Page 39 of Fake for 7 days

Isabella would surely be happy to agree to the deal and play along. Cameron would definitely not get the entire inheritance. Just as he wouldn't win the championship. Nothing could go wrong.

Or could it?

Chapter 11 ~ Isabella ~

AndI'llmakesureyou won't find a job anywhere else!

Emmett Kershaw's threat echoed in my ears as if the little bald man with the beady eyes had just uttered it. I felt like he was lecturing me all over again, even though there was a thick wall and a busy street between us.

I stood on Crosby Street, staring at the facade of the hotel where I had worked until yesterday.

Yesterday?

Had it really been just yesterday?

I closed my eyes briefly.

The encounter with Carter had changed everything. While not much seemed different on the surface compared to a day ago, something had been set in motion within me—something I couldn't yet define precisely or predict where it would lead me.

Thanks to these changes, it felt like much more time had passed since I was fired. It seemed like an eternity since I had last entered the hotel. Yet it had been just over 24 hours.

I really had no business being at my former workplace anymore. Emmett Kershaw had made that crystal clear.

Really.

But given my dire financial situation, I had no choice but to enter the lion's den. The hotel where Emmett Kershaw was surely strutting around like a pint-sized emperor today, harassing my former colleagues as he pleased. With that thought, I suddenly wasn't so sad about not working for Emmett Kershaw anymore. With some patience and perseverance, I was bound to find a better position! A job without a dictatorial and controlling boss, without a know-it-all colleague like Gina. Maybe I'd even get paid better! After all, I had skills: I had learned all the necessary theory in my evening course and gained the practical experience over the last few months.

All I needed to appear credible to a new employer was a letter of recommendation from Emmett Kershaw.

Again, I heard that fateful sentence he had hurled at me yesterday morning:And I'll make sure you won't find a job anywhere else!

I couldn't let that intimidate or stop me now. Yesterday morning, Emmett Kershaw had been in a particularly foul mood. I had never seen him in a good mood, but yesterday had surpassed anything I had ever witnessed in the short time he had been our boss. Surely today would be better, and he wouldn't mind writing me a letter of recommendation.

At least that's what I hoped.

Come on, Isabella Abbott. Standing out here on the street analyzing the situation three times forward and four times backward won't make anything better. It won't make your doubts disappear, nor will it get you a letter of recommendation. Both will only happen if you take action. So, get going!

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. I quickly crossed the street. In front of the hotel entrance, I took another deep breath.

Shoulders back! Head up! Straight back! You need to exude confidence, then you'll get what you want.

This voice in my head wasn't mine, but my older sister Joanna's, and the encouraging words hadn't been spoken recently, but many years ago when I was auditioning for a role in a high school play.

You got that role, Isabella. And you'll see: It'll be the same now with the letter of recommendation.

I nodded vigorously and entered the hotel.

"Isabella! How lovely to see you again so soon. After yesterday, I didn't expect you back." Jim, the doorman who reminded me so much of my grandfather, beamed at me. I was touched by the friendly welcome.

"I have to say a proper goodbye," I replied, smiling at Jim. "I enjoyed having you as a colleague so much, I couldn't just leave like that. And besides..." I paused and looked around cautiously, "...I wanted to ask Emmett Kershaw for a letter of recommendation. A kind of reference. It's not so common in the US, but in other countries, it's standard practice. I need to find a new job and could use a reference."

Jim's face contorted painfully at these words. "Well, good luck with that, my dear." He looked at me with concern.

"You don't think the chances are particularly good?" I inquired cautiously.

"Honestly, no." Jim looked at me, thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "But with Emmett Kershaw, you never know. He could say this today and that tomorrow. Yesterday he fired you, today he might hire you back. That's how he is."

Yesterday he fired you, today he might hire you back.

---