Page 48 of Strings
“I’ll be sure to put something together for you.”
“I look forward to it.”
He motions for me to exit. As I’m about to leave, I turn to face him. I stare directly into his eyes. “Have a good evening, Theodore.”
“You as well, Natalia.”
Amy is sitting outside his door and jumps up immediately as I walk past her and to the elevator. I’m a twisted combination of irritated and motivated.
“Everything okay?”
“I want to see all of last year’s numbers for the Gala. I want a list of all the vendors we used, the post-event surveys, and the guest list.”
Amy frantically writes as I speak.
“Then I want to know everything we’ve done for this Spain trip for the orchestra. I want you to get the agent who arranged the flights and reservations on the phone when we get in the office, and I don’t want to be disturbed. Okay?”
“Yes, Ms. Pearson.”
I gaze over at her. “It’s still Talia, Amy. I’m not upset with you, so please don’t take it that way. I obviously have a lot to prove here, and I intend on doing just that.”
I leave promptly at five and have a cab waiting. He takes me to the bank closest to my apartment, where I open a checking account for my direct deposit. My documents and credit rating seem to pass, but I’m sure my flirting with the banker helps. As I’m walking out the door he asks if he can call me. I tell him I’m seeing someone. Bash comes in handy yet again. Damn him. The more I lie about dating him, the harder it is for me to remember I’m not. What’s gotten into me?
“You’re supposed to bebuildingwalls, Talia,” I mumble to myself. I can’t let anyone, especially the cocky fiddler, make me forget that.
After I finish at the bank, I walk to the store and buy a bright pink pot for Stella and a bottle of tequila for me. I’m close enough to home to walk the rest of the way, even though it still takes me thirty minutes. It’s been a long day and I’m looking forward to taking a hot bath, having a drink, and curling up with all the work I brought home.
I have twenty-eight dollars and fifty-three cents left to my name until I get paid, and that won’t be until the end of next week, so I need to be careful. The taxi cab was way more expensive than I realized it would be. I don’t care what Bash says; the bus is the way for me. No one tells me how to live and I refuse to rely on anyone for anything, let alone him.
Bordo lit a much needed fire under my ass today, and I’m going to prove to him and everyone else that I belong here. I’m going to dive into my work tonight and make sure Bordo never has a reason to question me again.
As I fumble with the keys to my door, I hear Cherese pounding her way up the stairs. I place my bags on the floor to get inside quickly. I don’t feel like making small talk.
“Hey,” she says as I open the door.
“Hey.” Hoping I can get away with that as the entire conversation, I start to close my door.
“What’s wrong?”
I peek around it. “Nothing. Long day.”
“I see. Tequila, huh?” She laughs, pointing to my bag still on the floor outside my door.
I’m a dumbass. I step outside and bend to lift it. “It’s dinner.”
She unlocks her door. “This is why you pass out. You need to eat.”
“I drink my feelings.”
“Oh… that’s deep.”
As I almost close my door once more, I have a thought and yank it open. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me Bella lived in Three-A?”
“She made herself known, I take it?”
Leaning my head on my door, I sigh. “She was a total bitch.”
“I guess I should have warned you when you brought her up, but she’s rarely, if ever, here and I was hoping you’d never have to worry about seeing her. I feel like she spends most of her time at her parents’ house and comes here when she wants to slum it.”
