Page 16 of Jar of Hearts
“Georgina, stop speaking,” Fred said to her. His phone beeped, and he checked the text message. “Goddamn it, Attenbaum is stuck in traffic. He’ll be another twenty minutes at least. Not another word until he’s inside this room, you understand?”
“Calvin says you secretly hated her,” Kaiser said.
Geo’s insides tightened. “Calvin’s here?”
“He was, for a while, but he’s been moved.” Her old friend leaned forward, his eyes never leaving Geo’s face. “You wouldn’t recognize him right now. He’s got long hair, a thick beard. I’m sure he’ll clean himself up for the trial. He said that back then, you and Angela had a rivalry going. And it’s funny, because as soon as he said that, I realized he was right. I was always playing the peacemaker with you guys, but I just thought all the bickering and competition was a girl thing.”
“I never wanted anything bad to happen to her,” Geo said.
“Jesus Christ, Georgina,please,” Fred Argent said, glaring at the closed door, as if he thought he could summon Daniel Attenbaum through sheer willpower.
“The good news is, the DA doesn’t want you,” Kaiser said, saying the line that every cop used in the movies. “They want Calvin.”
“How am I supposed to help?” she asked.
Fred Argent sighed deeply and placed his head in his hands.
“Testify,” Kaiser said. “The district attorney will agree to a plea deal in exchange for your testimony. But you need to make a decision quick, before the DA decides she doesn’t need you.”
“Georgina, Andrew said—” Fred began, but she shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter what Andrew said.” Geo took a deep breath. “You can go now, Fred. I’ll wait for Attenbaum. If you see Andrew, tell him I love him, and that I’m grateful for his help and support, andthat I’m sorry for any embarrassment I caused. Go ahead and put together my severance package; I’ll sign off on it tonight.”
“Severance package?” The lawyer looked completely caught off guard.
Geo turned to him and managed a rueful smile. “I have to disassociate myself from the company, of course. All of this will be terrible publicity for Shipp. But I’d like you to treat me fairly. I’ve been a valuable asset, and I want what I’m entitled to. I think one’s year salary, plus the bonus I would have received, is reasonable.”
“That’s… premature,” Fred said, his mouth slightly ajar. “Andrew will—”
“The trial will be public, I’m sure. However, if I a sign a nondisclosure agreement—which I’m happy to do if the settlement is fair—we can prevent my personal situation from affecting Shipp. Talk to Andrew. I’m sure he’ll agree it’s best for the company.”
She caught Kaiser’s look, knew what he must be thinking. It was a hell of a time to be making a business deal, but she would never have made it to the executive level of a major corporation by the age of thirty without the ability to negotiate under pressure.
Thankfully, it’s a transferrable skill, one that will make all the difference between surviving prison and dying in here. It’s also self-preservation. Her corporate career is over. The best she can hope for is to take the settlement and invest it, adding whatever she and Ella make to the pot. By the time she’s released, she might have enough to start over. She could always renew her cosmetology license and open a salon.
She puts the finishing touches on Cat’s face, then hands her friend a small plastic mirror. “You’re done. Take a look.”
Cat checks her reflection and nods her approval. “Where did you go just now? You zoned out. Did you hear anything I said in the last ten minutes?”
“Sorry.” Geo sighs. “It’s been that kind of day.”
“It’s Hellwood. Every day is that kind of day.” Cat stands up. “I’m off. Catch you in chow hall. Ta-ta.”
Cat practically skips out, a small woman with a heart and spiritso big, Geo wishes they could know each other outside these prison walls. The older woman has made some giant mistakes in her life, but Cat’s a good person.
Geo’s next “client” is not a good person. She takes a seat in the chair and hands Geo a few pages ripped from old beauty magazines they keep in the recreation room. Geo listens politely, trying not to think about how the woman and her husband used to own a daycare where they would film the children naked and upload the footage to a child pornography site. The woman is serving out her sentence in protective custody for her own safety, and is allowed two haircuts per year. Her husband was beaten to death in the men’s prison two years ago.
The pedophile tells her she wants bangs.
This is Geo’s life now, surrounded by all manner of wicked human beings who do nothing to make the world a better place, who take and take and take, giving absolutely nothing back. And in a lot of ways, she’s no better than they are. This is exactly what she deserves. She picks up her shears and starts snipping.
See, Dad? Told you beauty school would come in handy.
It’s almost lunchtime before she gets a break, but she’s stopped by a corrections officer as she’s heading toward the chow hall. Shawna Lyle.
“Shaw,” the CO snaps. The woman is only five-two, and the tight fit of her uniform showcases the rolls around her midsection and the expanse of her thighs. But her physical softness is deceiving; she’s nobody to be trifled with. “You have a visitor.”
“Who is it?” Geo’s stomach is growling. She heard they were serving chili today, which is one of the things the kitchen staff cooks that actually tastes like it’s supposed to.
