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“Don’t do that,” I blurt, my throat tight. “Please. I don’t have Carlo’s current number, but if you’ll call him and loop him into this discussion, I’m sure we can—"
The guy steps forward menacingly. “No, we can’t. Either you’ve got the interest now, or the deal is off. It’s as simple as that. I said I’d help Carlo in exchange for a big favor, but I’mnot gonna go out on a limb this big for him or anyone else. Fuck that.” He’s getting increasingly agitated and angry, that much is clear—and that’s makingmefeel increasingly panicked.
Auggie steps in front of me, putting his body squarely between me and the scary dude. “I’ll pay you the interest right now. I just need to go back into the bank to get it.”
Oh, God, no. Auggie could only be talking about his tuition money. As far as I know, that’s literally the only money he’s got squirreled away—the twenty grand he managed to save before I came along to fuck up his life—the fifty-percent down Auggie needs to pay by midnighttonightin order to reserve his spot in the program and negotiate a payment plan for the rest.
“No, Auggie,” I whisper, tugging on his shirt.
“You were holding out on me, huh?” the guy says. “I figured.”
Auggie puffs out his chest. “What’s the interest rate? Tell me what we owe you, and I’ll go into the bank and get it.
“Our standard interest rate is twenty-five percent.”
Auggie jolts at this horrific news, as a whimper simultaneously escapes from my throat. I’m no math wizard, plus, my brain is freezing from panic, so I pull out the calculator on my phone with a shaking hand—and then gasp at the resulting number. Holy shit. This scary motherfucker is saying we owe him an additionalfifteen grandon top of the sixty we just handed him!
“We can’t pay that much,” I say. “Auggie needs that money for school. His tuition deadline is tonight at midnight.”
The scary man leans forward. “I guess you should have thought of that before stealing money from my boss, huh?” He straightens up and swats Auggie’s shoulder. “Now, get back in there and get the interest payment. I need to catch a flight.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I look at Auggie, on the verge of bursting into tears, and he grabs my hand and squeezes it. “It’s okay.”
“No, wait. Sir, please.”
“You’d better go,” he says to Auggie. He grabs my arm. “She’ll stay out here with me while you get it. Consider her collateral.” He motions to the bulging gun in his waistband to emphasize his point.
“I’ll be right back,” Auggie says stiffly.
I cry silent tears as I watch Auggie walking into the bank. I’ve been a wrecking ball crashing into that poor man’s life—a disastrous force of total ruination.
Several minutes later, when Auggie exits the bank, he’s holding a large manila envelope.
“It’s all here,” he says when he reaches the guy, handing it over. “Fifteen grand.”
The guy opens the envelope and thumbs through its contents, counting to himself softly. “Looks good.” He tips an imaginary cap to Auggie and me. “See you two at the birthday party tomorrow. Pretend you don’t know me when you see me.” He stuffs the envelope into the bag of money from earlier and marches away. A moment later, he turns a corner and disappears.
When the guy is gone, I fall into Auggie’s arms and sob. But he doesn’t hug me for long, out in the open. Pretty quickly, he shuttles me into his car and locks the doors.
“I’m so sorry, Auggie,” I say, as tears stream down my cheeks.
“I’m just glad he’s gone and you’re safe.”
“But you need twenty grand by midnight to keep your spot. How much do you have left in your account?”
“About five grand.”
“Shit. Do you think they’ll give you an extension for that amount?”
Auggie smiles thinly. “Today is the last day of my extension. I’m out of time.”
My heart sinks. “Can you give them the five grand you have and beg them to—”
“Charlotte, it’s over. Trust me. I’ve called in every extension and negotiated every which way. I need to transfer twenty grand on my student dashboard at midnight tonight to reserve my spot. That’s the deal. But don’t worry. I’m pretty sure if I apply for a deferment, they’ll let me back in after a year off.”
I palm my forehead. “I can’t believe I dragged you into my mess. I’m so, so sorry, Auggie.”
“It’s not your fault.”
