Chapter 7

7

H adley | Sacramento, California | Early 2000s

Colorful paper confetti burst into the air, followed by the loud pop of an uncorked champagne bottle.

"You are killing it, bitch!" Hector yelled, holding the six-dollar champagne bottle above his head, letting the liquid foam spill over the top and drip down his arm.

Hadley whooped in support of their celebration. It had been two weeks, and she was officially caught up on rent. There were no more eviction notices, and their refrigerator was filled with food.

Hector took a long gulp straight from the champagne bottle before moving towards the kitchen counter and pouring the drink into a glass for each of them.

"I have an announcement," Hector said, his accent thickening, rolling his tongue on the roof of his mouth as the alcohol hit his blood. "I have decided that this town is too small for me. "

"Does that mean that you're leaving now?" Hadley asked, surprise evident on her face.

"Someday soon, hopefully. I have received invitations to audition for both the Los Angeles and the San Francisco Theater Schools. No more of these small-time community theaters for me."

"That's amazing," Hadley said, sipping her champagne, genuinely excited for her best friend. A slight hint of sadness crept into the back of her mind, knowing that keeping Hector from being homeless was a big reason she ventured into such a sinful profession.

"I know, I know! Auditions are back-to-back days in January, so I will be adding a few extra hours a day of conditioning and technique. Here, I can start now!"

Hadley squealed as Hector's hands found her waist and lifted her into the air, the drink in her hand spilling onto the carpet under their feet. He laughed, filled with joy. These past few years had been so hard and Hadley was ready for both of them to thrive.

"Now give me 20," Hadley joked, kicking her feet while still dangling in the air. Hector let her go and as she fell, caught her around her waist so her feet hit the champagne-soaked carpet gracefully.

"You're pretty good at that," she mused, taking a few steps over and sat down on the couch. She found the remote and turned on the TV, pulling up a music app and filling the silence with blended retro songs that were hard to not shake your hips to.

"I want to know about this job, Hadley," Hector said. "What wonderful employment have you found that pays you so fast? The last time I worked at that clothing store, it took almost three weeks for me to see my first paycheck. Are they hiring? Can you put in a referral for me? I mean, I guess I wouldn't have time with my new training schedule, but it would be nice not to look like the broke, starving artist at the auditions."

"I'll take care of you, Hector. I won't let you go without." Hadley promised.

"Ah, my new sugar momma. You know, I always thought that I was beautiful enough to have a sugar momma or daddy. I won't let gender get in the way," he laughed. "Seriously, though, I want to hear about what you do with your days now. I haven't gotten to talk to you in the past two weeks."

"Well, you've been busy," she said, watching Hector run over to the kitchen counter.

"Oh, do you want more champagne? Here, let me refill what I've spilled."

She wasn't prepared with a convincing enough lie about her job. She was grateful for Hector's increased schedule since it provided her the grace she needed to not have to worry about covering her tracks.

She couldn't tell him about her first client, Wes, and how, for a moment, it was the most romantic experience she'd ever had. She couldn't tell Hector that the client could not have treated her better until that awkward parting of ways. She couldn't tell Hector about the second experience with a middle-aged man who wanted her to wear animal ears and bark like a puppy, licking all parts of him.

She couldn't tell Hector about the married couple who just wanted her to sit in the corner and watch them be together, no physical touch from her needed. The fourth and fifth jobs she took were nothing out of the ordinary, though Hadley still felt soreness in between her legs for days after.

No, she couldn't tell Hector any of that.

"My boss owns his own business," Hadley said, trying to imagine Grant as a big-time corporate executive.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone owns their own business these days. What does he do? What do you do for him?" he asked, putting a little too much inflection into the last part of the question, raising his eyebrows. Hadley giggled at the irony.

"He owns an online marketing business," she lied, "and I work on call carrying out random tasks. I have helped him plan photo shoots, get people coffee, and sometimes I sit in the corner and take notes. I get paid daily and in cash under the table so he doesn't have to deal with the tax implications. I think having an assistant gives him more prestige around his clients," Hadley explained, pulling from at least four different movies that she had seen recently. Hopefully, none of it sounded too familiar to Hector.

"So cool, Hadley. I can't wait to see what you can turn this into. Have you been writing lately? I saw a script writing contest flier posted on the board at the theater," Hector said.

"Yes, well, kind of. The job has been keeping me busy, but I am working on something that I might enter into something. It's turning into a comedy but was originally meant to be pretty dramatic," she said, cut off by the beeping of her phone.

Can you take a new client right now? He is saying it's an emergency. - Grant

"So, what are we doing today?" Hector asked, "It's only noon. What is there to do at noon on a Tuesday?" He filled up his cup, emptying what remained in the bottle.

