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"I know, but just because something is out-of-line, that doesn't mean you have to refuse," Beau said.
"Are you looking at that girl?" Astrid asked noticing Beau's gaze was fixed on the window. "Because she would be way too much for you."
Beau didn't flinch at his mother's words. She was the one who told him there were certain women he could handle and others he couldn't. Beau had his heart broken by a girl when he was younger. He had a girlfriend who tried to get with AJ, and his mother had a brutally honest conversation with him where she laid out the types of girl Beau should date and marry.
Beau was fifteen when they had that conversation, and it stuck with him to this day. Astrid had been painfully honest with her son about some things in that conversation. She said that bold women would only run all over him and eventually break his heart, and from that day forward, Beau had only been in the market for a meek, shy, innocent, woman—someone loyal and not wild, someone he could trust.
The problem was that as he got older, fewer and fewer of those women seemed to exist. By this point, he was starting to think most of the innocent ones his age were married. Holland certainly wasn't meek, shy, or innocent. Maybe she was innocent. Beau had no idea. She wasn't shy, that was for sure. He remembered how she told him it was a French flag. He remembered her playful grin.
"I'm not saying I like her. I'm just saying I feel bad for Sophia trying to pay her back."
"Well, you've got money in the bank. Go call her up and give her the cash if you feel so bad about it. Let her pay the girl back and then she can just owe you the money. I almost told her I would do that, but she said her parents had already given her some of it, and it felt wrong for me to offer her money."
"I don't think Uncle Max would mind the girl staying there. Even when everyone is around, there's still room."
"You can call Uncle Max and ask him that if you want, Beau, but I don't see why you would get involved. She's asking to stay two months or more, and she's got a dog. It's too much."
"What kind of dog?"
"Why do you care?"
"I'm just curious. Do you mind if I call Sophia to see what's going on?"
"No, I don't mind, but I don't recommend it. I don't think you should get involved." Astrid crossed to her desk and set down her coffee. "You have too much going on with school and lacrosse."
Chapter 3
Holland McArthur
"I'm so sorry, Holland," Sophia said for the fiftieth time.
Sorry was good and fine, but it didn’t get my five thousand much-needed dollars back.
"I didn't like that deal about the cabin, anyway, Sophia. I don't need to go to a different state. I just need to get away from the city for a little while so that I can work on my inventory and gallery. I need somewhere I can spread out and work, but I don't want to go all the way to Arkansas to do it. I only agreed to that because you couldn't seem to get my… I'd rather just be paid back, Sophia, so that I can rent a place and go through with my original plans."
Sophia sniffled. She had shed way more tears than I had during the process of all this. "I know," she said. "I wish I had it to give to you. I’m so sorry. We'll figure it out."
One week.
That was what she had said when she borrowed the money. She needed the money for one week. It was to get her boyfriend out of trouble. They told me his parents had agreed to give him the money but they lived out of state and couldn't get it to him for a week. My money was only supposed to be a stand-in until his parents helped out. I trusted Sophia, so I believed her. But it never happened. The guy broke up with Sophia, and I never got paid back.
"Look, I'm done living on campus in May, and that money was supposed to get me through the summer while I focus on my business. It changes everything for me if I have to work to survive while I'm trying to build my brand. That's what I've been doing all this time with school—working and saving up for this."
It was no use saying it again. Sophia knew all of this already, and I felt a little bad bringing it up, but the house in Arkansas felt like settling to me. I wanted my money back. If I had it to do all over again, I would have never lent it to them.
"If I had it, I would give it to you, Holland," she said hopelessly. "I have all of twenty-six dollars in my checking account. I gave Garrett literally everything I had. Everything and more."
"You acted like this was a sure thing, today, Sophia. I curled my hair and missed two hours of work to come over here and try to make a good impression—to chase another dead end with you. I thought I was coming to talk to a lady, and instead, I sit in a stairwell for thirty minutes, and you come out crying."
"I'm sorry, Holland. I thought, I really thought she would say it wasn't a problem."
We continued walking toward her car. I was mad, and I was sorry that I had gone there in the same car as her. I wished I had driven separately so that I could stop and treat myself to a consolatory cup of coffee on the way back home.
I remained quiet as we got into the car and I got settled in the passenger's seat. I thought of going to my own parents with the story to see if they could help me out, but I knew that wouldn't happen. My parents were divorced, and both had a lot going on with my younger step-siblings. I had pretty much been on my own since I moved out. My college was paid for, and my car, but that was it. I worked nights at a music venue to save up for this summer, which was supposed to be used to build my business. And now the money was gone. I pondered these things for several minutes as we drove. She was driving when her phone rang. She answered it by pressing a button on her steering wheel.
"Hello?" she said in a loud tone, obviously expecting someone to be on the speaker phone. "Hello?"
I really didn't care who she was talking to. I didn't feel like interacting with her, so I just stared out of the passenger's window.
