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I used my phone to call an Uber, then I went home. I spent the weekend doing laundry, had a long awaited haircut,did my grocery shopping and ironed my clothes. I wanted to buy some new clothes but I couldn't. Not while I'm paying off the debt I was no longer owed but was forced to pay for. Because somebody had to. Mark the thug was gone and poof! My money is gone with him, I know Jericho is only doing this out of revenge.
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Once upon a time, I had a huge crush on him in high school, and was lucky he felt the same. We dated for a few months, shared a few kisses, that was before all the steroids had changed him from the langy boy I knew to the buff man he is now. Then I found out his father is the fearsome loan shark everyone is talking about in town. I had a few rules I've outlined for myself to never cross.
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Dating a criminal is one of them, even though at the time I didn't know if Jericho was involved or not. Unfair I know. But I had my reasons, I just cut him off, stop talking to him, stop picking his phone calls, and avoid any and all places he frequents. It worked eventually, after relentlessly stalking after me, calling and coming to my house for two months, he finally gave up.
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I didn't hear from him even before I went to college. But when I got home after finishing my college, he came to my home together with his father to threaten my parents to pay up their debts, otherwise they wouldn't like the consequences.
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That was when I'd learned that things are hard for my family, my parents' business was failing. They were about to sell their restaurant. Which had lead them into taking a loan from Jericho's father, he was a shark loaner. They thought they could revive their business back to it glorious days. But it didn't.
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Few months later things spiral out of control,even after all their effort my parents still lost their restaurant. Not three months after, they met with their untimely demise due to an unfortunate accident. I had just moved from my old apartment in Brooklyn to Bronx then. And had started working at Mont's. I had to leave everything and come home for their burial,not only did I lose both my parents on the same day. I was also left with thousands of dollars of debt to pay.
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To an ex who had a grudge against me and is probably still obsessed with me. I didn't blame them, my parents I mean. Sarah and Paul McCain were good parents,they gave me the best they could.
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Made so many sacrifices for me. I was only angry at myself for never noticing that they were having problems. I know they didn't tell me because they were proud and never wanted me to worry about them. That's the kind of people they were. But I should have known, only I was in a bad place back then. It was only after their death that I realized, we'd both been protecting each other from our problems.
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Since then Jericho has been hounding me, threatening me to pay his money. I didn't know how he'd find out my new phone number but once every few days he would call to threaten me. My parents' debts were the first I paid off after I sold the house. But now Jericho is telling me that Mark is dead and I have to find a way to get his money all over again.
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I have a few hundred dollars in my bank account. I was saving up to buy a car, but l would use it to pay Jericho his money and beg him to let me pay the rest in installments. If I make a budget of how much I'd spend every month and stick to it. I might be able to pay off the debt, in say three years.
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Monday morning came faster than anticipated. Today I wore a dark gray pencil skirt with a white shirt,blazer and a long coat-over tiny sexy black panties and an equally black pushup silk bra that Jules gifted all the female employees of her company last year as a christmas gift. I looked good, I'd even put on mascara to straighten my eyelashes,it made my green eyes look brighter. My strawberry blond hair was up in a high ponytail, the three inch pumps added an extra inches to my average height.
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I took the subway to my office building. I met other employees of MONT's in the lobby and we greeted each other, some of the men sent me lingery glances. I didn't acknowledge them. I'm not a fan of office romance. It would be totally awkward if I dated a coworker then we later broke up and I ended up seeing him every day at work. I really can't,not to mention the gossip that was sure to hit the gossip mill If I failed to put out, as I'm sure It would happen. Or God forbid I panic in front of the guy. I knew I won't, I've not had a single panic attack for almost a year.
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While I had never planned to still be a virgin at the age of twenty-four. I can't help that it turned out this way, I have never met anyone who had made me want to give it up. Never met anyone who I want to initiate me into the world of sexual exploration. Except for Luke. My first boyfriend in college, or I thought he was my boyfriend. I'd given him my trust, and he'd done…I stopped myself before I could go there. Thinking about him still hurts even after all this time. So I tried to never let his thoughts invade my heart.
