Beautiful Rose (Beautiful Rose 1)

"Okay. How about a trial run tomorrow? If that works out, the job is yours."

""Great." I smiled." You won’t regret this."

“Sure I won’t.” she smiled. I couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or not.

Chapter Eight

Rose

I left the diner feeling a sense of accomplishment. I could have taken the events of the last hour as pity, but instead I chose to look at it another way. I was working, two jobs in fact. Now I just needed a place to stay. I climbed into my car and grabbed my phone, an idea forming in my head. I scrolled through my phone book app and found the nearest used car dealership.

This was perfect. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier?

I drove the two miles to Pete's Luxury Seconds. Despite the name (which I thought was better suited to a lower class brothel), the place looked okay. I had done my research on what to expect for a BMW in this condition, so I felt reasonably prepared. I knew how these guys worked. They saw a pretty girl and right away assumed she knew nothing. Well, they weren't about to fuck me over. I walked around the yard, hoping I looked like I knew what I was doing. There had to be about forty cars in the place, all lined up neatly in rows, one after the other. Three men who I guessed worked there stood near the office smoking, and watching me. In the far back corner, a small sedan caught my eye. Something like that was all I needed. Cheap and practical.

"Can I help you?"

I jumped, not realizing one of the men had walked over to me. He smiled. I nodded toward the car. My heart was racing, sure he could tell how little I knew about cars. I couldn’t even tell what model the sedan was.

"I'm thinking of trading in my car, for something like this. What kind of deal could you offer me?" I asked sweetly, tilting my head. I bit my lip, playing up on the innocence card. Let him think I was hopeless and then BAM! Out of nowhere I’d recite all the facts I’d memorized about my car.

He grinned, and slapped the roof of the car. "Good choice right here." He glanced over my shoulder toward the convertible. "Not a fan of the Beamer?"

"I need cash more than I need that. So?" I prompted. "Not trying to rush you, I just have an appointment at another dealer," I said, gazing up at him. My fingers played with the hem of my dress as I stuck my leg forward slightly, as his eyes wandered up and down my leg.

He reddened, and repositioned himself next to the car. I almost burst out laughing. Was he serious? This was way too easy. "Okay, well I think we can work something out. You don't need to go all the way over there when you'll only end up back here anyway," He winked at me.

I giggled, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Thank you sir! That would be amazing!" I flashed him another smile. He was old enough to be my grandfather, but apparently that didn't bother him. His eyes had barely left my chest for the last five minutes, except to check out my legs.

"I can offer you the trade in, and five grand, cash."

"How much is that?" I asked innocently, pointing to the sedan. I pretended I couldn't see the huge red and white sign displaying the price.

"Two thousand, nine hundred."

"Oh." I stopped, pretending to think for a moment. "Okay, I think I should try the other place. They told me over the phone I should be able to get at least twenty thousand for mine."

He chuckled. "Twenty grand? Not going to happen, honey. It might be worth that much, but we have to make something off it, or what’s the point?"

"Right, so you need to make twelve grand off it to be ‘worth your while’? Thanks anyway." I smiled, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" he called. My heart began to slow to normal pace. I was near the front gate, and for a moment I thought he was going to let me leave. "Ten and the trade."

"Done," I said, sticking out my hand.

I drove out of the dealership with my new (old) car feeling a sense of accomplishment. I could just imagine the look on Dads face when he found out I'd pawned my Twenty-First birthday present for this piece of shit. My phone buzzed, indicating a message. I pulled over and shuffled through my bag, eventually grasping my hand on my phone. It was from Darcy.

Hey, the room is still free if you're interested. You can come look at it anytime today. Darcy xx

I texted back right away asking for the address. I still had a little bit of time before I was supposed to meet the psychiatrist. Following Darcy's directions to an apartment complex around the corner from the bar, I parked the car and walked over. It looked much more modern than I was expecting.

I walked through the foyer feeling much more comfortable about everything. I'd expected Darcy and Benj to live in a dive, not a moderately expensive-looking complex in the middle of Brooklyn. I instantly

felt guilty. Gosh, how bad was I? I had done the one thing I despised most; I'd just assumed something about a person based on the very little I knew about them.

I swallowed, the nerves in my stomach making me feel sick, and pressed the elevator button. When the doors opened, I stepped in and pressed the fifth floor. Darcy said she'd meet me at her friends place. I wondered what floor they lived on? The elevator rang as the doors opened. Darcy stood there waiting for me, a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, it’s just up here." She smiled. I followed her along the hall a short distance, to apartment number fifty-seven. "Marina! She's here!" I cringed. Darcy was so loud. How could someone so tiny have so much energy, especially so early in the morning?