She wasn’t much older than I was, and I’d liked her right away.
“You’re not a homeowner,” Judy snapped.
Lilith’s grin continued. “I’m my parents’ proxy.”
“Fine.” The older woman waved this off, not wanting the distraction. She picked up her papers and tapped them into a neat stack as she refocused on her goal. “This association doesn’t have the power to evict a homeowner, but what we can do is revoke the agreement we made with the Woodsons, which allows them to collect rent and have tenants.”
She looked so fucking smug about evicting Abbie, Jaquan, Colin, and me. My jaw hurt from how hard I clenched it, holding back what I wanted to say.
“Therefore, I move we rescind the agreement we have with the Woodsons. Their tenants will need to move out, and the Woodsons can expect to be fined for noncompliance until that happens.” She was almost giddy as she asked it of the board. “Who would like to second the motion?”
“I will,” said the elderly woman sitting beside Judy, who was likely the vice president.
“Great.” Judy glanced to her left and then right, checking in with the rest of the board. “Are we ready for the vote? All those in favor of the motion—”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You didn’t open the floor for discussion or debate.”
Her attention snapped to me as if I were a bug she’d like to squash. “I don’t see a need for discussion.”
Was she serious? “If you don’t open the floor, the vote won’t count.”
She sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, and sat back in her chair, making a whole meal out of her frustration. “All right. The floor is open for discussion. Who would like to go first?”
“I would,” I said.
“What a surprise.” Her tone was flat. “What specifically in this motion do you want to discuss?”
“The fines.”
That made Judy hesitate. “What about them?”
“I’d like to know if they will go into the HOA’s fund,” my pulse climbed, “or directly into your pocket.”
The other four members on the board looked confused, but not Judy. She stayed absolutely still, and her expression was vacant, but I didn’t miss the fire burning behind her eyes.
Her voice was a warning. “Excuse me?”
I stood from my chair and lifted the folder I’d brought with me. “This is a list of nearly every fine the HOA has levied over the last two years. It’s not all of them, because some people have moved out, plus I wasn’t able to talk to everyone. But this data in here? It doesn’t match the quarterly statements this board has put out—not by a long shot.”
The vice president looked lost as she turned to Judy. “What is she talking about?”
“I have no idea.” There was the tiniest crack in Judy’s front, and I wasn’t the only one who saw it.
“You’re lying,” Nina said.
The man at the end of the board table lifted a hand to get everyone’s attention. “You’re saying there’s a discrepancy?”
“Yes. Only a fraction of what was collected is reflected in the statements.”
Maybe this president had everyone snowed except for this guy because something flitted through his expression. He worried I might be telling the truth. “How much?”
I’d gone over the numbers three times to be sure. “Over twenty-five thousand.”
One of the board members gasped, and every pair of eyes in the room turned to Judy. She sat in her chair like it was a throne and glared at me as a peasant who’d dare to question the queen. She didn’t slump her shoulders or break down or even look nervous.
Jesus, it was uncanny how much she reminded me of my father when I’d confronted him. She hardened and dug into her anger to protect herself.
“Where’s the money, Judy?” I demanded.
“This is ridiculous.” She arched an eyebrow and sneered. “You barge in here, waving around a folder like it’s supposed to mean something when I’m sure it’s either empty or full of lies, and I won’t have it. This is simply a desperate attempt to distract us from our vote.”
I opened the folder and jerked out the papers inside. “It’s not fucking empty, and numbers—unlike you—don’t lie.”
She stiffened as if I’d slapped her, bristling at the profanity and my accusation. Then, her expression turned so dark, she became ugly. “The only one lying is the girl in front of us who sleeps with people for money. The Bible has a word for what you are.”
Both Colin and Nina launched to their feet, maybe in an effort to protect me, and his single word was a stark warning to Judy. “Don’t.”
“Do you seriously expect this board,” her tone was patronizing, “to believe you, over me?”
For a split second, I was right back in the living room at my parents’ house, staring at my mom in shock as she asked me why I was making up stories about my father. I’d wanted that day to be an intervention for him, and he’d spun his lies so successfully, it had become one for me instead.