Page 3 of Bred By the Boss

“Here, use this,” I say, offering her the money. “If I find your purse while cleaning later, I’ll keep it safe for you.”

The older lady tears up when her eyes meet mine. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” I say with a smile. “Please, just use the money. You can pay me back later.”

The woman takes the cash with a grateful look on her face and I turn around to go back to doing my tasks. Before I can even look at my list, however, another loud noise has me whipping around in panic, expecting to find another customer experiencing some trouble. What I see instead has my stomach roiling with unease.

Little scares me anymore after what I’ve had to endure being on my own. My dad left my mom and I when I was younger, and then my mom died a few years ago, after a long and harrowing medical battle, though I think her lingering heartbreak over myfather made it worse. When she died, I was left with nothing. You have to be tough around here, and I haven’t let shit get to me. Not with all the things I’ve been through. I can barely afford to exist, let alone think of leaving. There are only a few people who make me truly think about trying to get out of here, and one of them just walked into the building.

“There you are my sweet Noelle!”

Fuck my life …

I back up a step, biting back a whimper when my elbow smacks the corner of a washer. “Splinter, hi.”

I don’t know how he got his nickname, but it fits him too well. The tall, lanky man has earned the fear he elicits. No one crosses him if they know what’s good for him. I was young and stupid when I did, and I’m still paying for it, both literally and figuratively. When my mother fell ill a few years ago, but there still looked like there was some hope, we were having a hard time paying her medical bills. In my desperation, I turned to a loan shark, and I’ve rued my choice since.

Splinter had felt harmless at the time, but I was an idiot for thinking he gave a shit about me or my dying mother. Instead, every penny I send his way is a reminder that my mother still died, even with medical treatment. He’s ruthless about getting his payments, and doesn’t give a damn about anything but his bottom line. It’ll take me years to pay off the loan, but it’s better than the alternative.

“Are you not happy to see me?” Splinter says, approaching me with that crooked, unsettling smile of his. I notice that the customers in the laundromat step out of his way. One even sees him and leaves the laundromat entirely. “I’m almost always happy to see you, my darling.”

“I—”

As he gets closer, his voice drops to a near-whisper. “You’re late for your payment this month, Noelle. You know I don’t like that.”

“It’s been a slow month—”

Splinter kicks a basket of clothes across the room, and I hate myself for flinching, but at least I don’t whimper or scream. I will not give him that satisfaction. His watery eyes narrow on me for a second before he lets out a chuckle. “You’re lucky I like you, or I might’ve sent one of my boys over. But no, you’re a special client of mine, aren’t you?”

I hold back the nausea that rises up my throat as he runs his eyes suggestively over me. Over the past few years, he’s made suggestions about other things I could do to erase my debt aside from paying him, but I won’t ever stoop that low. I may be destitute but I’ve still got a little dignity left.

“I’ll get the money to you by next week,” I say carefully, hoping he takes my word for it. My time with him is running out and I know it. Soon he may actually start making a more obvious move on me, but I’m going to keep stalling as long as I can.

I have to. I have no other choice.

“No. Friday,” he says, running his tongue over his lips.

“What? That’s just two days away!” I grit out. My stomach twists as I start to think through how I could possibly make that happen. There’s no way.

“You should be thankful I’m even giving you that much time. Get me my money by Friday or I’m not going to be nice about offering you a break again.”

He takes a step closer, but someone suddenly slides between us. I realize with horror that it’s the older woman, the one who was panicking about losing her purse. Splinter recoils instantly, taken aback by the fact that someone has the guts to get betweenhim and his prey. He glares down at her. “Excuse me, lady, I’m trying to conduct business here.”

“You already threatened her, I think you’ve made your point. Leave the poor girl alone!”

Splinter opens his mouth to say something, but his phone starts ringing loudly in his pocket. He takes a deep breath and pulls his phone out with an annoyed growl, but it must be important because he swears to himself.

“Friday,” he warns me before walking outside to answer the call.

I watch him leave, stooping and tossing anyone who dares look at him a crooked smirk. No one says a word as the door swings shut behind him, but everyone seems to let out a breath once he’s gone. Soon, they’re all back to whatever they were doing when he first appeared, like he was never there at all.

My legs are shaking as I force myself to move towards a chair plopped in the corner. It’s not until I’m seated that the reality of his threat hits me. Friday is only two days away, and his patience with me is gone. I have to figure out how to come up with a big chunk of the thousands of dollars I owe him, or he’s going to—

I startle when I feel someone pat my shoulder. Before I can panic, my eyes settle on the face of the older woman I helped earlier.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asks.

No. I’m scared.

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