Page 5 of Aldo

“And you’re good for nights and weekends? Those are the hardest shifts to fill.”

“I’ll take as many as you can give.”

“I can start training you tomorrow.”

“Awesome.” I glanced around. “Can you tell me a cheap place to park? Or should I take the bus?”

“Staff has a dedicated floor. Basement level two. You need a pass, and it’s five dollars a day.”

I grinned. “Let me guess. After probation?”

She laughed. “No, I can give you a temporary one. I just need your car details.”

She wrote down the info and handed me a pass, giving me directions on how to get it.

“So, tomorrow. Six p.m. to two a.m. There is a meet-and-greet tomorrow afternoon in the ballroom. The owner meets every new employee.”

The woman in HR had mentioned that already, so I was prepared. “That is a great concept. Very classy.”

She nodded. “Everything at the Maple is classy. The event is at three, so it’ll be a long day for you, but you can have your meal if you want.”

“My meal?”

“You get a meal and a snack with every full shift. A snack with a half.”

I was impressed. “I met Mr. Ricci earlier.”

She nodded. “He is Mr. Costas’s right hand. The senior manager of the whole place. You won’t have much to do with them, but they do this after every set of hires. Meet the new staff.”

“I’ll be there.”

She smiled. “Welcome to the Maple, Violet.”

I left, clutching the bag with my uniforms. Outside, I slid on my sunglasses and walked to my car. I had parked a long way away since it was cheaper. I used my phone GPS and located the apartment building Mr. Ricci had instructed me to check out. It was a small structure—only four stories high, but the neighborhood was decent and the building was well-kept. Brian Ferris and his wife Fran showed me the studio apartment on the second floor. It was small but clean. One room with a tiny kitchen in the corner, a counter separating it from the rest of the living area. A compact bathroom was on the opposite side, along with the only closet.

“They left the sofa. We’ll get rid of it unless you want it?” Fran asked. “It’s pretty new and clean.”

“That would be great.”

“When can you move in?”

“Now.” I only had two suitcases and two boxes. My jerk of an ex had sold or stolen everything else. And I never left a thing at the hotel. It was safer in the back of my car than in the room. I was certain someone was in there every day when I left to job search. And they weren’t cleaning. It gave me the creeps, but it was all I could afford.

Brian looked surprised, but Fran nodded. “Where have you been staying?”

“Kelly’s Kourt.”

Fran grimaced. “You need help moving in?”

“No, I just have a few things.”

She handed me the key. “Brian will bring the papers to you.”

I closed my hand around the cold metal. “Thank you.”

I carried up my suitcases and the boxes, setting them on the floor. I checked out the small kitchen. Everything had been cleaned, which I was grateful for. The bathroom was tiny, but it was fine. It wasn’t forever. I walked a few blocks up and had a burger at a fast-food place, then stopped at the grocery store and bought some items. It would be a couple of weeks until I got a paycheck, so when I got back to the apartment, I sat on the surprisingly comfortable sofa and counted my money. That bastard Barry had figured out my passcode and emptied my modest savings account and cleared my apartment of anything valuable.

In hindsight, I should have known better. Barry was too charming, too good-looking. He was, as it turned out, also lazy, a liar, and a thief. We hadn’t been dating long when his apartment was “flooded” and he asked to stay with me for a few days. A few days became a few weeks. Then he was gone. With my money, my stuff, and my backstabbing friend. I went to the building he had told me he lived in, only to find they had never heard of him.