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But I don’t hear them because I’m too upset.
“Please, please, don’t send me away. I don’t know even know what a farm looks like!”
Clay and Casper exchange amused looks again.
“Well, there are a lot of animals, a big house and a barn,” Clay begins.
“Not to mention that Missouri’s worked out great for one of our other girls who went off the reservation,” Casper adds in a low tone.
I know who he’s referring to. It’s Hadley, who used to work at Club Z ages ago. She was a giant slut who was sent to Renfrew Acres to live with her uncle, and ended up marrying him of all things. I hear they have a baby now, and are as happy as two clams, but I can’t imagine doing the same.
“No, no,” I moan piteously. “Hadley was a country girl at heart. Her family owns the farm, so she has a background living in nature. But I seriously have never evenbeenin a rural area. It would kill me.”
The twins are getting annoyed now.
“You’re being a bit dramatic, don’t you think? It’ll be more like a nice vacation where you think about what you did.”
“Vacations don’t include manual labor,” I point out in a pitiful voice.
Casper shrugs, clearly done.
“I suppose that’s true. But still, the decision has been made. Your punishment will be a trip out to Renfrew Acres in Missouri. Otherwise, bye-bye job.”
I sit up, sniffling and wiping at my eyes.
“And how long do I have to stay there for? And you promise I get my job back afterwards, right?”
The twins shrug. “You’ll be there for as long as it takes. We’ll keep track of your progress. It could be one month, or a year. Or even a few years.”
I gasp as terror crosses my face. “No! A few years? Please, I’m begging you not to do this. Please, please, please!”
But there’s no changing their minds despite my begging and pleading. Shoulders slumped, I pick up my purse and exit the office with tears still dripping off my chin. Surely, my crime wasn’t that terrible? I even offered to return the candlesticks, good as new.
But now, I’ve been caught and my punishment’s waiting. I can’t go to Missouri. I can’t, but what choice do I have in the matter?
3
Taylor
“Oh my god, girl, I’m going to miss you,” my friend Sydney moans while flopping down on my bed. “Seriously, I don’t get along with the other hostesses. They’re always making snarky remarks about my hair. Listen, I have curls, okay? Maybe sometimes they’re a little out of control, but don’t knock it!”
I nod sadly while picking at a thread on the coverlet. My friend and I are sitting in my apartment, which is a tiny box in the Bronx. I make a nice amount at Club Z, but it’s not enough for a lavish penthouse in the trendiest areas of town. Instead, I’m lucky to be in this fifth-story walk-up in South Riverdale because there are no rats, roaches, or other vermin, and for that, I’m thankful.
“I know what you mean because I have curls too. What is it about the straight-haired girls that makes them hate us on sight? But I’ll miss you too, Syd. Yet I don’t have a choice because Casper and Clay Richmond were in Nicole’s office themselves, and you know they’re the ultimate bosses. So Missouri, here I come.”
Sydney sighs again, staring up at my ceiling, her brown locks spread out in a fan-shape.
“Seriously? This fucking sucks. What did you steal, anyways? That place is chock full of antiques, so I get it. Last month when my rent was due, I was tempted to lift some of their silverware myself.”
I sigh, still picking at the thread on my coverlet because Sydney’s hit somewhat close to home. I bite my lip and gesture towards the gleaming candlesticks, currently perched on the fireplace mantle.
“Those.”
Sydney gasps and sits up, eyeing the ten-inch cylinders. “Wait, seriously? How?”
“It was complicated,” I hesitate. “Plus, I wasn’t evenstealingthem. I was just borrowing them.”
Sydney shoots me a skeptical look. “Borrowing? But for what?”
