Page 48 of The Arrangement

I didn’t say anything else as I retreated back to my unit, Hannah rushing over to me despite her bowl being full; apparently another one of Quinn’s errands this morning.

I wished I could have eaten my non-expired quiche but to be honest, all I could think about was that Sebastian Quinn remembered my coffee order.

Chapter 25

Georgia

"So, you know how my birthday is coming up?" Sarah asked, leaning on the corner conspiratorially as she passed me my gratis latte.

"Yes, have you finally decided what you wanted to do?" I asked, placing a lid on the steaming beverage and chastising myself, despite my looming late-night shift, for having coffee so late in the evening.

Sarah's eyes were bright as she nodded. "Yep! There's this new club; apparently, it has an amazing DJ. But it is in Brighton, so I thought maybe we could do a hotel? My uncle does their lighting, and he has a few free room vouchers!"

I hid my wince at the thought of a loud, crowded club. Sarah was turning twenty-five, and all she wanted was a nice dinner and, apparently, a club night. So obviously, I would oblige; it had been a long time since I’d been out late unless it was to work.

"And… I'm talking to this guy. We've been on a couple of dates now, and it's probably ridiculous to bring him to my birthday after only three weeks of knowing him, but I want to get your vibes on him."

I cocked my eyebrow. "A guy huh? Do I know him?" It was my turn to lower my voice as Hank passed by with a bag of espresso beans.

Sarah shook her head, her wide smile contagious. "Tall and brunette, a literal Roman god-type body. And just so nice. I want you to meet him!"

"Well, he's dating you, so he must have good taste; when do you want to go out? I'll obviously come." Her birthday was on a random Wednesday, which didn't really facilitate a good clubbing experience, especially if she wanted to spring for a hotel.

She looked gleeful; her blond hair was tied into a ponytail and bobbed behind her as she clapped. "Friday! I thought we'd leave here at 8 pm. It's like a forty-five-minute drive, so I thought we could grab dinner beforehand and then pregame?"

Friday. Filming Friday. My face must have fallen because her green eyes widened. "Oh no, do you have something planned?"

I schooled my face immediately and shook my head. "No! No, nothing that can't be moved!" Sarah clapped her hands excitedly. "Ok, I can drive, we can carpool!" Well, at least that was one thing I wouldn't have to worry about; I had walked to work again today.

Soon, I was left with the empty coffee shop to myself as I opened boxes, stocked merchandise, and rearranged the t-shirts that hung near the window. It was an easy night, but I felt myself looking at my phone; I hated rescheduling. I hated rescheduling my time with Sebas-Wolfe even more that I would like to admit to myself. But I couldn't let Sarah down. We had been talking about this birthday party for a while, and I knew I wanted to be there. Even if clubbing weren't exactly my scene, it would be fun to do something outside of my comfort zone.

I took a deep breath before finally picking up my phone and selecting Quinn's number.

Me: Hey, any way we could shoot on Thursday instead of Friday? Something came up that I can't reschedule.

Quinn: Yeah, I can do that. No dinner then, we can just shoot some content. I also have a paycheck for you. Where can I send it?

I stared at my phone in disbelief. Already? It had only been a week.

Me: I thought I was a bi-weekly thing?

Quinn: Consider it a sign-on bonus from our ads.

So I sent over the options I had for payment and waited with my stomach twisting as I waited. It only took a few moments for a notification to pop up with a payment from an LLC with over $3,600 being sent into my bank account.

I stared at my phone blankly for a few minutes until I shook myself from my reverie and checked the amount at least four times before I texted him back.

Me: That was just from new subscribers from the ad?!

Quinn: Yep. See you Thursday, Clark.

It was like my brain couldn't quite wrap itself around the moment that was now sitting in my bank account. I hurriedly finished unpacking the store and swept, barely taking the time to wrap my scarf around my head as I quickly locked up the shop.

I hardly felt the cold as I walked home, my fingers numb as they flew over my phone screen, paying off my electric and cell phone bills to get them completely up to date. Being so engrossed in my phone, I didn't know I was slipping until I was on the cold concrete on the sidewalk, elbow and ass breaking my fall. My almost expired scones scattered across the sidewalk, and I tried to muffle a cry as I sat up.

"Damn it," I whispered, holding my elbow and attempting to stand again as my hip twinged in discomfort. The ice cold of the concrete had me on my feet quicker than the actual embarrassment of being sprawled out on it, and I scrambled to pick up my scones, grateful that they were wrapped in paper. I was so dedicated to my task that I didn’t even notice a car pulling up next to me until a deep voice called out, "Clark?"

I froze. Shutting my eyes and breathing out through my nose inmortification, I stood as straight as I could while my back throbbed. Of course, it would be him.

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