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Sex for me is a bit complicated, even after what Luke had almost done to me four years ago. I didn't let it define the act, It's just, well, I didn't find someone I could trust and be that vulnerable with. While I'm still scared to even think about having sex with anyone,stripping bare in front of a man. It wasn't an all consuming fear that used to crippled me.
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I get into the elevator, but before the door closes Jules enters, she smiles at me, I press the button to the 9th floor. Today she's rocking a red jumpsuit that was a lighter shade than her lipstick. And a thick white fur jacket that reaches her knees. Her brown hair is straight and silky. Her four and a half inch red sole Louboutin was also white ,she definitely looked like a runway model.
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“I'm so sorry about Friday night, Andrea. I hope I wasn't a nuisance.” She rushes to saI had to tilt my head to glance at her. Yep she's that tall.
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“You weren't, I was your designated driver. It's also what friends are for, right? Although give a girl a warning next time okay, I didn't know you could curse like it was a second language.” I reply teasingly, smiling. She laughs good-naturedly, then smiles.
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“Sorry about that, when I'm drunk that's my default mode. I'm so sorry if I had cursed you. Did I?”
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“Once or twice.” I replied smiling.
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“Oh, I'm so sorry Andrea.” She hurries to say slightly embarrassed.
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“It's okay, you should see me when I'm drunk, I cursed too. maybe not as much as you. But do not feel bad about it, it's totally normal.” I lied trying to ease her embarrassment.
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“Thompson told me what happened with Moira, I hope you aren't offended.” She sounds apologetic. I smiled.
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“It was nothing, you shouldn't worry about it, it's bygone.”
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“I'm sorry again, Moira is Nick's grandmother. She can be rude at first but she isn't really a bad person.”
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“It's okay, really, just forget about it.” Honestly I'd shove the rude ice queen out of my mind. I had bigger problems to think about than a rude old woman. Problems like Jericho!
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“You are too kind Andrea, I must be really lucky to have you as a friend.” Jules says smiling then dust off invincible dirt away from my blazer.
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“I am too.” I really am,in such a short time of knowing her, we've become good friends. We discussed how the wedding dresses were coming along. And got out of the elevator on our floor when it stopped. I settled in my seat at my cubicle after we'd exchanged pleasantries with Maggie, checking my emails . But I raised my head from the computer when Jules called my name on her way to her office.
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“Andrea, thank you for yesterday.”
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“You're welcome.”
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“Okay then, now that that's out of the way, I want you to be present for the meeting with our new client and take down notes of what she wants.”
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“Yes Ma'am.”
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I didn't even realize how much time had passed. When we finally did come out of the meeting, it was lunch time. Jules insisted that we have lunch together in her office, she's already ordered some food. We sit on the secluded side of the office, and eat in amicable silence, for some minutes before Jules breaks through the silence with.
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“I'm going to file for the divorce papers today.” She down the rest of her coffee as if it were liquor after that announcement. I swallow the food in my mouth and use the tissue paper to clean my hands.
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“Really, Jules are you sure? Can't you talk to him for the sake of Natalie? See if you can resolve this, she would be really heartbroken, when she finds out you're getting divorced.” I said thinking about the cute little girl, with big blue eyes and blond hair,and how this might affect her. Though she is still so young, children tend to suffer from their parents decisions, especially in cases like this.
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“I can't Andy, I have lost all respect for Nick, and I deserve better. We both do, Natalie and I, so I'm going through with it.” It seems she's already made up her mind.
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“Did he know? Did he call you?”
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“That I know he's cheating on me? No, I don't think so, and I don't want him to call me. He hasn't been home in months . I'll ask my lawyer to send him the divorce papers to his office, he will take care of everything.” We chatted for some time before we went back to work.
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On Friday after I got off work, I went to the bank and withdrew all the money I had saved for several months from my bank account. It wasn't much, it's only a few hundred dollars, but it's better than not having anything to bargain with. I know either Jericho or his men will be here for his money.
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