Slamming a fist on the counter, Kinsley let the tears fall. Now what was she supposed to do? The place was rent controlled. There was no way she could afford to move to a similar place. She paid her rent on time, never complained to the landlord and kept the place in great condition. But that’s not enough is it? Working hard will never be good enough.
Fishing her cell out of her purse, she quickly found her best friend Rachel’s number and pressed the button, listening to it dial her number in her ear. “Hello?” she said a minute later.
“Rachel,” Kinsley choked out.
“Kinsley? What’s wrong?” She and Rachel had been friends since they were little, considering they were also cousins, but she was more like a sister to Kinsley than just a cousin. Many a time Kinsley had wondered what she would do without her in her life. “They’re selling my flat.”
“What?” Rachel’s voice was calm, even. “What do you mean?”
Kinsley sighed, tears gathering in her eyes once more. “The flat. The owners are selling them. I have to come up with 100,000 quid by the end of the month or I’m out.”
“100,000 pounds? Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately,” she muttered. “They are fumigating too. I have to find somewhere else to stay at the end of the week.”
“That sucks,” Rachel replied, disdain in her voice. “I can’t believe they would do that. But if you need, you can always come stay with me.”
“Thank you, I love you, but the commute from North London will kill me. I know I can probably provision a company flat for the time being,” Kinsley said, wiping the tear that had escaped down her cheek unchecked. “But what am I going to do?” She had nowhere else to go. Her job as an administrative assistant paid decently but nowhere near enough to front that kind of money. Besides, Kinsley’s tuition to continue the last semester of her Master’s degree was due and she was so, so close to having it complete. An advanced degree meant new open doors at her job and she couldn’t afford to take a step back. Not when she’d worked so hard.
“Times like this I wished I lived closer, and that Jamison’s family wasn’t here to stay,” Rachel continued. “I’m sorry Kinsley.”
Kinsley heard the worry in her cousin’s voice and knew that if she could, Rachel would do anything to help, including letting her stay with her and her fiancé, Jamison. They were currently on the countdown to their wedding day and with Jamison being from Ireland, his family had come to London to stay the rest of the time to help out with the wedding plans. “It’s okay Rach,” she finally said, drawing in a deep breath. “I’ll figure out something.”
“Maybe you can find another job,” she suggested. “You know, to supplement the extra money?”
Kinsley snorted. “It would have to be the best paying job in the world.” Flipping burgers wasn’t going to work in a pinch.
“Okay, well maybe you should just talk to them you know? You’re a good tenant. They will want to keep you around.”
Kinsley shook her head. While she was a good tenant, she was also the difference between a paltry sum and a payday on an older flat. There was no way they were going to give her an inch. Kinsley was going to be kicked out of the home she had made unless she hit the lotto or had a rich family member that was about to kick the bucket.
“Don’t give up so soon,” Rachel said. “You have access to the company flats right? Go stay there.”
“That’s really my only option.” Kinsley thought about the nice flat in the wealthy side of town that was owned by her boss, Maloney Motors. Maloney Motors was one of the biggest automotive companies in Europe, specializing in luxury cars. They even had an F1 team. She worked for the owner of the company, Harrison Maloney, in the company headquarters based here in London as his administrative assistant.
Part of her job was to keep track of the visitors all over the world and stick them in some of the flats that the company owned for their comfort so naturally she had the keys to all of them. There was one that wasn’t being utilized currently and wouldn’t be for a few weeks at least. Technically, she could move in there temporarily to escape the fumigation. “I don’t know, though,” Kinsley said, biting her lip. “What if I’m caught? I mean, I’ve always been told to take what I need, but this seems like overstepping.”
“Oh come on, like old Maloney would can you,” Rachel laughed. “Do it and ask for forgiveness later.”
She looked around her own flat, knowing full well she couldn’t afford to rent out a room for the weekend on her current money, especially if she was going to try and finagle a way to pay for this place. “I’m tired. I’m going to go.”
“Wait,” Rachel barked into the phone. “Don’t forget about your fitting tomorrow for your bridesmaid dress. I can’t believe we are getting down to the weeks now. I am so excited but I’m worried I won’t fit into my dress with all of this food Jamison’s mom is fixing.”
“You’ll be fine,” Kinsley answered, a soft smile on her face. Rachel was going to be the perfect bride and even if she gained two stone, Jamison was still going to love her. They were disgustingly in love with each other and every time Kinsley was around the two of them, it made her question why she hadn’t found anyone yet. “I’ll be there.”
“You better be,” she said before clicking off. Kinsley placed the phone on the counter, her eyes sliding to the infernal letter that had effectively ruined her day. What was she going to do? Kinsley was the last of the Wells line, her parents dying in a car accident when she was fifteen. The roads had been slick with rain and they had been coming back from a weekend in the country. The police had stated they hadn’t even seen the tree in the middle of the road. She had been moved to her aunt and uncle’s home and she and Rachel had become roommates. After graduation, she had gone to arts college and Kinsley had found the job with the Maloney corporation, able to save up enough to move out and move on with her life. But now, she felt like she was taking steps backward in her life. She was on the verge of acquiring her MBA, which would make her eligible for a manager’s position that had opened recently, but until she got that piece of paper in her hands, there wasn’t a thing she could do. Kinsley was stuck.
“What have I done to deserve this?” she asked aloud, looking up at the tiled ceiling. It was like fate was messing with her and she didn’t know what to do about it.
3
Jarred was forced to wait until the next morning to confront his father about his trust fund. Though he would have preferred to confront him right after Turner had dropped the bomb, his father was out of town and Jarred wanted to talk to him face-to-face.
He walked to the Maloney headquarters in the heart of the city, the cool air clearing his head and allowing him some time to think about how he was going to approach the old man and tell him his plan was stupid. What was he trying to do to him? Break him? Make Jarred into the man that he was? It wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t his father. Even the half dozen whiskey shots Jarred had consumed at the nearby pub hadn’t calmed his anger or changed the fact that he was never going to be Harrison Maloney. Harrison Maloney was all business. And he was the black sheep. The unwanted one.