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“Fan of football?” I ask.
He glares back at me and then gets the joke. “Good one,” he says. “Where are we headed?”
I give him our address and then sit back, closing my eyes.
“Bad night?” he asks.
“Got yelled at by my ex-boss. She tried to get me fired this morning. I’ve had better days.”
“You want to talk about bosses. I worked for this factory once. We had this guy. He used to grab your shirt to see if you were sweating. I swear I got this close to swinging for him when he did it to me.”
“What stopped you?”
“Needed the money. Isn’t that how it is for everyone?”
“I guess so.”
“What you want to do is tell her to go fuck herself. That’s what I did. Got me a cab, and now I work for the only guy I trust. Me. That’s what you want to do. Get yourself in charge of your life.”
“That’s what I’m planning.”
“Yeah? Good for you. Mind if I put on some tunes?”
“Go ahead.”
He switches on the radio. Meatloaf starts playing, and I feel like crying. My life was going fine a couple of days ago. Now, look at it. Oswald chasing after me again. Hunter making me lose the ability to tell left from right. Melanie hates me.
The cabbie’s right, I think to myself as the shadows of the streak of the streetlight across my lap. Work for yourself. It’s the only way to go. Luckily for me, I’ve got a shortcut to getting there. I’ll go tomorrow, but that’ll be it. I’ll take the ten thousand. My fellow employees will be safe. It’ll be the last time I ever need anything to do with Hunter Lombardi.
16
Bex
* * *
When I get home, the front door of the building looks different. I realize what it is after looking for a second. The glass has been replaced. There’s a new alarm above the door that looks like it actually works.
The inside has changed too. There are cameras in the lobby and the elevator. My apartment door has been reinforced. I try the key, half expecting it to not work. As I turn it, the Super appears at the end of the corridor, wheeling a dolly with a mattress on it. “You must have friends in high places,” he calls, stroking his mustache with his fingers. “No one gets work done that fast the rest of the time.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
He walks toward me, sniffing loudly. “You can still smell the fresh sealant, can’t you? I love that smell.”
“Did you arrange this?”
“Like I’ve got the budget for this shit. The guy shows up with all the right permits, a team of six behind him dressed like a fucking SWAT team. I swear to God that they come and install all this stuff in about twenty minutes flat. In and out they were. I thought they would do all the doors but nope, just yours. So who’d you sleep with? A Senator? Lottery winner? Who was it?”
“I didn’t sleep with anyone.”
“Well, whoever did this, I doubt they did it out of the goodness of their heart. Trust me. They’ll want something in return sooner or later.” He carries on down the corridor, the dolly’s wheels squeaking as he goes.
I unlock the door of my place and walk inside. The windows have been replaced here too, but there’s no sign of it happening. Not a scrap of dust or splinter of wood anywhere to be seen.
I walk through the whole place. Windows are more secure. Door too. It can only have been Hunter.
I should feel angry that he invaded my personal space, but I don’t. I feel protected.
He did this because of Oswald. He did this to protect me. Even if I turn him down tomorrow, he did this for me. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.
