AllFreeNovel
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And again.
I may have a truckload of problems in my life right now, but money is no longer one of them.
I nearly trip over my own heels in my mad dash for the cashier’s counter. A few curious people follow me with their eyes and I realize I need to be as minimally conspicuous as possible until I get out of this building. Hell, until I get it all deposited in the bank and take Willow far, far away from this place.
“I’d like to cash out, please.” I smile at the middle-aged cashier wearing the casino’s signature gold referee uniform and a matching gold chain on her reading glasses. She seems nice, trustworthy. She returns my smile warmly.
That smile immediately plummets into a look of pure shock when she scans the ticket. “I—ah… Are you sure?” she asks with a small, nervous laugh.
“I’m very sure.” My fingers clutch my bag until my knuckles turn white.
She clicks a few things on her keyboard, glancing at me every five seconds. It’s difficult to tell what she’s thinking. Her face keeps switching between different expressions depending on what she’s looking at—the computer screen, the ticket, or me.
“Okay, I’ll just need to see your driver’s license, and…” She turns and dips for something under the counter, then sets a stack of papers in front of me. “I’ll need you to fill these forms out. Top to bottom, please. If you have any questions, just ask.”
I try to not look or feel as overwhelmed as I suddenly feel. “All this?”
She snorts, but it’s all in good nature. “All this for allthat. You will also need to make sure you file a W2-G when tax season rolls around, and be aware that all winnings are typically subject to a twenty-five percent tax rate?—”
“Twenty-five percent?” I blurt out.
A few people glance our way. I immediately duck my face behind my hand.
The cashier gives me a genuine little chuckle. “Honey, twenty-five percent taken from your winnings still leaves you a very wealthy woman. If I were in your shoes, I’d take the win.”
“Right. You’re right. Sorry.”
Solid point, really.
I get to work filling out the forms, bubble by bubble and letter space by letter space. Who knew hitting it big time at the casino would be so… so…boring?
I slide the papers back to the cashier, and she gives them a thorough review before nodding her approval and scanning them into the system.
“You have a few options for your on-site payout.” She slides a thick linen brochure to me. “But I will need to know if you would prefer a lump sum deposited into your bank account, or if you want it dispersed in an annuity?—”
“Can’t I have it in cash?”
She blinks at me.
Then she cackles.
“Sweetheart,” the cashier coos once she can breathe again, “Iwishyou and I could see and feel what that amount of cash is like. Believe me. But to be honest, the house doesn’t physically have enough cash to cover that amount up front.”
“Oh.”
There must be something in the way my face instantly falls that tugs at her. Maybe it’s the tears brimming in my eyes. Or the hopelessness I suddenly feel.
Whatever it is, it makes her reach across the counter to pat the back of my hand. “I can, however, give you a nice chunk of change tonight. If that will help?”
“Yeah?” I sniff back the tears that thankfully didn’t fall. Yet. “How much?”
She clicks a few keys on her keyboard. Scrunches her face in thought. Mutters a few things to herself, and it sounds like she’s dancing through a few loopholes for my sake.
“How does… fifty thousand sound?”
I do a dry spit take, and then quickly wipe my mouth clean with an embarrassed blush. “Um, yeah! That… that will be great.”
More than great. I made half that for the whole of last year.
