Page 21 of The Virgin's Baby
Might? No, it definitely would be nice.
She was so perfect. So right. So responsible.
I was sure she would be a pain in my ass. But my grandfather was sitting there, staring a hole in me. “Call her, Ransom Whitaker. Make her an offer she can’t refuse.”
“I’m going to give her one more day to call me first. I’ve got some pride, you know. And then, if she doesn’t call, I’ll send her flowers and candy. Then maybe a nice bottle of wine to relax her a bit before I swoop in and sweep her off her feet.” I thought it was a great plan.
“You will do no such thing. She’s smart. You’ve got to make this a business deal. She’s never going to fall for your bullshit. Not if she’s as smart as I think she is.” Grandad’s smile got cocky as he thought he knew how to play this girl. I knew he was in over his head. “Do things my way and watch her bend to our will, boy.”
Oh, I would love to watch her bend to my will. Grandad’s will? I wasn’t keen on that, but mine, oh hell yeah.
Am I really as nice as I think I am?
Chapter Ten
Aspen
Lubbock, Texas – May 19th
Heading into the registrar’s office, I had made my pact with the devil and was about to apply for financial aid. Student loans were never supposed to be in the cards, but I was desperate.
Sure, twenty thousand dollars would turn into thirty thousand, then forty thousand, and even fifty thousand dollars before I could pay it all off, but I had to finish my degree.
“Miss Dell, there you are,” the woman at the desk said as I pushed open the door to her office.
I couldn’t recall her name and had to look at the nameplate on her desktop. “Here I am, Miss...” I had to take a second to read the name. It couldn’t be right. There were too many Zs and even some Ks.Is that three Ys?
“They call me Miss Z,” she helped me out. “Please, take a seat. I’ve got a lot to talk to you about.”
I was optimistic that maybe there was good news ahead for me. Maybe she’d found some scholarships after she looked up my stellar grades? Maybe even some grants? I was all set to hear something great for a change. “Great. I’m all ears.”
“Okay, it seems that you don’t qualify for any grants,” she said as she removed her thick, black-rimmed glasses. She held then with a loose grip under her chin. “Or scholarships. And I’m afraid that without a guarantor, you don’t qualify for any student loans.”
“None?” I couldn’t believe what she’d said.
“No, ma’am.” She put those glasses right back on then set to tapping on the keyboard of her computer. “But you have a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. My advice to you is to get a job using that degree. Once you’ve worked six months, you will qualify for a student loan.”
She thinks she has it all figured out.
Well, she didn’t. “I don’t have a car. Nor do I have a place to live in any of the cities where the jobs are. And at this time, I don’t even have a job to be able to save up to get a car. I need this financial help. I. Need. It.”
“Enunciating each word is an annoying habit you kids have,” she mumbled as she tapped away at her keyboard again.
“I’ve got one internship at a refinery here in Lubbock.” She stopped what she was doing and leaned in close to the computer screen. “Oh, that one doesn’t pay any money.” She looked back at me. “You do need to make money, right?”
Duh!
I didn’t say that. That would’ve been rude. I was never rude. “I have to make money. If I get a full-time job anywhere, then can I get the financial aid I need, before the fall semester starts?”
“Honey, you’ve got to have a job for six months,” she let me know. “There’s not that much time between now and September. I’m sorry. I really don’t know what else I can do for you.”
“I will do anything. Please. Anything at all,” I pleaded with her. “Give me anything you can. Please. I will crawl through fire to finish this degree.” I felt like an idiot.
Really, I’m begging to get into debt that will take me years and years to pay off?
Begging?
Her eyes closed as she seemed sad for me. At least there was that. Miss Z was sad for me. “Honey, you need to go do that begging to someone who can guarantee this loan for you. Do you know anyone at all who could do that? Any member of your family that’s worked a job for at least six months? A friend who trusts you to pay the money back, so they don’t have to?”
