Page 6 of The October Arrangement

Hi, Daisy. It’s Bella Castle from college.

Can you call me when you get a chance? Here’s my number.

It was a long shot, but I had to try. Within thirty minutes, my phone rang, and it was a New York area code. It had to be Daisy.

“Hello?”

“Bella, oh my God. It was so good to hear from you. It’s Daisy. You wanted me to call. How are you? Oh my God, it’s been forever.”

“Hi, Daisy. Thank you for calling me. I’m okay. How are you?”

“I’m fabulous. Busy. Busy. Busy. Now, tell me why you reached out.”

“I have a problem, and I’m hoping you could help me out. I have a temporary job offer in Manhattan and need a place to stay while I’m there.”

“How exciting. Doing what?”

“Social media content for Ever & Oak for their fall collection.”

“I love their products. Listen, as much as I would love for you to stay with me, it wouldn’t be possible. I’m living with my fiancé at his place, and it’s in the middle of being renovated. It’s a complete mess right now.”

“Oh, okay. It’s just that I can’t afford the short-term rentals there, and apparently the company doesn’t pay anything toward rent. I’ll figure something out or maybe just turn the job down.”

“You’re currently not working?” she asked.

“No. The company I worked for closed. The owners are getting divorced, and I need to find something quick before I end up homeless.”

“I have an idea. How long would you be here for?” she asked.

“At least a couple of months. They want me out there in a few days.”

“My cousin is out of town for three months. He left me in charge of watering his plants. Plus, I’m taking care of his cat, who is scared to death with all the renovations going on. You can stay at his penthouse while he’s away.”

“His penthouse?”

“Yeah. You’ll love it.”

“And he won’t mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll send you his address. Let me know when you fly in so I can drop the cat off. You aren’t allergic to cats, right?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Excellent. It’ll be good to see you again, Bella. I have to run. Call me when you land.”

“I will. Thanks, Daisy.”

I ended the call and inhaled a deep breath. A penthouse. A freaking penthouse in New York City. Maybe my life was starting to turn around. As soon as I got the address from Daisy, I sent it to Geneva, who in turn sent me my flight details. At least they were paying for that.

I headed to my mom’s house to tell her the news.

“Hey, baby.” She hugged me. “What brings you by?”

“I’m leaving in a couple of days for New York.”

“Why?” Her brows furrowed.

“I got a temporary job offer with Ever & Oak. I’ll be creating fall content for their new fall line.”