She shrugged her shoulders. “How you find the money isn’t my problem, Emma. It’s yours.”
“How long do I have to figure it out?” I whispered.
“Rent’s due in a week. I’ll need to know by then.”
My shoulders slumped. “And if I can’t swing it?”
“Then I’m going to have to post a new ad for a roommate right away, so I can find someone to take your room before I fall behind on rent. And I’ll need you to move out as soon as I find your replacement.” She picked up the remote control from the coffee table, aimed it at the television, and turned it on.
Apparently, the conversation was over, and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do to change it. With tears filling my eyes, I went into my room and shut the door behind me. I crawled onto my bed and pulled the covers over my head. I gave myself half an hour to cry it out, and then I yanked open the top drawer of my bedside table and pulled out the roommate agreement Katie had me sign when I moved in a few years ago. I’d been so happy to find a place quickly that I hadn’t read through it as closely as I should have, and I was paying for the oversight now. Katie’s name was on the lease, and she only had to give me a week’s notice if she wanted me to move out. She wasn’t super friendly, but I never thought Katie would pull something like this.
“I’m in so much trouble,” I groaned. I didn’t have a lot of options since I’d already run through most of the other half of my savings. I could give Katie the extra money for a month or two, but without getting a second job I wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. I couldn’t rent a place on my own, not with what I made at the diner. Finding another roommate with a spare room was bound to take much longer than a couple weeks, and the cost of the move would be impossible to swing. I couldn’t go back home, not after the way my parents had reacted to the move in the first place. Going back to North Dakota would mean they were right about me not being able to make it here on my own. Then I’d never be able to prove them wrong and make them proud of me. I couldn’t even tell them what was going on, or else they’d come here to drag me back home for my own good.
Pulling my old laptop out, I went online to look for waitressing jobs with night shifts who wanted someone with a few years’ experience. When that didn’t turn up a ton of leads, I switched over to apartment hunting. I never did eat that lunch I’d promised Cosmo I’d grab. Or dinner, either.
I hoped tomorrow brought better things.
…
I felt like crap when I started my shift at the diner the next morning. That’s what no sleep or food for almost an entire day will do to a person. I was practically dead on my feet as I trudged through the first seven hours at work, but I wasn’t tired enough to miss the way Cosmo’s chest was puffed out as he led a striking woman to an open booth in my section. I had to stifle a giggle when I caught the way his eyes trailed down to the woman’s bare legs as she slid onto the bench seat. I couldn’t blame him, though. Not with how great the combination of four-inch black heels and the flared skirt of her red dress made her legs look.
“She asked for you by name and wanted to know when your shift ended,” Cosmo whispered as he walked past me on his way back to the host stand.
My eyebrows rose in surprise, and my gaze slid back to the woman at my booth. I scanned her face, hoping to figure out where I might know her from. Nothing came to mind, but her brown eyes shone up at me when she smiled in greeting. “Emma, I’m Julia Connors, owner of Luxe Connections. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Meet?” I echoed, even more confused. “Why did you ask for my section if we don’t know each other?”
“That’s a long story. One I’d love to share with you”—her gaze swept across the interior of the diner—“privately. Cosmo said you only have another hour before you’re done. So, if it’s okay with you, I’ll order lunch while I wait. Then, if you’re comfortable with it, we can walk around the block to my office to discuss an opportunity I have for you.”
It wasn’t like I had any reason to turn her down. I didn’t have a clue what Luxe Connections was or what kind of “opportunity” she might have for me, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to ignore anything that came my way. It couldn’t hurt to at least hear her out. I nodded in agreement, took her order, and spent the next hour trying not to drive myself insane wondering what she wanted with me. The time crawled by, but eventually I found myself settled on a comfortable chair in her office, staring out the big windows at her incredible view of Central Park. Whatever Luxe Connections did, it certainly paid well.