Lennox POV
"Shit" Elijah muttered staring at my phone screen, "I can explain"
"You have precisely five seconds to do so, start talking." I folded my arms over my chest, looking him up and down.
"When Beck asked me how we met I gave him a loosely constructed story about how Devin introduced us, and I guessed he must've called him to confirm it or something. I don't know! Beckham is fucking unpredictable like that" Elijah rambled nearly incoherently. I once again began to rub my temples trying to make sense of this mess.
Devin is the client who referred Elijah to me, Devin is a long-term subscriber of the girlfriend package. He's a notorious partier and a massive playboy, having me as his girlfriend allows his parents to feel as though their child isn't a complete hot mess. When in reality he is. What I don't understand for the life of me is why in the flying fuck Elijah would even mention Devin's name.
I almost asked him, but decided against it. Instead spinning around on my heels walking towards the door, "Your money will be refunded to you within 24-48 hours" I stated before leaving. I didn't even bother to turn around, I'm pissed!
In case you don't understand what's happening. Elijah's dumbass has threatened the sanctity of my entire business. There are rules to this. Rule #1: Clients are only allowed a two person maximum as it pertains to referrals. You may only refer two people to me, ever. Rule #2: You must never ever mention to anyone (who's not client) the name of the person who referred you. Rule #3: Referrals are by invitation only.
Meaning theoretically the way the referral system should work is this: a new client gets referred to me bu a previous customer who has been satisfied with my services and thinks said client could benefit from them. Like how Devin referred Elijah, because he thought he could benefit from the girlfriend package. Since referrals are by invitation only, people aren't allowed to ask for them. I'm like Nanny McPhee, you get me because you need me. Not because you want me. By telling Beckham that Devin "set us up" he was able to ask Devin for a referral without blatantly doing it.
For clarification, it's like in high school when you wanted a friend to plug you with their dealer, but they also don't want to give to their connect. So they'd suggest you talk to so-and-so during a completely unrelated conversation. It doesn't take a genius to figure out so-and-so is the dealer, just as it wouldn't take Beckham long to figure out I'm an escort if he talked to Devin.
Elijah is now indefinitely removed from my client list. I was seething the entire ride back home. Beckham seems reckless, and it's obvious that he didn't bother with rules because his message wasn't even written in code. This is the kind of individual who could blow my entire operation, the kind of reckless idiot who could talk to the wrong person and get me arrested. Getting arrested would mean losing Jayce-Lynn and I can't even risk the possibility of that happening. I have a certain leverage with my clients that I don't posses with Beckham, and that is mutually assured destruction.
Okay Lennox, take a deep breath and think. You're a smart girl... How can you fix this? I have about $15,000 in savings with Beckham's payment that makes it closer to $20,000. I can afford to go dark for a couple months until things cool down. I've payed my tuition for the semester already, and Jayce's. That could cover all of my expenses for three months at the most without totally emptying my savings. Before you say anything, most of that is rent. Living in Seattle is expensive! For a decent apartment in a nice neighborhood with parking included, you're looking at easily $3,500 not counting utilities.
Either way, I finally have a plan together. There's just one thing I need to do first. I unlocked my phone, calling the number Beckham sent. He answered on the second ring.
"Hi, I'm surprised you actually called-"
"Let me stop you right. Don't bother calling this number ever again." I interrupted. I don't mean to be harsh, but I mean to be harsh. I need to nip this in the bud before shit goes left.
"Wait, can you at least hear me out?" I could've let him finish before I hung up, but I didn't. I made sure to block the number as well just in case he had any other stupid ideas.
I let out a long sigh, slinking back in the plush leather seats of the car.
"Miss? Miss, we're here."
"I know, I know. Thank you" I smiled softly handing the driver a $20 bill as I climbed out of the town car.
That reminds me, tomorrow I need to call and temporarily cancel this service. I cannot afford that right now. I usually calculate it into my final invoice, but if I'm not working... Damn now my head hurts. Does that happen to anyone else with an overly analytical mind? I'm the queen of overthinking like my brain starts running through every scenario humanly possible and then I get sleepy. Like right now.
I lazily trudged down the hallway back to my apartment building. I unlocked the door, immediately pulling my wig off my head so my hair could breath and then went off in search of my makeup wipes. I'm usually a double-cleanse kind of girl but not tonight. I hurried to remove my makeup and tossed my clothes into my hamper before crawling into bed in only my underwear. I just need to go sleep, sleep will make everything better.
Gia:
So where'd you go last night?
Lennox:
Huh?
Gia and I are iMessaging during our morning lecture. Oh, the joys of technology. Everyone takes notes on their laptops now since the teachers talk so fast and those split screens are the cure to our boredom.
Gia:
Don't play dumb.
Girl, I sure as hell am. The truth does not set you free, that's a myth. You know how many people have been murdered for telling the truth, or thrown in jail for telling the truth? The truth may set you free but a lie will help you survive.
Lennox:
Tinder date... When the night falls, my loneliness calls🥵
Gia:
I hate you. You play too much😩😭
Lennox:
I'm serious though
Gia:
Liesssss you don't even know how to use tinder
I internally cringed because she's right. I've honestly never downloaded nor touched that app in my entire 24 year life. I have a basic understanding of Tinder, but I don't have a clue how it works.
