Page 3 of Dirty Little Secret

“Just working at this badass club in Charleston called Mynt,” came her enthusiastic reply.

“Mynt?” My mind wandered back to Charleston. The home I’d had to leave when I was just sixteen. Barely sixteen, really, as my mother was constantly reminding me.

Mom would remind me far too often that I was barely above fifteen when I’d gotten myself into what she liked to refer to as “the situation.” A situation, she also reminded me, that had forced her and my father to uproot our little family and move far away. Life had never been the same after that move.

“Yeah, Mynt,” Taylor said, pulling me out of my reverie. “And you want to know what I think, Zandy?”

“What do you think?” I chewed on my long fake black-painted fingernail as I waited to hear what she had to say.

“I think that you should come on down here to the South and work with me.” She paused to let that sink in as I thought about it. “I’ve got a very nice two-bedroom apartment that my roommate has just moved out of. I could use a new roomie, and who better than you to fill that role?”

Yeah, who better than me to fill that role?

Charleston sounded nice. Going back to what I had always considered my home sounded like a fantastic idea.Why not go back there?

Even if I saw anyone from my old life, it wasn’t like anyone knew why we’d left all of a sudden anyway. What harm would it do to go back to my hometown?

“And the pay at Mynt?” I asked. “Is it pretty decent?”

“Let’s just say that I make enough money to pay my bills, eat what I want, when I want, drive a nice car, and even splurge on shopping now and then with what I’m bringing home.” She laughed, the pitch high and shrill but still pleasant, as only Taylor could make it. “Please tell me that you’ll come. I’ve already talked to the boss about you. He thinks you’ll fit right in with our little family at Mynt. It’s lots of fun, Zandy. You’ll love the atmosphere. I promise you that we’ll have a great time.”

She made it sound like a great idea, and it wasn’t like I had anything holding me in Chicago. A change might be just what I needed to get the emptiness to go away. At least for a little while.

Another gust of frigid wind hit me, and I got up. My hand balled into a fist at my side; I was ready to make the big change. “It’s a miracle that you called me right at this moment, Taylor. I’ve been in a funk lately. Change is exactly what I need in my life right now.”

She sounded hopeful. “Does that mean you’ll come?”

“Yeah, I’ll come.” I went back inside to get out of the cold. “When do you want me?”

“Yesterday,” she said with light laughter threading her high voice. Taylor was the closest thing to a fairy a human woman could get, and it was utterly charming. People often called her Tinkerbell.

“Then I’ll pack up my things and give my notice at work. Then I’ll get into my car and come your way. Text me the address, and I’ll be there as soon as my wheels can get me there.”

Change was important. It’s what I’d been missing in my life lately, and without change life could be one long, dreary existence. I wanted to leave dreary behind me. Hopefully, Charleston would see to that.