Chapter Ten
A gainst all expectations, Bea had the best night of sleep she’d had in months. She woke up chirpier than she had the right to be, considering she was now being blackmailed. There was a lot to be said for not listening to your ex-boyfriend having sex with his new girlfriend.
As for Alli, well, she’d just have to figure things out, wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like she was asking the impossible. And maybe she was right, maybe she didn’t belong in the program and it was all a big mistake.
In the shower, Bea wondered if that could be true. She’d seen Alli lose her temper with her own eyes. But then, wouldn’t most people get angry after damaging their car? Even Bea herself had been a bit cross.
Mind you, if she hadn’t stood up for herself, if she’d meekly apologized and done what she normally would have done, she’d be worry-free right about now.
She sighed as she toweled herself off. Okay, yes, she was being blackmailed. But it could be worse, couldn’t it? And obviously this was all just a lesson from the universe about not breaking character. She wouldn’t be standing up for herself again anytime soon.
Dressed in yoga pants, sports bra and t-shirt, she went downstairs. She had plenty of time before her first class and was on her way to breakfast when she noticed that Luke’s office door was open. Deep breath, alright, better to take the bull by the horns.
“Ah, yes, Bea, you’ll be wanting to fill out your employment paperwork,” Luke said when she tapped on the door.
“Right, yes,” she said, having forgotten all about it despite Josh mentioning it the night before. Being caught up in criminal endeavors didn’t really focus the mind. Was this a criminal endeavor? Blackmail was a crime, wasn’t it? All Alli wanted was a better room and her own cell phone back though, was that such a big deal?
“Here we go,” Luke said, pulling out a sheaf of paperwork from a file. “Fill out here and here, sign at the bottom, bank info on the next page and you’ll be done.”
Bea sat down at his desk and took the pen he offered. “So, this is a pretty new program,” she said as she started writing.
“And?” snapped Luke. “That doesn’t make it any less effective.”
Bea looked up. She’d just been making conversation. “Of course not,” she said with a smile. “I just meant that it was nice to see someone starting up a program like this.”
Luke grunted. “Right, yeah.”
“Thinking about the community, thinking about rehabilitation rather than punishment for those with anger issues,” she said, signing her name.
“Yeah, well,” Luke said with a sniff. “We’re really trying to move into the relaxation sphere, to be honest.”
“Oh?” She turned the page, scanning the information there.
“More money, better clientele,” Luke said.
“Sorry,” said Bea. “Sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake here?”
“Where?”
“Um, here, the uh, the payment section?”
Luke took the paper from her, looked at it, then handed it back. “No, no mistake.”
For a second, Bea thought about saying more, but she clamped her mouth shut. No. She’d learned her lesson. No arguing. No standing up for herself. She added her bank info and passed the papers back to Luke with a weak smile.
“Good, all done then,” said Luke.
Bea stood up and cleared her throat. Might as well get this over with. “I was just wondering, um, the room situation?”
“What of it?” He wasn’t looking at her, was locking the paperwork away again.
How to put this? “Is there any…” Then she had an idea. “I was just wondering if you had luxury suites, you know, for the better class of clientele that you’re hoping to attract?”
He looked up and snorted. “As if. This place is a dump. It’ll take a sight more money to provide that sort of thing. Everyone’s got the same as of now. Still, I’m thinking about marketing it more as a monastic retreat sort of thing. Simplicity and all that.”
“Ah,” Bea said. No chance of a better room for Alli then. She couldn’t be blamed for that though, not when a better room didn’t actually exist. “That explains why you’re taking all their electronics, I suppose.”
Luke eyed her, then shrugged. “Nah, that’s more because if we don’t, they’re just on them all the damn time and it drives Lex crazy.”
“Oh.” Bea swallowed, feeling her skin tingle. She didn’t like this. It wasn’t lying really, it just wasn’t being as honest as she liked to be. “You must have a bank vault to lock all that expensive stuff away.” She tried for a laugh and it came out more as a squeak.
“A secure trunk that’s padlocked inside of a room that’s locked. Only one key, and that’s on my person at all times. Or at least on my desk.” He narrowed his eyes. “So no chance of a heist, if that’s what you’ve got in mind.”
Bea gave another squeak of a laugh. “Oh no, no. No, of course not. No.” She backed out of the room as she spoke. “I’ll, uh, be going, gotta get ready, got a class…”
Then she turned and fled, smacking into Josh as she rounded the corner.
“Woah, slow down there, speedy,” he said.
Bea stopped and caught her breath. She was not cut out for a life of crime, not even the white collar stuff.