Lennox:
Look, lecture is wrapping up. We need to focus. We'll talk later
She'll definitely bring it up again later. The good news is I'll definitely have crafted a better lie by then. Usually I'm great at this, I've had plenty of practice. My brain is still exhausted from last night's mental gymnastics. Let's just take this one step at a time though. First things first, I need to make it through this lecture.
It didn't take our professor long to wrap up after that. I jotted down my last few notes on to my Word Document then began to pack up my things. Luckily, I have a one hour break in-between classes and I have every intention of taking a nap in one of the study rooms.
"Lennox!" My professor's TA called out to me as I was getting ready to leave, "I got an email from your counselor during class. She says she needs to see you right away."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Oh okay... That's kind of weird, isn't it? Shouldn't she have emailed me directly?"
"Usually, but due to the urgency of the matter she pulled your schedule and sent the email to the professor's class you were currently in. Since I get all of his emails forwarded to me. I let you know"
Strange... I nodded my head, deciding I'd go see her right away to get this sorted out. "Well, thank you for telling me"
"No problem" She called as I walked out of the lecture hall.
I feel like I've already dealt with enough bullshit today. Right? Please, please, please don't let this be more bullshit. I said a silent prayer as I trekked across campus to where the administrative offices were located.
I walk inside of the office, and am greeted by the receptionist, "Good Morning" I smile politely, "Ms. Avery asked to see me"
The receptionist nodded her head, "Just sign-in first. Then you can go on back"
I signed in, before walking down the long hallway to Ms. Avery's office, "Hello?" I called out, tentatively peering my head in.
"Yes, come in Lennox" Ms. Avery smiled waving me inside. I took a seat in the plush chair opposite of her desk, setting my bag down in my lap.
Ms. Avery sighed. Shittttt, I'm not here for good news. I internally rolled my eyes, trying to prepare myself for the worst.
"Lennox... Look there's no easy way to say this, you're one of my hardest working students. I hate that this happening to you. Well, to everyone-"
"Ms. Avery, I'm sorry.. I can't bear it, please just tell me what's going on" I softened my eyes so my comment didn't seem too rude. I don't need an entire dissertation, just rip the band aid off.
"The university accepted too many students into your scholarship program and they are now unable to reward students their full-scholarships. Everyone's is being cut in half to mitigate the problem." Ms. Avery explained.
I was expecting bad news, but I was not expecting this. My tuition is about $43,000 that's not even counting all of the extra fees, like lab fees, textbooks, etc. With those included it's looking more like $50,000 easily. I make good money but not enough to afford that, especially not with paying rent and Jayce's tuition as well. I pay $10,000 a year to send her to school, and that's cheap in comparison to most private schools in the area.
My aid covers about half of my tuition. Where am I supposed to come up with an extra $15,000?! Fuck, I quit my job yesterday. I could feel my head begin to pound as the reality of the situation set in.
"Lennox? Lennox? Are you okay" Ms. Avery called out concern.
I nodded my head, unable to speak. It felt like there was a rock in the back of my throat. I smiled at her softly to reassure her, before wordlessly exiting her office.
I was aimlessly walking around campus when I bumped into Gia.
"So are we gonna finish our discussion orrr?" She asked sassily, putting her hand on her hip. "Wait girl, are you alright?" She asked taking a closer look at my face.
I shook my head no.
"What happened? You know what, don't answer that right now." She sighed glancing down at her iWatch, "I have to go to class but I'm coming over and I'm bringing Wingstop and ice cream. Tell me all about it then."
"Thanks G" I mumbled.
"Whatever it is babe, everything is going to be okay. You know that right?" She pulled me in for a hug, "I've got go but I'll see you later"
I thought about what Gia said, everything is not going to be okay. If I pay my tuition, I won't be able to pay my rent. Or buy gas, or food or well anything. It would completely drain me. I'm not pulling out a loan- that's basically guaranteeing that I end up with mountains of debt for nearly the next decade. I absolutely need to pay it or else the balance will just collect interest.
Which means I need to swallow my pride and do something that I don't want to do. I sat down on a nearby bench, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Do it for Jayce, do it so you can provide a life for her where she never has to do shit like this. I unblocked Beckham's number, calling it.
"Hello?" I heard his deep voice ring through the receiver, and the thought of hanging up flashed through my mind.
"Hey. Um this is-"
"Chance" He finished for me. Sending a chill down my spine. He said it so matter of fact.
"Yes. Listen before you say anything, I'm not doing this over the phone. I'll meet you tonight at Talarico's and that's only to discuss terms and conditions. Nothing else" I stated. It's bad enough that he has my phone number, we definitely will not make a habit of communicating in that capacity. Shit I might change my number for good measure too.
"That's fine," He sounded so nonchalant. As much as I hate to admit, his phone voice is sexy as hell. "Just do me a favor, and ditch the blonde, please?"
There go his asshole tendencies. "You'll like me however I show up. I'll see you at 8." I shook my head before hanging up the phone.
No good deed goes unpunished, they say. Turns out it's true.
Beckham's Fine Ass
I know it seems like this story is going to move fast, but it's not. It's just not going to move slow. Beckham and Lennox will have a lot of time on their hands, like a lot of time before they get to this whole marriage piece. Let's just enjoy the ride together!