The mall and a surprise call from your agent

You pull up a food app and order a light pasta salad. Then you get to work filling out all your financial details in the payroll portal, taking particular care to get your email address right. You were surprised to find out your hourly rate for meetings like this was $18 an hour. Who knew the porn industry believed in a living wage? By the time you finish there, you answer the knock at the door and collect up your salad. The Pasta Place has the best vinaigrette in town and you cannot wait to dig in. The guy seems shocked when you hand him a $20 tip.

"Thanks, ma'am!"

"Just paying my good fortune forward," You reply with a smile as you push the door shut.

It feels so good not to have to pinch pennies for once, you think as you sit back down and start eating. You begin making a mental checklist for after lunch figuring it'd be a good idea to clear your schedule in case a job tomorrow catches your eye. Maybe you should Uber out to the mall and get your nails done, then perhaps hit the gym. . . you muse as you munch away at your meal.

When you finish up, you check your email and see the professor wrote back reminding you that tardies will affect your grade. You blow it off knowing that the right outfit on Monday will mollify your horndog professor just fine. He 'forgot' to mark three tardies last semester and all you needed to do is wear tight outfits and flirt a bit. Dr. Edwards is easy to handle if you know what you are doing.

Next, you check your work email and see Kuhn was fast to email. You open it and add his number to your cell. You make sure to give it a distinct ring tone. Any call from him is probably worth knowing about right away. Then you call the nail salon, make an appointment for an hour from now, and dial-up an Uber. You quickly throw on dark blue yoga pants, a white tank top and pull a gray sweatshirt over top. Then you wait for your ride.

It's about 3 pm when you get the call, grab your purse and head downstairs. You get to the front door when you hear a voice behind you.

"Afternoon Ms. Stewart."

You shake your head recognizing it. Jim Decard is the building manager. He's an old white guy. He's about sixty, has thin, greasy black hair, and is the resident creeper. You stopped using the complex gym when he had cameras installed to 'deter stealing'. You have absolutely no doubt he's staring at your ass right now. You open the front door, look back, then offer a quick smile. You see his eyes quickly dart up to your face.

"Sorry Jim, my ride is here!"

"About your back rent, miss. . ."

You stop moving, turn, and cut him off.

"So sorry about that Jim. I made my payment this morning. If I missed a late fee, drop me a note and I'll get it to you."

He shakes his head.

"This is the second time. I'll check the account when I get back into my office but one more and you're looking at eviction young lady. . . unless you make alternate payment arrangements," and flashes you one of his trademark creepy grins.

"Thanks for the warning, Jim," you **** a quick smile and rush out to the car.

You give the driver the address to the small salon in the mall parking lot and enjoy the fact you aren't on the bus. Money is wasted on the rich, you think as you pop your pods in your ears and listen to some music. The driver takes the hint and leaves you alone until you get to the salon.

You get out of the car, thank the driver and hand him a $20 tip.

Janice meets you at the door and greets you heartily. She's your usual nail tech and you love her to ****. You're quickly ushered to a chair and she asks what you need today.

"Janice, I just need you to pamper them. I'm thinking a darkish purple with a premium clear coat would be perfect. I just don't want to worry about the shine for a while."

The older lady smiles and wordlessly goes to work on your fingernails. You relax and enjoy the attention. How anyone can live without all this work still blows your mind. Why would someone do this for themselves? What fun is that?

About 15 minutes into the session, you hear your phone ring. It sounds like the work tone you set up earlier and are perplexed as to why Walker would be calling you back so soon. Hopefully, he's cool with voicemail, you think. There no way you're taking a work call here in the salon. That could get pretty embarrassing.

"Siri, set the phone to vibrate."

You offer Janice a sheepish smile for forgetting to do that before sitting down and close your eyes again trying to act natural. You wait until the phone stops vibrating which takes a bit. You get excited waiting, he let the phone ring six times to get to voicemail which may mean it's important!

"Siri, play a new voicemail from Walker," you whisper, hoping it's a good one.

"Ms. Stewart," the voicemail begins. "Your first video was posted a couple of minutes after we ended our conference. You are a rather popular woman at the moment. I've never seen demand quite like this before. I suggest we video conference this evening sometime soon and discuss things. If we wait for your work queue to open tomorrow, you may miss an offer that might interest you."

You smile and patiently wait as Janice finishes. You follow her to the register and put the bill on your card. You include another large tip and excuse yourself. You quickly pull up the car app and order a ride. When the car shows in fifteen minutes, you hop in.

As the car pulls out you start tapping on your phone.

"What's up agent man?"

A reply comes quickly.

"I actually have job offers for you. . . This rarely happens. . . I'm chasing details now."

"I'll be at the house soon."

"Good. . . Probs an hour mby two. . . I'll ping your puter video app when I'm ready. . . make sure it on."

"K"

You put the phone away and watch the scenery out the windows wishing you could will the car home faster.

When it pulls up to the complex, you hand the driver a tip and rush inside. You miss running into Decard by about three feet.

"Ms. Stewart," he looks you up and down with a sly grin. "I think we should discuss your rent situation. The late fee of $35 is still pending. . ."

You reach into your purse, count it out and hand it to him. He reluctantly accepts it from you.

"I know you have cash flow issues on occasion, it might be easier to make arrangements before the next one."

You shake your head.

"I appreciate the worry, Jim. I think I have that all ironed out now," you smile at him. "It shouldn't happen again."

You offer one last smile, excuse yourself and rush up the stairwell. He yells up the steps at your retreating form.

"See that it doesn't. I won't be so nice if you spring it on me all surprise like!"

Yeah, I'm sure, you think to yourself knowing he's just trying to get a couple of 'favors' out of you. You remember a talk you had with Sing, the young coed down the hall a month or so ago. Jim is a dirty old man with 'particular' tastes and you have no desire to be added to his conquest list. You unlock the door to your apartment and hurry inside.

You turn on the Chromebook, grab an early afternoon glass of wine, and wait for the call.