All That & More

V

The day was not going well. But at least that much was consistent.

It started off with a not-so-friendly reminder that Anita thoroughly enjoyed having her home to herself. Pots banged at the ungodly hour while she loudly sang 'It all belongs to me' offkey.

But that wasn't even the highlight of the stressful week with Miss Anita Baldwin. In the few days that Desire had been there, Anita had insisted she spent her 9-5 hours 'hitting the pavement running' in a (thank god) nonliteral sense. Since Anita was an early riser, that meant for the week, Desire was an early riser. For goodness sake, their day would start at 5 am! 

The day would start with an hour workout and begrudgingly, Desire admitted the view as the sun came up was one hell of a way to wake up. That is until they had to deal with the rest of the day. She was forced to create a resume, attend interview etiquette classes and rehearsals before applying to at least fifty jobs a day.

By mid-week, she had some promising leads that all paid less than her what her personal assistant made but that was what being a real worker was right, she had thought over and over. But even with a gruelling schedule and Anita pushing her to her limit, the worst of her week didn't happen until Thursday.

After finalizing her budget, she had sent the list to her father hoping he wouldn't notice that she had decided to re-add her Aston Martin at the bottom. A slight expense that a man of Andrew Washington's stature could understand.

Except he didn't.

He sent back a simple message that said Return the car Desire' and even over email she could hear his frustration. From there she had grovelled, begged, pleaded and even subjected herself to bargaining but Andrew Washington stood firm, not willing to negotiate on her most expensive expense.

So Friday morning, she gave a tearful and slightly dramatic goodbye as she returned her prized possession to the dealer.

And with that confirmation, daddy dearest loosened the death grip on his wallet and wrote her a cheque for her first and last. But only after he reviewed the apartment to make sure it was safe, she was still his princess even if he kicked her out of the castle though she would never forget the conversation they had as he handed her the money.

"Baby girl you know I'm doing this for your own good right?" He asked as if he wanted to make sure she understood and Desire shrugged.

"Seems to me like you just want me to be unhappy."

"Desire-"

"I mean this is your fault. You got me accustomed to this lifestyle and then just cut me off without warning."

"Desire I've been telling you about your spending for years," he reminded her gently but her anger was flaring the longer she was in his presence. He was the one who instilled the importance of having a legacy to leave behind and then he snatched hers away!

"Well now you can keep your money," she muttered as she slid a hand in her back pocket.

"What time are you moving on Saturday?" Her dad asked changing the topic. "Your brothers and I want to make sure we book the rental in advance and pack it from tomorrow."

"No need," she reminded him smartly. "I added movers into that budget you forced me to make."

"No need for the attitude Desire," he reminded her in a tone that let her know he was nearing his last straw of patience with her but she no longer cared. After all, he had already cut her off, what else was he gonna do? "What time are you moving?"

"I don't want you there."

"Desire Washington," his voice was a tranquil fury as he took deep breaths.