10. Chapter 10
Veronica
I look at my phone. Miles has a way of putting me in a bad mood.
I bet he’s an overachiever, the perfect child who could do no wrong.
I push thoughts of that limp-dick asshole to the side.
I’m excited and nervous. Tomorrow is my first day volunteering, and it means so much that Nina and Serena trusted me enough to be part of something so important to them.
I’ve never worked with anyone or for anyone.
I look at the outfit I laid out; the dress code is casual but not too casual.
I’m debating whether to have a drink to calm my nerves.
One wouldn’t hurt, right? I go to my wine rack and stare at a bottle of red but decide against it.
My driver pulls up to the building located in the heart of the city.
I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up to volunteer.
I thought it would be a small building in a shopping center with three people working.
No, this is a building all to itself. I walk through the front door; the walls are painted in shades of purple.
Photographs of families and what I assume are volunteers are mounted on the walls.
It’s welcoming. I walk to the receptionist. She’s wearing a vibrant red blouse, which is my least favorite color.
What stands out is her bright and welcoming smile. Her name tag reads Lana.
“Hello, I’m Veronica Kayde. I’m a new volunteer.” I can’t tell if she recognizes my name. If she does, she’s not making it known. I’m grateful, and I already know that I’m going to love it here.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lana.” She extends her hand. “Serena and Nina let me know you would be coming.” I take her hand and shake it. “I’ve been here since the first day.”
I don’t know Lana, but broken people seem to recognize broken people.
“Thank you, Lana, I’m ready. So put me to work.”
Lana smiles. “Well, you’ll be working with Andrew. Now let me give you a tour before our next appointment arrives.”
This place is not what I expected. There are at least fifteen people working here, in addition to a number of volunteers.
There’s a whole floor dedicated to children’s needs and another for adults.
They have volunteer medical professionals on call.
We enter the kitchen, and I see Theo Lobo talking to a cook.
He turns and looks at me with recognition.
I don’t know him very well, but I do know that he’s best friends with Serena and Yuri.
He’s also married to Elias Lobo, Yuri’s older brother.
He stops what he’s doing and walks over to me.
“Veronica Kayde! I heard you were going to be helping. Welcome!” He gives me a hug. He smells like frosting. I look to see what’s on the counter—a birthday cake.
“Hi, Theo.” I look over at Lana, who’s moved to the cake.
“Oh, he’s going to love it!” She jumps up and down with excitement.
Theo turns to her, then back to me. “We have a mother and son who have been here for a week. His birthday is today, so we decided to bake him a cake. They’re waiting for housing, so until then, we’re taking care of them.”
“Where are they sleeping now?”
The cook with the name tag Steve answers, “The fourth floor has been converted into dorm-style rooms. There are only a handful, but it’s something.”
“That’s why you’ll be working with Andrew, to help find properties that can be used for housing,” Theo informs me. He looks at Lana. “I can take her to Andrew.” She nods and walks back to her desk.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to him.” I follow, taking in my surroundings.
“How did you get involved?" I ask, but I realize I already know the answer.
“Serena’s my best friend. This is also a great way to give back to the community.”
“How can she afford all this?” I feel stupid for asking. But seriously, this place is huge.
He pauses and turns to me. “Well, that’s a question for Serena, but recently your cousin Caleb lost a bet, and that money has helped tremendously.”
We stop in front of an office; the door is ajar, so Theo lets himself in. “Andrew, Ms. Veronica is here.”
Andrew stands up from behind his desk. He’s older, I’d say he’s in his mid-to-late forties, but he’s very handsome.
He’s a bit taller than me, but not by much, and that salt-and-pepper beard—my first thought is sexy Santa.
I don’t realize I’m staring when I feel Theo’s elbow nudge my arm.
When I turn in his direction, he smiles and winks at me, having caught me drooling over Andrew.
Maybe it’s my high libido and lack of actual sex.
“Well,” Theo begins, “I must finish a cake. We’ll be singing happy birthday to Matt
in an hour. You don’t want to miss it.” He heads back to the kitchen.
“Hello, Ms. Kayde, please take a seat.” He moves to a corner where there’s a small round table with two chairs. “I’m excited to have you be part of my team.”
“I’m excited to help, and please call me Veronica.”
“Okay, Veronica. Let me tell you what we’ll be working on.” He hands me a folder. “Mainly on funding, but not only living expenses for individuals and families. We want to provide them with a sense of security. It’s more than shelter or a roof over their heads; it’s a home.”
I’m looking through the folder, and it’s full of vacant properties. I look at Andrew. “These can provide housing to dozens.” Besides being very attractive, I can tell Andrew is smart and passionate about this project.
“Yes, we have a budget allocated for properties. My goal is to stay below budget, maybe talk to the sellers, and try to decrease the price in the name of a charitable contribution. We need to charm the sellers.”
