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She thought she was a queen, but perhaps she had only ever been a pawn.
As Scout fell back asleep, her last thought rang like an epiphany clamoring through the belfry of her mind. In life, everyone who encroached on the king got fucked—social intercourse indeed.
Chapter 28
A New Leaf
Sunday was a mix of diversions. Scout woke up feeling, for the first time in weeks, refreshed. No longer would she be the wallowing sad case she’d allowed herself to become. No. She was starting a new chapter in her life. It was a new day and she had a new job and she decided it was time to break out of this funk and mold the new her.
She spent the morning filling out paperwork with Parker. Once everything was completed, she packed her bag and left to deliver her papers to Clemons.
Mr. Gerhard was in his cluttered office when she arrived and, again, he gave her the creeps. He seemed nice enough, but something was off. She was grateful she’d be working the registers on the other side of the store, far away from his office.
After Clemons, she visited a thrift store several blocks away and found a pair of gray slacks that fit. Locating the grapefruit pink Clemons dress shirt was another challenge, but she found one at a local uniform shop down town.
She was down to thirty-two dollars in cash. That was the last of her honestly earned money. It was going to be a tight few weeks. She refused to use the card Lucian placed in the envelope.
He broke up with her because she wouldn’t marry him. She didn’t play games and thought he didn’t either. So why had he left her all that money and put some invisible timeline on their “break”?
Deep down, if what Parker suggested was correct, she knew Lucian would never come back for her, not if he was in Paris vacationing with someone else. The thought of being replaced so quickly was unfathomable, but gutted her all the same. Still, it gave her a little more control to imagine him coming for her and her being gone, his guilt money sitting in an account, untouched.
No, she would not take a single cent from that man. The thirty-two dollars would just have to last until her first paycheck, which would come at the end of the month. It would be tight, but she’d starve before she tapped into that account.
Parker offered to spot her. She didn’t want to borrow from him either, but she would. He’d keep track and let her pay him back. Still, she planned on doing everything in her power to not have to resort to borrowing.
It shouldn’t be difficult. She’d lived on much less in the past. They had a pantry full of food. Their rent was paid. She had her uniform for work. And she could walk everywhere she needed to go.
By the time she returned to the apartment on Sunday night, it was dinnertime. Parker was making grilled cheese and tomato soup again.
“Hey, how did it go?”
She plopped her bag on the counter. “Good. I got my uniform and dropped off the paperwork.”
“What time do you have to be in tomorrow?” He slid a crispy sandwich off the pan and onto a plate. She carried it to the table and returned as he served up the next one.
“I’m scheduled for seven to three.”
He paused in ladling out soup. “So early?”
She swapped out the bowls. “Only on Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Thursdays I’m off and Fridays and Saturdays I work from nine to five.”
He looked disappointed. “You’ll be working every Saturday?”
She poured two glasses of milk and followed him to the table. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”
They walked to the table and settled into their seats. “No, I just figured you’d have off on the weekends. I was looking forward to doing stuff.”
“Oh, well . . . I don’t think I really get a say in my schedule until I’m there for a while.”
She took a nibble of her sandwich and watched as he frowned over his soup. She understood working the weekend was not a favorable shift, but his disappointment surprised her. Why did it matter so much to him?
Lucian used to resent her time working, but they had an entirely different arrangement than she and Parker. Maybe she should say something to Parker about what was happening to them, but she still wasn’t sure if bringing up the sense that they were changing was smart.
She intended to address the awkward turn their relationship had taken, but when she spoke, something totally different came out of her mouth. “What time do you leave for work?”
“I’m usually out of here by seven thirty, back by six.”
That would be almost three hours to herself each day and all of Thursday. She kept her gaze on her food so not to give away her relief. As much as she appreciated Parker letting her move in with him, she still valued time to herself.