Josh put a meaty hand on her shoulder, then looked down the corridor. “Ah, I see. Coming from Luke’s office?”
She nodded.
Josh sighed. “If it helps, it’s the same for all of us. He advertised a decent salary. But then, when you look into it, he knocks off payments for accommodation, food, anything he can think of. At the end of the day, we’d probably all be better off working at McDonald’s.”
“So why don’t you?” Bea asked, breath now caught.
“Why don’t you?” he asked her. “I mean, this is a step on the ladder, right?”
“For everyone?” she asked in disbelief.
He chuckled. “Well, I’m an ex-con, that doesn’t make getting a job particularly easy. Lex is a new graduate, I’m sure you’ve noticed that she’s young and, well, let’s just say she hasn’t found her confidence yet. And let’s see… Celine just likes a job where no one bothers her, and Luke lets her do as she likes as long as there’s no rat poo in the corners and she doesn’t go over budget on the food.”
“And what about… Daria?” asked Bea, remembering the dark-haired meditation teacher.
Josh looked thoughtful. “Dunno. Haven’t figured her out yet. What about you?”
“I wasn’t meant to be here, remember?”
“And there’s a sentence I hear at least once an hour. No one’s meant to be here,” Josh said with a grin.
Bea puffed out her cheeks. “I need a job. This is a job. It might not be all that, but Luke obviously has plans to expand. I could use some job security in this market.”
“Couldn’t we all,” said Josh, patting her shoulder. “Come on, it’s breakfast time and you might as well take advantage of the food since you’re paying for it and all. It’s the one good thing about this place.”
Bea followed him down the corridor, wondering just what the hell she’d gotten herself into .
LIGHT STREAMED IN through the windows as the ‘programmers’, as Lex had informed her patients were to be called, stretched and bent. Well, most of the programmers. One was very obviously not stretching or bending. In fact, she was leaning up against the wall, looking exceptionally bored.
“And come back to child’s pose,” Bea said.
There was a collective sigh and Bea smiled. She loved this part, the part where people were so clearly relaxed, in such a better position than when they walked into the room. This is why she did the job, even when people, like Robbie, made fun of her. She wanted to help people.
She glanced at Alli, still propping up the wall.
“And you’re all free to go,” she said to the class. “Unless you’d like to stay and drink in the atmosphere for a little longer.”
No chance of that, it was lunch time now. The room was empty inside of thirty seconds. Well, empty except for Alli, who was raising that eyebrow again. Bea’s stomach turned over.
“It’s no good,” Bea said.
“What?”
“There are no better rooms. We’re all in the same position,” said Bea. “As for your phone, it’s in a locked trunk.”
“That I have the code to,” Alli said. “Well, most of the code.”
“And the trunk is in a locked room,” added Bea.
Alli huffed in irritation. “Honestly, you’re completely hopeless at this.”
“I am not!” Bea said, stung.
“Yes, you are. You’re weak, it’s obvious in the way you speak to people. Spineless.”
“Spineless enough to call you stuck-up and snotty,” Bea said. She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. What was she doing?
She’d come over here all intent on helping Alli like she’d helped everyone else, because maybe Alli was supposed to be here, in which case she needed help. And now she was rising to the bait and calling the woman names again.
“Just get the job done,” Alli said, scowling at her.
“How exactly?”
“I don’t know, think of something,” said Alli. “Otherwise, I go and talk to Luke.”
There was silence for a long second as Alli stared her down. Bea looked into her green eyes for as long as she could, but she started to feel oddly hot and had to look away. “I’ll try and come up with something.” Maybe she could borrow the keys off Luke. Maybe Josh would know how to get them.
“Good,” Alli said, pushing back off the wall. “Thanks for the class, teach.”
“You should have participated,” Bea said.
Alli snorted. “Right.”
“No, I just meant…” Bea took a breath. “I just meant that you’d be good, is all.”
Alli stopped and turned back to look at her. “You think?”
Bea nodded. “Yes, I really do. You’ve got the body type for yoga. You could be really good. It’s not just for relaxation, you know. It improves muscle tone and strength, it’s an excellent way to keep fit and slow down the aging process.”
Alli squinted at her and then perhaps decided that she was being honest, so she nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. Maybe next time.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” Bea said without thinking about what she was saying.
“If there is a next time,” Alli said as she walked out of the room.
Bea’s heart rate was far too high for someone who’d just spent an hour doing yoga. Must be all the caffeine. She vowed to cut down to just one cup of coffee in the mornings.