Chapter 11
EVE
A few days later, June came in at eleven, as usual, and slapped the newspaper down on the counter.
“I solved your problem,” she said, coming around the counter to join me.
“Oh? I’m not stripping.” Since Cheney had come in, we’d brainstormed all my earning options. She’d tossed out stripping as a possibility since I had really nice boobs. She’d been joking, although my boobs were a good feature.
She eyed me, then pointed at the paper.
I grabbed it up, scanned it. “The parade of lights?” The front page talked about the annual winter parade that happened the first Saturday in December. “We’re always open for that.”
“Flip it over,” she said, washing her hands at the sink.
I did. “Oh.”
“James Corp is offering low-interest small business loans to locals,” she explained. “It’s an amazing opportunity for the community. You should apply. I’m sure you’ll get accepted and get that capital infusion you need.”
For the first time in days, I felt… hope.
I checked with my lawyer and my father had made the dickhead the executor of my trust fund.
I couldn’t touch a dime of it without Cheney’s approval–which I wasn’t going to get–before I turned thirty.
The only other option was to marry and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be him.
I was not going to be a trophy wife. I wasn’t going to wile away my life.
I wanted to work. To go to bed at night exhausted because of what I’d accomplished, not because I’d shopped too much.
If I was going to marry someone just for the hell of it, it’d be Mr. Big Dick because I might as well get something out of the arrangement.
Steaming Hotties income was good, but not good enough to float rent. Or the bills for coffee beans. Paper towels. I couldn’t pay June or any of the other part-timers for much longer.
“Bridget told me about this, and I completely forgot.” I spun and faced her. “I’ve already got a contract with Mav to supply the coffee for the inn when it opens. He’s seen my business plan.”
She pointed at the paper in my hand. “You definitely have to do it. Then you won’t have to strip.”
I took a deep breath, smiled. “I’d rather strip than shut down out of principle alone. I will not see an ex lord money over me. No way. And my parents can suck it.”
“You go, girl. Reach out to Bridget.”
I grabbed my phone and texted her.