The Deal Maker (Book I)

Chapter Nine - Lies and Terrors

                                                                             Chapter Nine

                                                                           Lies and Terrors

Seeing David’s car in the driveway didn’t exactly put a smile on my face. I had hoped for at least an hour or two by myself in order to get my thoughts and lies straight. As far as David knows, I’ve been with my little sister for over a week. If he asks what we did I’ll simply make up some emotional story where we cried and fought a lot before it ended in hugs. That’s what would make him happy, if we ended in hugs. Before, when I was signing contracts, I thought of thousands of ways to use my money. But it never occurred to me how suspicious it would be for me, the girl who lived in her car for a year, to suddenly have ten thousand dollars. I mean, about a month ago I got a makeover, now I’m getting money? Yes, extremely suspicious. I don’t want to be labeled a hooker.

I triple checked my checking account on the car phone—I’ve had the account for years and the maximum I’ve had is the minimum amount it can hold—and felt astonishment to see ten thousand dollars added. He was true to his word, I got my money. Now I just needed a fool-proof lie that would make the money look totally not suspicious. My mind was reeling for a decent scenario as I was turning the doorknob, preparing for a dozen questions. I shuffled my feet into the living room, only to see David in the kitchen with a frying pan and egg shells.

“Joanna!” he exclaimed in excitement.

His large arms wrapped around me securely as he greeted me with such enthusiasm that it reminded me of a puppy dog. I buried my face into his shoulder, a move I never did, and kept my emotions together. It took a bit longer than I liked before he pulled away. Something told me that he thought I had gone downhill since we last spoke. Maybe he thought I went back to my old ways? “I know, I was later than I thought I’d be…” I looked into his wide eyes with a fake smile on my lips.

“No, no, that’s perfectly fine. How’s your sister?”

Lie, I thought as I shifted my weight to my right side because my left side began to ache from the other night. “Not great, I mean, better than she was. She’s been an emotional wreck the past few days…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The money. “But while I was with her I did some job hunting...” I made my voice low, as if to build excitement. The lie would be a major stretch, even for me, and could only be pulled off if I provided enough details.

David tilted his head to the right as he waited for my response. “And…?”

“I got a job.” The words were easy enough to say because I had, in fact, gotten a job.

The look on his face was priceless. He was beyond astonished and thrilled. We’ve been trying to get me a job for so long that I’m sure he began to wonder if I’d ever make it in life. “Are you serious? That’s fantastic!” he exclaimed and, again, wrapped his arms tightly around me for just a brief moment.

“Yeah, it’s so much better than I thought I’d ever get. It has dental and health insurance, and I get paid a pretty penny.” Alright, the health insurance was a lie because all Matthew had promise me was that, if I was alive enough to make it back to his home, he’d have me repaired decently. But I did manage to get dental from him, and boy did I need it.

“What kind of job is it?” The suspicion in his tone was barely concealed.

“I’m going to be a personal assistant for a man who runs a company from home. It has crazy hours and it will take a lot of work, but it’s not too bad for the pay…”