Page 21 of Beautiful Deception

“At my job.”

“And what is this job?”

“I work as a maid. Here.” I hand him one of the hundred dollar bills. I’m going to keep the rest. It’s a decision I made on the drive over here.

His eyes light up when he sees the money but before he can grab it, I pull it back. “Actually, I’m going to use this to pay for the motel room for the week.”

When I try to leave, he grabs my arm. “Wait. I can pay for the room. Just hand the money over.”

“Dad… no. You said you were proud of me. Let me be proud of you. Let me pay for the motel room. I don’t want you to get hurt if you’re thrown out. Who knows where you’ll go? Who you’ll meet? You’re trying to avoid Viktor Smirnov’s detection. So let me pay for the motel room and stay out of sight.”

“But… Inessa. I can use that money to make us a lot more money. I swear. I can do it.”

“Dad, I love you, but you always end up spending more money than you earn gambling. You never win big. I’m paying for the motel.” I wrench my arm away and go to the front office, where a man behind the desk is watching a small TV mounted to the wall.

“How many nights can I get for this?” I ask, sliding the money over.

“Three nights.”

“Then three nights. My dad will stay in the same room he’s in.”

“Good enough for me. As long as you pay, you can stay for however long you want.” He slips the bill into his pocket and not the cash register.

I don’t ask questions because I don’t wanthimasking me any questions.

“There,” I say to my dad when I come back to the room. “You have three nights. I’ll pay for more later.”

“How did you get a hundred dollars from your first day of work?”

“My boss paid me in advance.”

“You worked all day for only a hundred dollars?”

“Yes. Now, I need to go back.”

“No.” He rushes at me and grabs my purse, ripping it open and pulling out the other two hundred dollar bills. “Ah-ha!”

“Give me that back. I earned that money.”

“I need this money, Inessa. You don’t want me to be destitute, do you?”

“Give me it back.”

“No. You’ll have to fight me for it.”

Seeing my father like this is painful. How can he do this to me?

I don’t bother to fight him for it. Next time, I won’t bring all of my money when I pay for the motel room. He can figure things out himself.

I leave before he can stop me and drive back to Viktor’s, crying the entire time.

Chapter Four

Inessa

WorkingforViktorhasits advantages: three good meals a day, a warm bed to sleep in every night, and a steady paycheck.

After what happened with my dad, I only go to the motel every few days to pay for the room, then leave. I don’t let him have any more of my money.

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