Page 8 of Bishop

“That shouldn’t have happened,” I protested, turning over all the possibilities in my head for where things could have gone wrong.

“I’m not an idiot. I know when a check bounces. And yours did this morning when I tried to deposit it at my bank,” he angrily shot back.

“There must be some mistake. Let me check on my end and see what happened,” I spoke, trying to pacify him until I could further troubleshoot the problem.

Charles folded his arms across his chest. “I knew I shouldn’t let someone as young as you move into this apartment. I did it against my better judgment, and now I’m paying the price for my kindness.”

Kindness my ass! The man liked young women and wanted to perve on me when he thought I wasn’t looking. “Listen, I’ve been on time with every payment before this. Let me look into it and see where the error is. I’ll make it right. I promise.”

Charles’s lip curled up in a sneer. “You’d better, or else I’m immediately putting the paperwork in with the Sheriff’s office to have you evicted. I won’t be taken advantage of Ms. Wild.”

Swallowing hard, I gripped the door handle for support. I couldn’t afford to lose my apartment. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. It had been hard enough finding this crappy place. Finding another with next to no money and a stain on my renting record would be nearly impossible.

“The rent will be paid today,” I assured him, as well as myself.

“Plus a fee,” Charles smugly added.

I blanched at his words. “A fee?” How the hell was I supposed to cover that?

“For my inconvenience,” he explained.

“How much?” I asked, a cold creeping sensation spreading throughout my body.

“One hundred dollars for bounced checks,” he proudly proclaimed.

Working up my courage, I said, “But that wasn’t in the renter's contract.”

Charles shrugged. “If you don’t like it, you can move. I’ll let you out of your lease today. After you pay your outstanding debt, of course.”

He knew I couldn’t do that and so I nodded with defeat. “I’ll text you after I check with my bank to see what the problem is.”

“You’ve got until five o’clock tonight to make this right, Ms. Wild, or I’ll be filling out those eviction papers at five-o-one.” Turning on his heel, he walked back in the direction of his apartment which was on the other side of the complex.

Shutting and locking the door behind me, I ran over to my computer to figure out what went wrong with my account. After a few minutes of searching, I spotted what the problem was. It seems mine wasn’t the only check to bounce. My last client, a fifty-person baby shower a few towns over, also had insufficient funds to cover her final payment to me. That one bad check had thrown my entire account into chaos.

Trying not to panic, I went to my closet and pulled out an old, scuffed boot where I kept my emergency cash. There was only a few hundred dollars there after the last time I’d raided it for a bloated electric bill. It wouldn’t be enough to cover my rent, the late penalty, and groceries until I could sort out the bounced check with the baby shower client. I was screwed.

My phone rang then, and I saw the name Angel flash across my screen. Angel and I had attended a free business course held annually at Trinity University. We’d shared our numbers after talking in class a few weeks back. I knew she wanted to open her own daycare and I’d shared my dream of expanding my catering company into a profitable business. She’d never called before, and I wondered what the reason could be today.

“Hello,” I spoke, trying to squelch the insecurity and fear from my voice so that I didn’t sound like a weirdo.

“Evie, it’s Angel from business class,” the kind, young woman announced with great enthusiasm.

My stress immediately dissipated at the sound of her gentle voice. She was exactly the kind of person who should be opening a daycare and you could trust with your kids. Calm, sweet, and cram-jammed full of patience.

Faking a levity I certainly didn’t feel, I said, ‘Hi, Angel. How are you doing?”

“Great,” the woman announced, and I believed her. She always seemed so happy and upbeat whenever we spoke. “So, I bet you’re wondering why I’m calling.”

I laughed guiltily. “Did you have a question about some of the resources from class or something?”

“No, I was wondering if you would like to make some money catering a party my husband’s Club is throwing. I remembered you said you were always looking for business, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather give it to.”

Pure adrenaline flooded my veins at the thought of crawling out of the financial hole I’d currently found myself in. “I’d love to!”

“Great,” Angel replied with the natural enthusiasm she always seemed to possess. “It’s a big job, so I know you’ll require some cash up front. Does fifty percent sound reasonable?”

My friend’s words were as heavenly to me as her namesake. “That’s more than generous. What kind of spread are you looking for?”

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