51

C H A P T E R 8
J E N N A
I looked around my current client’s house. I tried to ignore the rolling in my stomach at the fact that my mother got me the job. I’d been on my own for years, but my mother still had an influence in my life. However, I couldn’t say no; I
needed every job I could get so I could build my portfolio.
I hated that I had to rely on my mother at all. Especially when I had to use her contacts to pay my bills. This wasn’t what I had envisioned for myself at all. I was dumb and hadn’t discussed payment with Noah. Now I had no idea what I would be getting paid after everything was done. I couldn’t afford to hope I’d be getting a nice chunk of cheese from the Clarks and had to find another client.
I almost felt like it was a set up when my mother called Friday. She said she knew a ‘nice young man in need of help decorating his apartment’. I could roll my eyes now at how fake her description was.
My client, Josh, wanted to turn his apartment into a man cave. I wanted to pull my hair out. He’d continuously gotten in my way as I’d worked on the apartment, and he gave me the creeps. The job in its basic state wasn’t too hard, but the client himself made it infinitely more di cult.
Josh kept hitting on me, and I wanted to turn around and smack him. He’d used mommy and daddy’s money to get his apartment, and I could tell because he was always there. He didn’t have a job to go to, so he watched me with his smarmy eyes and creepy grin.
I’d gone to his place a couple of times to get an idea of what I wanted to do and to make sure items would fit. Each time the place looked like a natural disaster struck. Half empty soda cans and take out had been left to rot on the kitchen counter. I’d asked him to pick up, but the guy didn’t seem to care. I was just grateful I was finishing today. All the furniture I’d ordered had been delivered, and once it was placed, his perfect man cave would be complete. I would get the pictures I needed and try and erase the job from my mind.
I don’t know if I’d ever been so excited to finish a project before.
I worked on the finishing touches until I was content with how it looked. I had asked earlier if I could take pictures to add to my portfolio and got permission. I took my camera out of my messenger bag and photographed a bunch of different angles. My main focus for this project was his living area. I had no desire to go anywhere near his bedroom.
I would do some light editing to the photos later before I added them to my portfolio. I also managed a blog where I posted designing tips and posted before and after photos of projects - with the homeowner's permission, of course.
I took one final picture and felt like I had enough. I put my camera and any other loose ends back in my bag. I’d already received payment earlier in the day from Josh’s father. Another clue as to his spoiled behavior and seeming lack of employment.
“Well, Josh, it was nice working with you.” I forced a smile on my face as he walked me to his door.
Josh didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped in front of me and blocked the door with his body. My eyes widened, and I backed away from him. Based on his expression, I had a pretty good idea what was going through his head.
“What are you doing, Josh?” I asked. I clutched the strap of my bag and mentally kicked myself for not listening to my gut about him. “I have an appointment with another client in a half hour.” That was a lie, but he didn’t know that.
“Come on, Jenna. I just want a taste. Give me a little taste.”
I sneered at him and brushed any loose hair out of my face. “That is never going to happen.” I was like a viper, venom in my voice and ready to strike. I wasn’t the most physically intimidating person, but I had taken some self-defense courses before. And I wasn’t afraid of playing dirty when my safety was concerned. “Move your ass away from that door before I kick your nuts into your throat.”
“How dare you talk to me like that!” he exclaimed, seriously insulted. He leaned closer and sneered. “You little bitch. You know you want it.” He reached for me, and I slapped his hand hard.
“No!” I snapped, stalking forward and snarling as my eyes met his, my finger pointed threateningly in his face. “You snot-nosed brat! You even think about touching me again, and I’ll make sure you never have children.”
My threat worked; Josh moved to the side and let me leave without another word. I rushed to the elevator. I didn’t care if it made me sick right now. I just needed to get out of the
building. When it arrived, the cart was empty. I walked inside and let the doors close behind me.
I clenched my jaw as I felt a wave of nausea hit me. I leaned on the railing attached to the back wall. I could feel my heart beating erratically in my chest; its heavy thumps helped ground me. I pulled my phone out as I walked into the populated lobby and pulled up Josh’s father’s number from my contacts. The phone rang and I thought it would go to voicemail, but a hoarse but kind voice picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hi sir, this is Jenna Robertson.” “Yes, Jenna, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I wanted to let you know that I finished Josh’s apartment today, like I said I would.”
“That’s great. Thank you.”
“I do need to tell you something,” I began, my voice strong. “Your son just barred my exit from his place and tried to proposition me.” I frowned and said, “Actually proposition is too kind a word for what he tried to do.”
“What?” he gasped. “Are you alright? Did he do anything to you?”
“No.” I shook my head as if he could see, and his words reached my mind. This wasn’t the first phone call he’d received like this. “I was able to leave safely. I just thought you should know what your son tried to do.”
I heard him sigh. “I’m sorry for my son. Let me pay you extra for having to deal with him and his idiotic antics.”
“That’s not necessary, sir.”
“Nonsense. It’s the least I can do. And don’t worry about Josh. I’ll be giving him a good talking to. That’s no way to treat a lady.”
I rolled my eyes after thanking him and ending the conversation. A good talking to? The man needed to have his ass kicked. The nasty asshole would just do it again, and one day he might successfully hurt someone. I hated the idea that his father would try to pay off that woman too.
However, the extra money would come in handy, so I tucked Josh into the back of my mind and forgot about him.