a sister, and it was proof that her lifelong dream was falling away before her very eyes.
“I’d better get going. Mark is finally moving to the big city!” That was Jenny’s fiancée. He’d been in Chicago for a year, making extra cash on the side so he’d be able to afford the wedding.
“That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you,” Adalia said, but she was tormented inside. It was a feeling she despised: knowing that she desperately craved love and affection she’d never get.
“It will happen,” Jenny whispered, then pecked her on the cheek and disappeared out of the office and probably out of Adalia’s life for good.
She went back to her chair and plopped into it, groaning when she hit the hardwood back with force. She couldn’t even afford proper office furniture. Too many expenses, too little time to make the money to pay them off.
Adalia pulled out the newest letter from the bank and looked it over. She still owed twenty-thousand dollars on the loan, and they’d grown impatient with her dawdling. She could hardly break even, let alone pay off a debt of that size.
Riiiiing.
Her heart leapt into her throat, but she calmed herself immediately. No way would that be Trent – why had he even popped into her mind? It was ridiculous.
“Hello?”
“Is this Adalia Montclair speaking?” a man wheezed into the phone, and she frowned. It definitely wasn’t Trent. Or DeShawn for that matter, thank God.
“Yes, this is she.” She pushed the letter to the side and took out a pen and piece of paper. This guy sounded important, and she crossed her fingers. Hopefully he was an audience member from the charity event a week or so ago.
“Ms. Montclair, I’m calling from the bank about your loan repayments.”
It was the bank calling in the debt. Not a new client, not a hopeful encounter to help her speed the process of achieving her dream.
“And to whom am I speaking?” Adalia switched to formal mode, and shut down on her fear and all other emotion. When these guys smelled blood in the water, they laid in with twenty sets of teeth. Shark wasn’t the word. What was that creature from Pirates of the Caribbean?
The Kraken.
They were a bunch of damn Krakens.
“You are speaking with Mr. Samuels from the bank, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” she said and scribbled the name down. “What can I help you with?” As if she didn’t know already.
“We’d like to talk to you about your loan repayments in person, but you’ve missed your last two meetings.”
“Meetings? I haven’t received any correspondence about meetings with you people.” It was the absolute truth.
“Regardless, the bank has tried to contact you on multiple occasions to set up a viable repayment plan, but you seem to have avoided each attempt. It is now the bank’s intention to liquidate your assets, should you be unable to pay the amount in full, by June 15th.”
“That’s a month from now!” Adalia screeched. Outrage and shock mingled in equal parts and spread through the cells of her body.
“That’s the final date for payment. After that, the bank will repossess your assets in order to repay your debt.” The man coughed and yawned, and Adalia clenched the pen hard. It snapped clean in half, splattering ink across the paper and the desk.
“How do you expect me to come up with twenty grand in a month?” Adalia asked through gritted teeth, but Mr. Samuels seemed entirely unconcerned by her distress.
“That is entirely up to you, Ms. Montclair.”
“Now, you listen –”
Bang!
The office door swung open and DeShawn strolled in, scratching under the line of his do-rag.
“Hey, girl,” he said, grinning. He folded his arms and studied her, muscles bulging beneath the wife beater.
“Get out,” she shouted then lowered her voice. “Mr. Samuels, you can’t be serious about this. I need more time than a month. Please, have some sympathy.”
But the staid, old banker had already hung up and the dial tone rang in Adalia’s ear. She dropped the phone to the desk and let out a low growl of anger.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She pushed up from the desk and glared at her ex-boyfriend.
“You won’t answer my calls. I had to find out if you was okay.”
“I’m fine, and I don’t need your concern, DeShawn.” She motioned for him to leave, but he swaggered around to her side of the desk and grabbed her around the waist.
He pulled her into him, and she slapped him hard across the cheek.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” she said.
He dropped his arms, the corners of his lips pulled taut. “What we got is special. You can’t deny that.”
“What we have? We have nothing. All we have are broken bongs and shattered memories. You understand me?” Adalia slapped him again, across the other cheek this time just to even things out.
She was too angry to care she’d hurt him, too upset over losing the bakery. Her dream was as good as gone, and there was no one to blame but herself.
“Why you hitting me? You know better than that.” He grabbed her by the face and squished her cheeks.
Adalia’s heart was overcome with sorrow. She’d given DeShawn everything, loved him though he’d returned nothing but empty hopes and bullshit. And now he dared harm her? He dared lay hands on her?
She lifted her knee and rammed it into his crotch. He doubled over with a cry of pain and she burst into tears, picked up her bag and walked out of the office.
The bill lay on the desk, staring at the ceiling, the zeroes were like eyes of greed.
- Writer
