“Talking sounds good,” I grunt.
My breathing is accelerating. I know if I let my thoughts keep thinking about the fact that we are stuck inside a confined area, I’m going to freak out. I haven’t had an anxiety attack in a long time, but I’m going to if we don’t distract me.
“Are you doing okay?” she asks hesitantly.
“Right now, I’m not so bad.” I shrug even though she can’t see me. “I mean, I could be better, but it is what it is. Are you all right?”
“I mean, I could be blissed out right now, but it is what it is,” she teases, making us laugh.
“We’re a shit show.” I shake my head.
“But a fun one.”
“That we are. Tell me more about life outside the cruise ship. How are things back home?” I ask her.
I feel her tense. I start to rub her arms.
“Honestly? A mess. Things at the paper aren’t going great. Then this whole thing with Barrett. I feel like the whole world is against me.”
I swallow hard. “I understand that feeling. Are you planning to leave the paper?”
She’s quiet a moment before she responds, “Truthfully, they laid me off. I’m living off my savings.”
My heart is in my throat. I hate knowing that she’s struggling. I want to fix this for her. I have never wanted to flaunt my money or pay for others, but the fact that she would never want me to makes me want to pay all her bills.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I manage.
“I didn’t tell you for pity.” Her voice holds a little of the old Katie.
The Katie before we started on this roller coaster ride.
“I don’t pity you.”
“Then why are you sorry?” she bites back.
I take a deep breath. “Sorry wasn’t the right word, I guess. I feel for you. It’s hard when life doesn’t go the way you want it. When things are hard and it feels like you are never going to get out of the hole you find yourself in.”
Her tone is gentle now. “You sound like you’ve been here before.”
“I have. When I started Price Security. At first, we only had these small jobs. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. He ruined my reputation with the small group of clients I had formed. Back then, we only had business due to word of mouth. For months, I thought we would never recover. I even considered declaring bankruptcy.”
“What happened?” Her arms found their way to mine wrapped around her.
“Someone took a chance on me. He met me when I was valeting cars to make some extra money. He liked my attitude and asked me if I planned to be a valet my entire life. I told him no, that I planned to rebuild my security company, but that I was working there until I was able to do it. He handed me his card and told me to give him a call. I managed a couple of events for him, then next thing you know, I was installing systems at all his properties. He’s my biggest account now. From him, I have gained so many more though. He single-handedly saved my business.”
I feel a small smile on my face. Thinking about Reggie always makes me smile. He’s an older gentleman who has become like a grandfather figure to me. He changed my life.
“That’s sweet. I had no idea things were so rough for you. You always seem put together.”
“Cocky, you mean? Arrogant?” I tease.
I can hear the smile in her voice when she responds. “Those too. I would have never guessed you had any struggles.”
“We all have our secrets, Katie. Our insecurities that we don’t want to come to light. I never wanted Grant or anyone else in our circle to know I was facing such financial hardships. Grant would have wanted to invest money into me. One piece of advice, never mix money and friendship. It ruins it.”
“What happened to the guy you trusted?” she asks.
“Of course you caught on to that.” I let out a deep sigh. “I only hired him because of his family. I knew it was a bad idea, but I felt bad. His parents wanted him to get some responsibility and had cut him off. So I offered him a job. He made it through training fine, so I let him start taking assignments without me. On his third assignment, the client had hired us to monitor the house while he was at work due to some concerning threats made to his office. Somehow, he convinced the two employees on assignment with him that he was needed inside the home to ensure the place was safe. He was found fucking the client’s wife on their pool table. Not by my guys. No, the husband came home and caught him in the middle of the act.”
