Page 80 of The Skeikh's Games

Alissa looked at him a bit confused not knowing what he was talking about.

“I understand that you will be getting a place of your own with this check,” he said seeing her confusion.

Alissa smiled, “I can hope,” she said quietly.

“You know,” Miguel continued, “I know a lot of property owners who are looking for a good renter. I might be able to put in a good word for her.” Alissa swore that he winked as he spoke but brushed it off as her own imagination.

“That would be wonderful,” she said, her eyes lighting up with hope.

“Let me know if you need any furniture too,” he continued, “I have a lot of connections.”

She could tell that he was trying to brag about himself, but it only made her smile. She was just happy to be holding the check in her hand. It was the key to a new life for her.

“I will,” Alissa said, smiling at Miguel, “Honestly, I will take all of the help I can get.”

Miguel smiled and tapped on her desk as he walked away, “We’ll have to get together and see what we can do.”

Alissa turned and looked at Miguel as he walked down the hallway. His pinstriped suit looked amazing on him and he walked with such confidence. Alissa lowered her head as she wondered if he would treat her the same way if he knew where she came from.

She had heard about the type of man Miguel was. He was not only an experienced attorney, he was loaded and he only associated with those who were loaded. Alissa had heard that he used to like to ‘slum it’ as the secretaries called it and date girls that were not as wealthy as he was but she was sure that was only a rumor. Looking at him she could tell that he could have any woman he wanted. He had a way of dominating the entire room, demanding all of the attention without even having to say a word. He was the type of man that Alissa had always dreamed of.

She shook her head as she looked down at her check. He was way out of her reach and she knew it. Instead of focusing on the fact that she would never have a man like Miguel she instead chose to focus on her check. Her parents had not idea that she was getting paid, she had told them that she was still doing the internship and she was not going to let them know she had money.

They had experienced amazing windfalls when Alissa was a child, 100 thousand dollars here, 50 thousand there. The same thing happened every time, they would get the money and go on a crazy shopping spree. Within a few months the family was broke and back to eating hotdogs for dinner while her dad tried to sell off the stuff they had bought with the money they had.

Alissa had never known what it was like to live in a real house and that was her goal. She had already contacted a few realty agencies so that she could look at houses that were up for rent. She was going to open a bank account right after work to make sure her parents never found out about the money, then as soon as she found the right place she was going to move in.

Excitement filled her body as she thought about her goals. Her future was filled with all of the possibilities that she could ever imagine and all she had to do was to decide what she really wanted. Alissa watched the last minute of work tick by and then headed out the door with her check in hand. She quickly walked over to the bank and opened up her very first checking account. She was full of pride when she walked out of the bank that day knowing that she was taking the steps she needed to change her future.

Alissa walked home that evening just as she did every other evening. She had never been able to get a car like the other girls when she went to school. Her family could not afford it and it always broke her heart a little when she would see girls getting beautiful cars as gifts from their parents. It was okay with her, though, she knew that she would earn her car and she would love it even more just because she had worked for it.

Alissa’s future seemed bright as she walked home. As she approached her families run down trailer darkness and gloom covered her once again. She was always so happy to get away and could not wait until the next morning when she was supposed to meet the real estate agent. Alissa took a deep breath and headed to the home she had grown up in wishing she could just burn it down.

That night she ate with her family and for the first time it was difficult. She knew that she had her check in her new bank account and it took everything she had not to just leave and go purchase real food. She knew she could not however, because she would be following in her parents' footsteps if she wasted her money and that was something she refused to do.

As they ate dinner that night she began to feel bad for her parents for the first time in her life. Her father looked much older to her, she could see what years of hard physical labor had done to him. She could see the sadness in her mother’s eyes and felt a bit of guilt knowing that she was going to be leaving them in the mess they had created. Just as every other night Alissa could remember she fell asleep listening to her parents scream at each other. She was thankful that she did not have a younger brother or sister to worry about and as she fell asleep, she wondered what it would be like to sleep in a home that was quiet.

The next morning Alissa awoke before her parents. She quickly dressed and made her way out the front door. She had a meeting with the real estate agent at 7:30 that morning and did not want to be late. She had planned on visiting several rentals and really wanted to find her new home.

Alissa had agreed to meet the agent at her office and the two of them were going to ride to the various rental units. She knew that it did not look good to the agent that she did not have a car and was embarrassed when she had to explain her situation. It seemed like almost everyone in town already knew who she was and how she had grown up, but it was always hard for her to tell people. What was harder was the way people looked at her. Always with pity in their eyes, telling her how sorry they were for her or that they wished there was something they could do. All she wanted was for someone to give her a fair shot. To not judge her because of her past and to not look at her as if she were a neglected puppy.

She could not wait for the day when she did not have to talk about her past. When she could bring people to her home and not have to worry about bugs crawling across their shoes. Alissa had never dated because of the way she was raised. It had impacted every part of her life. She had chosen not to date because she had not been able to shower on a regular basis when she was growing up. It was difficult to take a shower in a bathroom that was filled with laundry and no clean towels to dry off on. Most of the time there wasn’t even hot water and Alissa hated cold showers.

She knew if she ever let anyone get close to her when she was in high school that it would have only given them an open door to tell everyone how she lived. That was what high school was about after all, making fun of those who were less fortunate. She had very few friends and none of them had known about her home life. They had never come over to her house, she always stayed at theirs and she never let them drive her home.

As she approached the realty office, she wondered what it would be like to have friends over and even imagined what it would be like to have a boyfriend or just to date. As she saw the real estate agent, she smiled knowing that her future was within her reach.

“Hello,” the real estate agent said, “My name is Cara, Mr. Santos called and informed me that you were a very important client.”

“Mr. Santos?” Alissa asked, confused.

“Um,” Cara looked at her, “maybe you know him better as Miguel. He is the owner of the real estate office. He is the attorney you work for, correct?”

“Oh,” Alissa replied, smiling, “Yes Miguel is my boss.”

“Well then,” Cara said, walking over to her car, “let’s get started.”

Alissa smiled as she walked to the passenger door of Cara’s car. She had no idea why Miguel had called and talked to Cara about her, but it made her feel special in a way. For the first time in her life she felt respected and it felt good.

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