“I can do that.” I’m confident in myself. “Can I ask why you are here, Andrew?” I’ve always been nosy.
“I’m Annie’s brother, with a background in architecture. During the beginning stages of this, I assisted in finding the location and saw through the renovations, and I never left.”
“I honestly didn’t know Serena was part of this until a couple of months ago,” I admit. “No one did.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t. She didn’t want any credit, but to be fair, this wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without her.”
“So I guess we need to get started, don’t we?” I look at the properties. “Would you mind if I took a copy of this with me?” I wave the packet in my hand.
“Not at all.” Andrew gets up and walks to the door. “Now, let’s finish the tour and then grab some cake.”
The rest of the day is spent going over my volunteer duties.
We went over a community event that’s coming up in a couple of weeks.
Other volunteers are helping with children’s services, in the kitchen, and with other administrative tasks.
I met some of the families staying here.
A woman left her husband while he was at the store buying beer.
She took her son, got into her car, and never looked back.
I met a young man who left his partner after years of emotional abuse.
He stayed because he thought his partner would change.
I’ve never been physically hurt by another person, but I know what it’s like to be someone’s emotional punching bag. You walk around with an internal wound; just when the scab is healing, you pick at it, and it opens up again. It leaves a permanent scar that you try to cover, but it’s always there.
Before I left the office, I emailed Nina that I would be coming back daily to assist with anything that is needed.
I’m going to be treating it as a full-time job.
I walk into my apartment, which, up until now, I’ve taken for granted.
I go to my refrigerator and see it’s empty.
Why am I surprised? I pull up the mobile food delivery service, and I decide on some Thai food.
I hear my stomach rumble, and my mouth waters.
All I had today was coffee and cake at the office.
Theo made pasta for everyone, but I was too nervous to eat in front of others, so I made up an excuse not to eat.
Thirty minutes later, my food is delivered. I sit at the kitchen island with the list of properties Andrew gave me, my laptop open with the search bar ready to go, and my food next to me.
I look at the first property, 4184 Bluegrove Avenue.
It’s an old apartment complex with eight units.
It’s not located on the best side of town, but not the worst. I pull up a couple more.
The last one, 1838 Skyhills Drive, is just an empty lot; it’s close to the edge of the city.
It’s huge, and I can see the potential for building something from the ground up.
I don’t see a listing price on the printout or online.
I move my mouse over to the “Contact Agent” tab.
Clicking on it, the R. Gomez Real estate logo comes up: Rebecca.
As in Rebecca, who helped me with his apartment, Rebecca?
I look at the number on the computer screen and pull out my phone.
I scroll to her saved contact, and yes, it’s the same person.
I press the dial button without thinking twice.
“Ms. Kayde. Hello.”
I guess she also has my phone number saved. “Hi, Becca. I was wondering if you would assist me with some information.”
“Of course. Is everything all right with the apartment?”
“Oh, yes, the apartment is great. It-it’s actually about another property. I saw your contact information for 1838 Skyhills Drive.”
“Let me pull up the property.” I hear her typing. “Oh yes. That property has been on the market for some time. No offers have been accepted.”
That’s shocking. I’m looking at it, and it’s a wonderful location, and the price isn’t an exorbitant amount, but it’s still out of the budget for what I’m looking for.
What if I convince the owner? “Rebecca, would you mind putting me in contact with the owner? I know it’s a lot to ask, but this is for a very important project. ”
I hear the hesitation in her voice. “I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.”
I need to charm her. “I understand this is out of the ordinary, but I’m looking at properties for Nina’s Hope. This would be such a win for us.”
“I really don’t know if I can help,” she whispers into the phone. I assume so that no one else can hear her.
“Becca, you have a customer for life with me. I promise I will owe you for this.” Not to sound like a fucking celebrity, but having a Kayde on your side is like hitting the lottery. She knows that, and I know that.
With resignation in her voice, she says, “I can’t give you his contact information. What I can tell you is that he also owns the building you are living in.”
“Cam Villanueva?” You’ve got to be kidding me. I don’t give her time to confirm. “Thank you, Becca.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Kayde. I do hope things work out for you.”
Great, just fucking great. The man is my neighbor, and interacting with him is the equivalent of listening to your least favorite song play as you wait in the DMV. I look at the properties and reconsider my top choices.
After volunteering for a couple of days and looking at multiple properties with Andrew, I keep coming to the same conclusion.
I need to swallow my pride, at least in this matter.
I pull up my messages and go through them until I find his last message.
It’s been weeks, and even though he lives across from me, I can’t bring myself to walk the couple of dozen feet to his front door and knock.
So I type a message and push send. Hoping to god I don’t regret this.