I bit back a sigh. They must have notified Troy they were starting the work, and the bastard “forgot” to tell me. How convenient they were finished right after we’d signed our papers.
“Shelly, I’m hoping you can help me out.” I decided to be vulnerable—woman-to-woman, with hopes she’d take pity on me. “My husband was the one who wanted the kitchen renovation, and well, I caught him cheating on me with his assistant not long after we placed our order with you, and he moved out. Needless to say, during the divorce proceedings, I completely forgot about the cabinets, and now it’s just not in my budget. Is there anything you can do? I mean, I understand if there’s a penalty or something, but I’d like to cancel the order.”
“Ohhh.”
That didn’t sound promising.
She was silent a beat before continuing. “I’m so sorry about your divorce, but the cabinets aredone. They’re custom-built, specifically for your kitchen.”
“I know, but surely they could be used for someone else’s project?”
I was willing to take a hit, but not a forty-thousand dollar one. Especially since now that the divorce was final, I couldn’t even get Troy to pay for half of the cabinets I hadn’t wanted in the first place.
“Let me put you through to a supervisor.”
“Thanks.”
I let out a long exhale, steeling myself to have to retell my tale of woe to a new person. And not to be sexist, but woodworking was a male-dominated industry, so I prepared for a man’s voice to come on the line. He probably wouldn’t give two shits about my problem.
Not that Shelly really had either.
“This is Rick.”
I took another deep breath and recounted my story, complete with all the embarrassing details.
He was sympathetic to my plight.
Sort of.
He exclaimed, “oh, no!” in all the right places, offered his condolences, and told me I was better off without Troy.
Then he said, “If only you would have called when you found out. We would have been able to cancel the order with no problem. But as it stands… the cabinets are done.” He tried to insert some pep into his tone when he added, “The good news is they’ll increase the value of your home.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I had no intention of selling my house, so I couldn’t care less about increasing the value.
“Please, Rick. My divorce was finalizedthree daysago, and the cost of the cabinets wasn’t included in the settlement. Isn’t there something you can do?”
“I’m afraid not.”
That made my spine stiffen. I wasn’t trying to be an entitled bitch. More like a desperate one. I’d made a lot of concessions to keep the house in the divorce because I wanted Jake to grow up in Lancastle, with my family nearby, and go to school in the Lancastle district. With the skyrocketing cost of housing, there’s no way I’d be able to afford even a “starter” home here now.
“What if I just don’t schedule a time for your installers to come.”
Yeah, I’d lose the ten percent deposit, but really, what else could they do? Although, four thousand dollars was no meager sum for someone on a teacher’s salary.
“We’ll take you to court. And based on past experiences, you’ll lose. Our contract is air-tight, so you’ll be out the cost of the cabinets, plus the cost of the lawyers—plural. The contract spells out that if we go to court, the losing party pays all attorneys’ fees.”
I didn’t remember that little tidbit.
“Look, I’m desperate. I can’t afford the cabinets, and I seriously doubt they’ll improve the value of the house enough to cover the cost. Isn’t there someone you can talk to?”
“I can talk to Gabe, the owner, but I don’t think he’ll budge. He’s the guy who spent the last two-and-a-half months making them.”
I had a feeling Rick was ready to get rid of me and just wanted to pass the buck, but I still said, “I’d appreciate anything you can do.”
“Hold on.”
He punched a couple of buttons; except he didn’t put me on hold. I wasn’t sure if he realized I could hear him humming a tune while he walked along a hallway, then through a door into what I assumed was a workshop based on how much echo his footsteps started to make and how the sound of machinery grew louder.
