Page 4 of Not Mine To Love

Wow. I had just been put in my place by a child. Great. But she had a point. And I definitely didn’t want to seem like a loser in Meredith’s eyes. Not that she would ever think of me like that. Or did she?

I was starting to feel sorry for myself again when Dana’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“And how much exactly is a ton of money?” Dana asked, crossing her arms and looking amused. She didn’t even try to hide the smile forming on her face.

“Ten thousand to start...”

My mouth fell open. “What? Whhhhhhhhhat?”

Meredith looked smug. “You didn’t think I would seriously offer your services and not get you the big bucks, did you? Come on, Becca. I’m way too smart for that.”

“I see she’s inherited my sense of modesty,” Dana said with a laugh.

I was speechless and didn’t know how to reply. Ten thousand dollars was a huge chunk of change. There had to be a catch.

“So what’s the catch?”

Meredith shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t know, Becca. I’m just a kid. Danny gave me her number. I’ll text it to you and then you can call her and discuss your terms. That is what adults do in business, right?”

I shrugged, but Dana nodded.

“Just don’t blow it, okay. I worked really hard to get Danny to convince his aunt that you’re awesome enough to do a great job and worth every penny.”

I placed my hand over my heart. “I promise I won’t mess this up.”

“Good.” She walked away, and I looked at Dana.

“Wow. She made me feel like a clueless child.”

“She does that really well.” Dana turned to me and continued, “Ten thousand dollars. Yikes. She must really hate that guy.”

I shifted uncomfortably. My stilettos were killing my ankles, but that wasn’t the only thing bothering me. “I hope she isn’t some sort of micromanaging crazy person.” I already had enough of that with Leona.

“Me too.”

My phone beeped. I looked down and realized it was from Meredith. Her text just had the number I needed and the name.

I read the name, “Claire Doogan.”

“Claire Doogan, that’s kind of a corny name. For all the money she’s offering you, I would expect her name to be Van der Ville or something.”

“As long as she’s paying me ten thousand, her name could be Princess Aurora for all I care.”

Dana laughed, “My sassiness is finally rubbing off on you. That’s what I like to hear.”

I laughed and made my way back to my car after I said my goodbyes.

I didn’t wait. As soon as I sat in the car and closed the door, I called her.

“This is the Doogans’ residence,” the voice answered. I was intimidated. With its perfect elocution, I felt like a hick suddenly.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, errr ... my name ... is...” I paused after each word and cleared my throat. I could practically feel the impatience of the person on the other end. I must have sounded so incompetent. Get it together, Becca, I hissed at myself in my head.

This time with what I hoped sounded like self-confidence, I said, “I’m Becca. I was told to call this number to speak to Claire Doogan regarding a personal matter.”

“I’ll have Mrs. Doogan return your call. Enjoy the rest of your day.” And then, before I could say another word, the call ended.

I sighed, grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, and placed my head on it. I was sure I had just made the best impression in the world.