"That was my boss," she said. "I've got to go to work. He's sending a car to pick me up."

Hector looked disappointed as Hadley replied to the text message.

"You're going to leave me alone? Now?" he asked, his eyes wide and in disbelief.

"Sorry," she said, hopping up and running into her room to put on some lingerie. To avoid suspicion, she put on her most professional-looking dress over her new pink lace bodysuit. The dress was black with white plastic buttons on the front near her collarbone. She threw a cardigan over it and tied her hair into a tight bun, rushing back out to wave Hector goodbye.

"I'll probably be back in two or three hours," she said. "I'm not usually out for long."

Her phone buzzed, knowing this meant that Grant had arrived, now trusting him to have her home address. She rushed downstairs, already spending the money from today's gig in her head and not thinking too much about what an emergency in her line of work looked like.

"Hey there, Hailey. How are we doing today?" Grant asked from the driver's seat when Hadley opened the door and sat next to him.

"Girl, you are on fire. There are at least twenty-five requests for you that I've been pushing out. Are you sure you don't want to take on more clients? This one will be the third one this week and you said yes, so I'm sensing some flexibility."

"I said yes to today because I might need to buy my roommate some new jazz shoes in a few months," she said. "He's got a big audition coming up. Otherwise, I just don't have it in me for any more than this."

"Alright, alright, I'll respect your choices. You're an independent woman, all empowered and shit," he said, nodding his head to himself while he kept his eyes on the road.

"You know, Grant," she laughed, "you're slowly growing on me."

"Am I?" Grant's eyes lit up, unsure of what he did to get the positive remark. "Well, hell, darlin, you know I always got your back."

A short time later, Grant pulled into an office building development, the exterior entrance sign announcing it as S.B.V. Commercial Space. It consisted of a large parking lot that circled three identical corporate buildings. He parked around back, towards the entrance of the one furthest to the right.

"This isn't the usual motel," Hadley said, her nerves kicking in from the unfamiliarity.

"You got this, the same rules apply. Let me know when you get in, so I know that no funny business is going on. You'll walk into this building in front of us, go to the fifth floor, and check in with the secretary. The man you're seeing is named David Sullivan. You have an appointment scheduled at two o'clock."

Hadley took a few deep breaths, her fingernails flicking the door handle.

"Okay," she said, getting out of the car. She shut the door behind her and did not let herself look back.

Hadley stepped inside the building and took the elevator in the undecorated lobby to the fifth floor. It came out to a long hallway with glass doors on both sides with the business names etched on them. She passed through the entire hallway until she reached one that read "Sullivan and Partners, Accounting Firm. "

This must be it.

Hadley grabbed the door handle and let herself inside. A check-in desk was on her right and a round woman in her late forties sat there, not bothering to look up from her computer screen as Hadley entered.

"Do you have an appointment?" the secretary asked, her long fingernails clattering on the keyboard.

"Yes, at two o'clock with David Sullivan. It should be under Hailey," Hadley responded.

The waiting room sat a few feet beyond her, consisting of some black and brown chairs arranged in a semi-rectangle around a coffee table. Scattered torn magazines sat, waiting to be picked up. There was another man sitting, waiting, wearing a brown two-piece suit and glasses, eating a sandwich, and looking down at his phone.

"Sign in here, dear," the secretary said, aggressively hitting her index finger on the clipboard that slid forward on the counter. "Then have a seat."

Hadley signed using her alias and walked over to the chairs. Before she had a chance to sit down, one of the three interior doors opened.

"Hailey," called the man inside the office. His eyes were wide, with creases lining his forehead.

"Oh, right here," she answered and walked past him into his office. She sat down at his desk as he shut the door behind her. Framed photos of the man before her lined the shelf behind his desk with various kids and family members. He was short, thin, but clean shaven with salt and pepper hair. He wore a simple white button-down dress shirt.

"Thank you for coming in at such short notice," he said, putting his fists on the other side of his desk and leaning his weight into his arms. He kept his gaze down, rocking back and forth.

"David, is it?" she asked, reaching over to the desk and putting her hand calmly on his left forearm.

He nodded before he took his arm back away from her, but only to dig in his pocket for his wallet. David pulled out a few hundred- dollar bills and placed them on the desk before sliding them towards her. Hadley couldn't help but notice that he still hadn't looked at her.

"One second," she said after grabbing the cash and rolling it underneath her bra strap. She pulled out the phone from her purse and sent a quick text to Grant so he knew she wasn't in any danger. She got a thumbs up as a reply before she set it back down on the table.

"So, what are we doing here today?" she asked, standing up and beginning to unbutton the front of her dress.

