Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Suddenly, a smarmy voice interrupts my thoughts.
“Well, Katie McCall,” the voice says. “My oh my oh my. What have we here?”
My nerves shudder and suddenly I realize my mistake. The receptionist must have put me through to Kenneth Carlton and not his dad. Oh god, how did this happen? How could I have forgotten to specify that I wanted to see the father, and not the son?
Plus, Kenneth is every bit as awful as I remember. If anything, he’s put on another one hundred pounds on his already tubby frame, making him absolutely enormous. His eyes are a beady blue, and his blonde hair is so pale as to almost look white. All in all, he looks like an albino murderer from some horror movie, although he’s dressed like any corporate schmuck in pressed chinos and a blue button-down.
I manage a friendly smile, managing to choke down my revulsion.
“Hi Ken, how are you?” I say. “Long time no see.”
Kenneth leers at me, his glistening red lips parting in a diabolical smile.
“I’m good. How are you, Katie? I see you’re looking mighty fine as always.”
I look around quickly. Does Kenneth know what he’s saying? This is Corporate America, after all, and in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, I thought men no longer commented on women’s looks. Especially not while they’re grinning fiendishly at me the way Kenneth is.
“Thanks,” I say with a somewhat-normal smile. You look good too.”
I’m lying through my teeth because he looks much worse than from when we were in high school, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Kenneth holds my mom’s future in his hands, and I’ll spout lots of praise if it helps Dinah keep her place.
“Let’s just go to my office,” he says sibilantly. “This way please.”
With that, we pass through a set of double doors and then step into a large room filled with cubicles. The florescent light is ghastly, and both the cubicles and the carpet are gray. In fact, the few people I see walking by also have a grayish pallor, as if they haven’t seen the sun in ages.
“These folks work in cubes, but I have my own office,” Kenneth boasts, leading me down a walkway at the edge of Cubeland. “Right here. Corner office with glass walls,” he says, as if it weren’t completely obvious.
But it’s true. Ken does have a corner office with floor to ceiling glass walls which make it easy to see what his employees are doing. I wouldn’t be proud to sit there, but it seems that he is.
“Come right in,” he adds.
I nod and shuffle in, but not before catching sight of another glass office across the way. This glass office is bigger, and situated so that it’s filled with sunlight. The furniture inside is a gleaming mahogany, and I can see the large figure of a man lounging in front of a huge desk while talking on the phone. I wonder who that is? He certainly looks commanding even from a hundred feet away, as the light glints off burnished dark locks. Is that the boss?
But Kenneth puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me inside and I repress a shudder at his clammy touch.
“Thanks,” I say, taking a seat in the chair before his desk.
“No problem,” he says magnanimously while shutting the door and lumbering over to his desk. I cringe a little as he sits. Will that standard office chair hold his massive bulk? Evidently so, because he lowers himself carelessly and looks at me with his pale blue gaze.
“So how can I help you, Katie?” he asks. “As you know, Carlton Realty is at your service.”
I nod, cross my legs, and begin to talk.
“Well, Carlton Realty bought the Alastair Apartment Complex over on Alastair Road a couple years back,” I say. “You know, the two big grey buildings that are low slung with the green courtyard in the middle?”
Kenneth nods.
“Yes, I know. I was just there last week in fact. I manage the place now,” he says proudly.
That’s the perfect segue.
“Yes, I know, because you visited my mother who lives there. Dinah McCall? She lives in Unit 201, and well, I wanted to see if you could give her a break if possible.”
Kenneth’s brows go down.
“Why, is she behind on rent? We do have a number of forbearance programs, but I have to warn you that the interest is high.”
I shake my head.
“No, not on rent. Actually, when you were there last week, you served an eviction notice. Dinah’s supposed to be out of there within thirty days, and I was just wondering if maybe Carlton Realty could take that back? It’s just a big misunderstanding,” I stammer. “Dinah makes good money at her cupcake shop, but she’s forgetful at times, and sometimes she forgets to pay her rent. But I can pay you all the back rent now, if you’ll just let my mom stay,” I say in a rushed voice. “Would that be okay?”