Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Bella
Unemployment wasn’t enough to make ends meet. After paying the rent and utilities, I barely had anything left for food. If I didn’t find a job soon, I’d end up on the streets. Or worse. Back home with my mother.
I was in the middle of cleaning my bathroom toilet when my phone rang. Glancing at it on the counter, I didn’t recognize the number. But I’d sent out a ton of resumes, so maybe it was a potential job offer. I set the toilet brush down and answered the call.
“Hello.”
“Hello, my name is Geneva West with Ever & Oak. Is this Bella Castle?”
“Yes. This is she.”
“I wanted to let you know that I received your resume and samples of your work. I’m very impressed. You have a great talent.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you be interested in joining our team for our Fall line? The woman we had lined up had to back out at the last minute. The job is temporary and only for the fall season. If interested, we’ll need you to start within a few days.”
She rattled off the pay, and it was more than I made at my previous job.
“It’s only for the fall season?” I asked. “Your ad didn’t state that.”
“Oh, it didn’t? I’m so sorry about that. If we feel your work is beyond exceptional, there could be a permanent place for you.”
I already knew my work was exceptional. So, a permanent position was already in the bag.
“Okay. I’m very interested.”
“Excellent. We’ll send you the flight details.”
Instantly, my brows furrowed.
“Flight details? Your ad made it sound like it was a remote job.”
“Oh, it did? Gee, I’m going to have to review that ad again. Anyway, you’ll be filming fall in Manhattan.”
“As in New York?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No. Not at all.” What the hell was I saying? Yes, it was a problem.
“Excellent. You’ll need to find a temporary place to live. I’ll send you the links to the fully furnished apartments we generally use. As soon as you find one, I’ll need the address so we can send you some sample products of our fall line.”
“Okay. Thank you, Geneva.”
“No, thank you, Bella. We’ll chat soon.”
My phone pinged with a link. After clicking it, I started searching for a place to live.
There was no way I could afford these apartments.
Shit. I might as well call Geneva back and tell her I changed my mind.
But the thought of being in New York during the fall season made me smile.
I could consider it an adventure. A way to get out of Massachusetts for a short while and explore something different.
But where would I live? Fuck. My head was starting to hurt. Then I had a thought.
I ran over to my laptop and opened it. I pulled up Facebook and searched for Daisy Campbell.
“There you are.” I smiled. I opened the Messenger tab and sent her a message.
Hi, Daisy. It’s Bella Castle from college.
Can you call me when you get a chance? Here’s my number.
It was a long shot, but I had to try. Within thirty minutes, my phone rang, and it was a New York area code. It had to be Daisy.
“Hello?”
“Bella, oh my God. It was so good to hear from you. It’s Daisy. You wanted me to call. How are you? Oh my God, it’s been forever.”
“Hi, Daisy. Thank you for calling me. I’m okay. How are you?”
“I’m fabulous. Busy. Busy. Busy. Now, tell me why you reached out.”
“I have a problem, and I’m hoping you could help me out. I have a temporary job offer in Manhattan and need a place to stay while I’m there.”
“How exciting. Doing what?”
“Social media content for Ever & Oak for their fall collection.”
“I love their products. Listen, as much as I would love for you to stay with me, it wouldn’t be possible. I’m living with my fiancé at his place, and it’s in the middle of being renovated. It’s a complete mess right now.”
“Oh, okay. It’s just that I can’t afford the short-term rentals there, and apparently the company doesn’t pay anything toward rent. I’ll figure something out or maybe just turn the job down.”
“You’re currently not working?” she asked.
“No. The company I worked for closed. The owners are getting divorced, and I need to find something quick before I end up homeless.”
“I have an idea. How long would you be here for?” she asked.
“At least a couple of months. They want me out there in a few days.”
“My cousin is out of town for three months. He left me in charge of watering his plants. Plus, I’m taking care of his cat, who is scared to death with all the renovations going on. You can stay at his penthouse while he’s away.”
“His penthouse?”
“Yeah. You’ll love it.”
“And he won’t mind?”
“Not at all. I’ll send you his address. Let me know when you fly in so I can drop the cat off. You aren’t allergic to cats, right?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Excellent. It’ll be good to see you again, Bella. I have to run. Call me when you land.”
“I will. Thanks, Daisy.”
I ended the call and inhaled a deep breath. A penthouse. A freaking penthouse in New York City. Maybe my life was starting to turn around. As soon as I got the address from Daisy, I sent it to Geneva, who in turn sent me my flight details. At least they were paying for that.
I headed to my mom’s house to tell her the news.
“Hey, baby.” She hugged me. “What brings you by?”
“I’m leaving in a couple of days for New York.”
“Why?” Her brows furrowed.
“I got a temporary job offer with Ever & Oak. I’ll be creating fall content for their new fall line.”
“Where are you staying? New York is very expensive.”
“A friend of mine from college is letting me stay at her cousin’s penthouse while he’s away for three months. By the time he gets back, I’ll already be gone.”
“Wow. A penthouse?” She smiled. “You be careful in that city. Bad things happen there.”
“Bad things happen everywhere, Mom.”
“Are you sure this is what you want to do? You’ve always been very quick to jump at something without thinking it through.”
“I don’t have a choice. My money is running out, and I need a paycheck.”
“Then don’t you think you should try to find a permanent job?” she asked.
“In this economy? I’m lucky Ever & Oak called me. I sent out over fifty resumes the last two weeks, and they were the only company that called.”
She pulled me into an embrace. “Have a safe flight and call me when you get there. Maybe you should go buy a taser.”
“I’m not buying a taser, Mom.”
“Pepper spray?”
“Already have some.” I smiled.