Disembodied laughter fills his mind.It won’t be enough. No matter how many pretty dresses your girlfriend sells.
He hates to agree, but he suspects the electronics are right.
Without thinking too deeply about pesky things like privacy and ethics, he activates her computer using the login she created for him. She’s left three windows open. One is the Worldbank login. The second is the GROW contract extension page. Kate’s login is still active and, from what he can tell with a quick scroll, as expected, the contract is still open to extension.
He is about to log in to her bank account when he glances at the third. A tally. Her balance is there, and to his dread, he sees the bottom line, which is a very precarious amount of unicoin away from being red. And that includes over two dozen sales to make over eleven days.
James undoes the top button of his shirt and rolls up his sleeves.
He doesn’t want to be having the thoughts that flood into his mind, but they do all the same. She lied to him. Actually, knowingly lied. Sure, she thought he had it covered as a backup, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that she led him to believe she had a full month covered herself. As it stands, without selling her things, he isn’t sure she has groceries covered.
“Fuck,” he mutters.
He’s still sitting there when a giggling Kate breezes back through the door. As if on cue, the particle panes buzz, switching to a pre-programmed night scene. Dark clouds roll across the screens as the light fades. There’s no moon to ground the sky, but the stars come out all the same.
The moment she sees him, and then the screens he sits in front of, her face drops.
“What are you doing?” she asks, glancing between him and the screens, which display the direness of their situation.
He should save it for the morning when his head is clear. He knows this, but his mouth opens of its own accord. “This won’t work between us if you avoid every difficult conversation.” When she doesn’t respond, he adds, “You can’t lie to me.”
She steps back like he’s struck her. “I didn’tlie.” She says the word like it’s a soggy piece of bread.
Does she believe that?
She shifts her feet, uncomfortable under his gaze. He opens his mouth to argue, but before he can get a word out, she says, “I’m going to bed.”
He’s too pissed off at her avoidance to say anything else. “Off you go then,” he says.
In what he is coming to learn is classic Kate fashion, she plasters on an unconcerned, fake smile and slips into her room.
I guess you’ll be sleeping in your own room tonight, the overhead lights mutter.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he agrees.
The bed creaks with each of James’s contortions. Regardless of how he moves, he can’t get comfortable on the stiff bed in Kate’s spare room. That his mind keeps drifting back to their argument isn’t helping.
He knows it isn’t fair to judge her by his standards. Especially since she’s been making allowances for him this whole time. He owes it to her to do the same. Never mind that he’s been trying to put his trust in someone else to handle something for once.
He takes a few deep, grounding breaths. When he’s had time to calm down, he will discuss this with her. For now, he closes his eyes and lets his mind dissect the more urgent dilemma.
Each path leads to one destination: Plan B. Even if she can sell everything she plans to, he isn’t sure they’ll have enough. It wouldn’t be wise to count on selling a PalmPrint, though he’ll certainly try.
He takes out his device to message Sable.Can we meet tomorrow as soon as possible? We need to discuss Plan B.
Her response comes quickly.Meet me at the Sports Center in your building at nine.
Having a plan, even if it’s a shitty one, makes him feel marginally better. There’s nothing more to do tonight.
He turns over, considering picking up his tablet to distract him. It would be better than the rehashing his mind is intent on doing.
It’s only that Kate told him in no uncertain terms that she had the next month covered. Protested adamantly that she wanted him to depend on her a few hours ago. He wants to explain it, but her denial makes reasoning with her feel like a pointless endeavor. He should have kept his mouth shut and dealt with the matter of their relationship after he solved the problem of his lease.
He throws the blanket off, unwilling to let his thoughts control him. The tablet says it’s four in the morning. Might as well get the day started.
35 – An Uncomfortable Confrontation
K8
