As if I had summoned him by thought alone, the CEO of the foundation entered the room with purposeful strides. “Thank you for meeting on such short notice. I promise this will be quick.”
I’m sorry, Ginny,I thought.I wish there was something I could do.
And then, to my right, August leaped to his feet. “I want to call a vote,” he blurted out, “to remove Cornelius Cunningham as CEO of the foundation.”
55
Ginny
My life is over.
I took an Uber home, because I hadn’t gone back to my office to retrieve my purse and car keys. Thank goodness I’d brought my cell phone with me. I made it halfway home before falling apart. I tried to suppress my tears, but that just made it seem like I was hyperventilating.
The driver glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. “Uh. Miss? Are you okay?”
I tried to tell him yes, everything was fine, but all that came out was a wail.
“Want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. He handed me a box of tissues and left me alone the rest of the drive. Five stars.
My coworkers had discovered what I did. Including two of my lovers, Michael and August. I was humiliated in a way that defied imagination. Even Carrie, the character from the Stephen King novel, didn’t have it this bad. Pig blood washed off, but the shame of running an OnlyFans account lasted forever.
She’s going to tell my new HOA. I’m going to lose the house.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. The part I dreaded the most was my parents finding out. They would be ashamed of me. They would never look at me the same way again. And they would blame themselves. I knew them well enough to be certain of that. My mom would weep and say that I had done all of this to get them out of their crummy apartment.
And she would be right.
When I got home, I realized I had made a mistake. Not only was I missing my car keys, but I didn’t have the key to my apartment, either.
Fortunately, Mr. Fedener was sweeping up in the lobby. But as soon as I saw him, anger brightened within me like a light bulb turning on. The photos of my apartment, taken from within…
He rushed to open the front door for me. “Mr. Fedener,” I said, balling my hands up into fists. He had a bruise around one eye, and I had the strong urge to give him another one. “You…”
“Ms. Hanover!” he said, ushering me out of the cold. “What are you doing home from work in the middle of the day? Nevermind, it’s not important. I need to tell you something.” He drew me over to the janitorial office, and closed the door. “Some people were here.”
I blinked. “People?”
“Herpeople.” Even though we were in the seclusion of the office, he whispered. “Mrs. Trout. She sent two men here this morning. First thing, right after you left. I only saw them because I was on your floor helping Matt Crawford with his busted stove. Damned thing won’t go above three hundred degrees, even though I swapped out the coil twice and tinkered with the electrical panel on the back. If we had a bigger budget for repairs and refurbishments this wouldn’t be a problem, but of course they’re cutting what little we have next year, which means…”
“Mr. Fedener!” I said. “Focus. What did the men do?”
“The men. Right.” Even though it was cold, he wiped sweat from his forehead. “They went into your unit with a master key. Spent a minute, maybe two. I went over and demanded to know what they were doing, and heard one of them snapping photos in your room. They told me to keep my mouth shut, or Mrs. Trout would hear about it. Shoved me out of the way. Hit my eye on the doorknob.”
“Oh, Mr. Fedener,” I said, feeling immensely guilty for being angry with him only moments before. “It’s not your fault.”
“It’s not right,” he insisted emphatically. “I try to take care of everyone in the building. Or at least treat you with respect. But going into someone’s unit when they’re not there… I don’t know what they wanted, but they were after something. Money, maybe, though why someone like Mrs. Trout would need money is beyond me.”
Having someone on my side, even after it was too late, was a comfort I didn’t realize I needed. I had never so much as shaken Mr. Fedener’s hand before, but now I wrapped my arms around him in a grateful hug.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Hanover.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be okay. I promise.”
“If there’s anything you need, you let me know,” he said, setting his jaw stubbornly.
“Actually, there’s one thing you can do. I forgot my keys.”