Noelle wagged a finger, “No one is going to be as good as you are. You’re the best banker there is. You helped us when we thought our fashion business was so extravagant no one would invest in it. You proved us wrong. You got us investors. You got us a big loan.”
Maybe they were right.
Maybe it was time I used my money and expanded my business. I was thinking of hiring some people just a while ago, after all. This was just confirming my own thoughts.
“I can handle at least one more client on my own,” I then decided. “I’ll go solo for just one more. Whether it works out or not I’ll put in the dough and expand.”
Little did I know my next client would be the one to change everything.
3
Natasha
“How old did you say you were again?” I looked at the loan officer and repeated myself again, “I’m twenty-one. It was just my birthday two weeks ago.”
He was a little bit on the old side, with a balding head and a beer belly. The man scrunched up his face, looked at my application again and then handed it back to me.
“Look here, I really want to help you; I do. I think you’ve got a really nice idea that could be profitable. However, you’re young, you’re not even done with college and you’ve got no business experience.”
Oh shit. He was going to reject my loan application. I did my best to distract him and maybe get him on my side. I leaned in a little closer and pressed my arms against my tits, hoping he’d see my cleavage more through the tight white shirt I had on. I then looked up at him with big puppy eyes and fluttered my eyelashes his way.
“Cute,” he said when he noticed me trying to flirt with him. “I’m gay. The answer’s no.”
So once again I got ‘no’ for an answer. This was the fourth bank agent I’ve been to ever since I got in the city and it was the fourth loan officer to turn my loan application down. I walked into this bank with a lot of optimism and had to walk out sulking and cold.
At least I felt glad for wearing those skimpy shorts my mom gave me. It was blistering hot today and I’d probably had passed out if I was wearing anything thicker.
I hung my head low and just sighed in sorrow as I walked over to the bus stop. The only person there was another girl, around my age, sitting on the bench. She was taller than me and had on a cute black leather outfit. She seemed kind of goth to me but I wasn’t so sure.
Not wanting to bug her, I just sat down on the bench and waited for the bus to arrive. She didn’t even look up at me when I got near – she just stared at her phone as she continued to chat with someone online.
Seeing her use her phone made me want one as well. I had one before but it was my mom’s and I had to give it back when I left home. Maybe if I had one I could apply for a loan online and at least chat with some of my friends. At least then I wouldn’t feel so depressed.
Fifteen minutes passed by silently and the bus finally came. I got on, paid and took a seat in the middle. There weren’t a lot of passengers and I got to sit down
alone. The goth girl sat all the way in the back and didn’t seem to care about anything else in the world except for the person she was chatting with. She just kept on typing away without a worry in the world.
As the bus began to move I leaned back on my seat and began to ponder about my decision. Maybe it was the wrong idea to come here. Maybe I should have listened to my aunt and just finished studying at the community college. At least in a year or two I’d be done and could work as a nurse instead of waiting tables while hoping someone would grant me a business loan.
I gazed out the bus window and watched as the buildings whirled by. I was starting to get a little hungry but when I checked my wallet I only had a few dollars left. I didn’t want to use my credit card again because that too was almost at its limit. The pain only grew worse when the bus drove by a large pizza place and a burger joint downtown. My mouth was watering and the empty feeling in my gut was getting cold and heavy.
But then I saw a sign. At first it looked pretty small but the words still stood out to me. In yellow and red font it read “Phoenix Banking wants to make your dreams come true! We’ll handle all your loans, investments and banking needs.”
Those words were like a gift from the heavens.
I quickly got up from my seat, pressed the button to halt the vehicle and waved at the front of the bus. The bus driver saw me and gave a nod as he slowly parked to the side of the road. I ran up and out of the bus, giving the driver a smile before the doors shut and he drove away.
“Phoenix Banking, huh?” I commented to myself. I looked across the street and saw a small office sandwiched between a Laundromat and a salon. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion but figured there was nothing else to lose at this point. With a shrug I carefully crossed the street.
Fortunately the place was still open and there wasn’t a single other client in sight. I did see a woman sitting behind the desk and she greeted me with a dry glance.
“Sit down, miss,” she instructed me as she continued to stare at my outfit. I sat down and watched as the lady picked up her landline phone, dialed an extension number and informed the person on the other end, “We got someone here. You want me to let her in?”
There was a pause, she went “uh-huh” and “okay” and then ended the call. The lady then pointed to a hallway to her left, “Go ahead, lady. Just go down this hallway and enter the door to the far left. Mr. Phoenix will be waiting there for you.”
I gave her a smile and walked down the hallway.
4