"No, no, stop that," David said, rushing up to her and taking her hands in his. Hadley looked at him, confused. He let go in a panic.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he mumbled. "This was a mistake. I think you can go." He turned around, putting his hands on his hips and leaned over, taking in deep breaths. Hadley had been there before, had felt the kind of stress and anxiety that he was clearly feeling.

She walked towards him, putting her hand on his back.

"Hey, hey, come here," she said in a hushed voice, turning him back towards her. She put her arms around him and hugged him. Hadley counted to twenty, feeling him relax into her, and then pulled away.

"I can still go," she said. "Just tell me what you want."

David looked down at his feet, and he took Hadley's hands again.

"I didn't want this for my life," he explained. "I didn't want to be an accountant, but then I got Isabell pregnant. I changed my major in college to something practical. Now I own this entire firm. This place that I want no part of has become a large part of my life."

"What did you want to do? There's still time," Hadley said, moving slowly back to her seat.

"Well, the six-year-old version of me wanted to be an astronaut. In high school, I settled for the goal of a master's in engineering, but I didn't have that kind of time before I had to start making money to support a family. I couldn't work towards a goal that took that long. My child needed to eat.

I found out a few weeks ago that Isabell has been seeing someone behind my back. All this sacrifice has been for nothing. I needed someone to talk to. Someone who couldn't possibly judge. Seeing you here now, you're a child, you're no older than my daughter is. This whole scenario feels even more ridiculous."

"What is this scenario exactly?" Hadley asked abruptly, not understanding what this was. Why did he need her?

"I was considering executing my plan Z," he said, aloof, looking out the window into the parking lot.

David turned around to look at her, tears streaming down his cheeks, splashing down to leave damp marks on the collar of his shirt.

"I was going to take my life before leaving this office for the day," he said. "I was thinking that one last hurrah would be a good way to do it. Some sex, drugs, and rock and roll right here in this office that I can't stand. A last fuck you to the world."

Hadley didn't know what to do; she froze. She was not qualified to be here.

"You should go and be an astronaut," she blurted out. "I've always heard that if you join the military, they will essentially pay for anything you want to do. Make your six-year-old self proud of who he grows up to be."

David cocked his head and stared at her for a moment too long.

Hadley's checks heated, assuming she said the wrong thing. Using none of her brain cells, only instinct, she jumped up and ran towards him, grabbing his hands with hers. She watched as a mischievous smile played across his lips.

"My six-year-old self would lose it if he thought he had a chance," he replied.

Hadley did her best to mask her sigh of relief as she saw a glimmer of a smile from the corners of his mouth. Maybe she somehow could help. Maybe she just needed to be a human being.

"My mom died when I was sixteen," she said, her face less than twelve inches apart from his. "It was fairly sudden. Her liver failed and she only had a few months; the doctors said she was too far in for a transplant. One day we were shopping, laughing, and getting ready for my homecoming dance, and then the next day I found her weeping on the floor in the bathroom. She had gotten back from a doctor's appointment, getting the diagnosis. A few weeks later, she didn't know who I was. I would sit there as a stranger by her bedside as she made up these beautiful but delirious stories of her flying through the skies with wings."

David held her eyes with his, not blinking, not moving.

"I wanted to kill myself, then. I had no one and nothing. Our house got auctioned off. I was alone. I don't know how to comfort you, David. I'm probably the least qualified person in the world to help you in a real way, but I can tell you it will always get better if you want it to. Every day, I am choosing to live."

Hadley let herself indulge in a cocktail of emotions. Grief for her mother, empathy for her loneliness, pride for figuring out how to take care of herself and her best friend.

"Hailey," David said, kissing her hands. "I think you might have saved my life, at least for today."

Hadley blushed and pulled away from him.

"Well, you have me for another thirty minutes," she said, "what should we do?"

Five minutes later, Hadley walked out of the bottom of the elevator and through the building doors, her steps slapping down on the sidewalk. She grinned at the ground as she walked through the parking lot, making her way to Grant's beat-up car.

He jumped as she approached.

"Holy shit, girl," he yelled from his cracked window. "You scared the heck out of me! Why are you back so early? Everything a'ight?"

Hadley got in the car and pulled the cash out of her bra strap, moving into the now familiar routine of counting out Grant's payment in bills and handing it over.

"It was fine," she said.

Grant was used to her not going into detail and started up the car, reversing out of the parking spot. A moment later, he cursed and hit the brakes, the car jolting violently.

A man was leaning on the trunk of the car behind them, smoking a cigarette. Grant had nearly hit him. He was wearing a full dark blue suit and tucked back his black gelled hair. Hadley mostly noticed how white his teeth were.

"Don't bother moving or anything. What a stupid place to hang out and smoke," Grant muttered under his breath as they drove off.

The man flicked the ash off of his cigarette, completely unphased, and watched their car until it was out of his sight. He smiled, his eyes then turning a glaring red.