Page 2 of Tangled Roses
“I have a friend. Michelle Jackson. She is always on the lookout for women like you and could push some work your way.”
“Women like me?” What does he mean by that?
He sneers, “Women who don’t cut it in business and can utilise their skills more productively?”
My tears threaten to reveal how weak I am, but I won’t give this man the pleasure of seeing me cry. Instead, my fingers close around the card, and I stand, gathering my dignity around me because it’s the only thing I have left of value and say coolly, “Good day, Mr. Reese.”
I say nothing else and head to the door, fighting the tears that aren’t far away, and as I open the door, he says smoothly, “Call her, Gabrielle. You won’t regret it. Say I sent you and who knows, our paths may cross again one day.”
I slam the door behind me because if they do, I’m liable to go down for murder because right now, I really hate and detest Mr. Reese.
As I pass Jack, the receptionist who took my place, he says with concern. “Are you okay, Ellie?”
“Not really.”
He moves away from the desk and guides me to the side and says with concern, “What happened?”
“My three months are up and they are not taking me on.”
“Fuck!” His low whisper of surprise makes me laugh bitterly.
“Yes, I was sure I’d be kept on because I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Jack shakes his head in disgust.
“Honey, that was your problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Listen, babe.” He lowers his voice.
“I should have warned you to start looking, but I thought you had this in the bag. You see, a stunning girl like you is her own worst enemy sometimes because Mr. Reese does this to all the pretty girls.”
“What, fire them?”
I don’t understand, and his mouth twists with distaste. “No. He sends them on their way with no hope and a calling card for a woman he takes a cut from.”
I hold out the card. “Michelle Jackson, by any coincidence?”
“That’s the one.” He hisses. “You throw that card away and head to the internet instead. That woman sells women for sex and is into all kinds of things like drugs, orgies and trafficking.”
He wrenches the card from my grasp and tears it into pieces, and says in a whisper, “Meet me after my shift. The Excelsior bar in Manhattan. I’ll make a few calls to some of my contacts. I’m sure one of them will be able to hook you up with a normal job. Fuck Mr. Reese and his twisted games. I will not let him ruin another poor woman’s life.”
“You would do that for me?”
I am so grateful, and Jack smiles. “Of course, we’re friends, aren’t we, and if you can’t rely on friends, who can you rely on?”
“Certainly not Mr. Reese.” I say, my heart a little lighter than it was before, and Jack grins.
“Go and do some digging of your own. Try out the agencies on fifth street. Sign up with a few. You never know where they will take you.”
He glances over his shoulder at the guest glaring at him from the desk and he sighs.
“Sorry, babe. I’ll see you at seven. We’ll chat some more then.”
He heads back and I leave The City Inn with a sense of desperation.
That job was all I had. Since my grandmother died, I am homeless too and going home to my folks isn’t an option for me. My father is a mystery and my mother a felon. I haven’t seen her for the past fifteen years and wouldn’t be able to pick her out in a crowd. Jack is one of the few friends I’ve made in a city that doesn’t have time to make any and so I head toward fifth street, pinning all my hopes on finding something there.