Page 14 of House of Deceit

“Great, thank you so much.” I hang up the phone, too stunned to move. “What. The fuck. Was that?”

I drop my smile and stiff posture as I quickly video call Courtney back and try not to pass out while I wait for her to pick up.

“Was it about a job?” She plates the finished food as J.D. and Caleb settle into the table behind her.

“Did I sign up for House of Deceit?”

“Random. How would I know?”

“Because the only night that I would have done such an idiotic thing like signing up for a reality show, would be when I was drunk with you two months ago and I vaguely remember you mentioning it. And she asked for Charles Price. You’re the only one that calls me Charles, Court!” We sit in silence, unable to remember most of our tequila night.

“Are you going to do it?” she asks, breaking the silence.

“They are offering five grand just for signing up and being on the show for twenty-four hours. So, yeah.”

“Okay, this has way more promise than selling your panties to people.” J.D. chokes on his taco and she reaches over, absentmindedly patting him on the back.

“And way less embarrassing,” I concede.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. Depends on how they edit the footage,” Courtney reminds me.

“This is a nightmare, but the five thousand can keep me in my apartment for the next three months while I continue to job hunt. I’ll just go, and then after the first few days, I’ll say it’s too stressful and drop out.”

“Looking on the bright side, I love it. It’s a nice change for you because I gotta tell ya, you’ve been a real bummer lately.”

“I feel like I was entitled to a little self-pity.”

“Fair point, but it’s more than that. Mark destroyed the Charlie I knew, and you were getting better, more confident, and then Scott said that bullshit about needing someone with drive and it knocked you down again,” her voice becomes hard, which is rare for her. “Have some faith in yourself that you can win and stay the entire time.”

“I have to find a job. If I take the five thousand and stay, I’ll be wasting the time I could job hunt while my expenses are covered.”

“I hear you, I do, but you could win a quarter of a million dollars, dude,” Court says.

“Half a million,” I inform her.

“I’m sorry, my brain just glitched. What?”

“Half a million. They raised the prize this year, it seems.”

“That seals it. You have to do it.”

“But what if I went the entire way, lost, and then when I got home, I’d be in the same spot!” I say, lashing out at her.

“Okay, I’m coming over tonight and we are going to talk about this while we binge seasons, taking notes on the different types of competitions you should be ready for.”

I roll my eyes but open my car door, making my way to my apartment, knowing she will not change her mind no matter what I say. “Okay, sounds good.”

“And Charles?”

“Yeah?”

“You can win this.”

The strip mall the attorney’s office resides in is rundown and crumbling, more graffiti than paint on the face. Weeds grow through the cracks in the asphalt, potholes littering the parking lot. The “N” of a boarded-up nail salon hangs by a wire, spinning in the wind, while a stray cat sits on the sidewalk, a leg in the air as it cleans itself.

“Do you think this is right?” I ask Courtney.

“Only one way to find out, I guess. If someone jumps out at us, I am going to push you so they murder you first,” she warns me.

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