“Sister.”
“Do you need something, or are you just bored?”
I snigger. “Bit of both?”
Audrey laughs, and there’s a muffled conversation in the background before she’s back. “Okay, shoot.”
“I think I’m failing.”
“So don’t.”
“Wow. That easy, huh?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“While I love the sentiment, I’m going to need some help with the execution. I’m still in the hotel, I can’t find anywhere to live, and I kissed one of my employees. Who happens to be the same man Ian cheated on me with.”
There’s a long silence. “Was it a good kiss?”
“That’s the only reason I’m even mentioning it.”
“Okay, so go with that.”
I groan. “This isn’t the part we’re supposed to be focusing on.”
“We can only focus on one thing at a time?”
“That’s all I can handle.” I scrub my hand through my hair. “I think if I find a place, everything else won’t seem so bad. I’ll actually be able to settle.”
“Then find a place.”
“I’m trying, but every time I send an enquiry through, the house is already gone or way too expensive for me.”
“Borrow money from Mom and Dad.”
I clench my jaw. Audrey’s never had issues with asking for help, so maybe that’s why she’s running her own small business and has made a decent dent in her mortgage. But Audrey’s always been very black-and-white, very literal in her way of thinking. If there’s an easy and logical way to do something, that’s the route she’ll choose.
She’d never move to Seattle, ditch her fiancé, live out of a suitcase, and then set fire to the one good thing she has going for her.
If Ian had been her fiancé, he probably would have ended up on the street.
“Next plan?”
She sighs. “I dunno, Hunt. Why are you making things hard on yourself?”
“I’m not. I’m trying to do this on my own. Is that really a bad thing?”
“Of course it is.”
“What steps would you take?”
“Move home.”
It’s getting very hard to keep my cool. “And if that wasn’t an option?”
I can tell Audrey is already growing bored of this conversation. “Let’s say I had to stay in Seattle for whatever reason. I’d either ask my boss for a signing bonus to make the first month’s lease, or I’d walk into every real estate agency in the city asking what they have coming up and making it clear I have money ready to pay. Then I’d fuck my employee.”
I scoff. “You would not.”