“You know, I’m going to miss that cooking,” Sarah said.

“What… can’t Nick cook?”

Sarah giggled. “He could change the world with computers and cell phones but he couldn’t make toast.”

“Well, you two are screwed, aren’t you? Unless you pay me to cook for you.”

Katie laughed and then saw the look in Sarah’s eyes.

Ut-oh.

“Would you do something like that?” Sarah asked.

“What? Cook for you?”

“Not for me, or Nick. What about cooking, cleaning… taking care of a house. Part-time.”

“Oh no,” Katie muttered. She tore open the silverware drawer and slapped a fork onto Sarah’s plate and then handed it to her. “Eat first. I don’t even want to know…”

Sarah took the plate but didn’t stop talking. “I told you I’d help you. And I did. You have to hear me out.”

Katie wasn’t going to get out of this one. She knew that. She’d been around Sarah long enough. If the woman had something to say, she was going to say it.

“Fine,” Katie said. “I’m eating while you talk.”

“Fair enough,” Sarah said. “But first…” Sarah twisted her fork around the angel hair pasta and then stabbed a piece of shrimp. She ate it, closing her eyes and moaning. After swallowing, she shook her head. “You’re tempting me to stay.”

“Then stay,” Katie said. “I’d have no problem with that.”

“No need for me to stay,” Sarah said. “I got you a part-time job.”

“Oh. You got me one?”

Sarah nodded. “Nick’s company just picked up an investor or something, I don’t know. But they were joking and it turns out this rich investor guy needs someone to clean his house and cook. He’s single so it’s just him…”

“That’s what single generally means,” Katie whispered.

“… so it’s not that bad. He works a lot and he pays a lot too.”

“How do you know he pays a lot?” Katie asked.

“I called him. I pretended to be you and demanded a salary.”

Katie dropped her fork. “You did what?”

“I knew you wouldn’t call,” she said as she leaned back in her chair. “You’d scramble and piss and moan before taking action.”

“Taking action?” Katie shot back. “How about giving me a fucking warning before just leaving?”

She stood up and walked away, a fury pounding in her chest. By the time she got to her room, her mind teased at her.

A single, rich investor… hmm…

Katie looked at the mirror above her dresser, wishing she didn’t have to see her own curves.

Yeah, like that would ever happen.

And yeah, like some single, rich investor would even look at a woman with a little weight on her body, right? Maybe if it was Sarah… but not Katie.

Not me, Katie thought.

A soft knock came at the door and it opened.

“Katie, I didn’t want to hurt you…”

“I know that,” Katie said. She wiped her eyes and looked away. “I know that.”

“You don’t think it hurts me to leave? You’re my roommate. We’ve been together forever… and you cook so good. But you deserve someone too, Katie. You really do.”

“Like a rich investor?”

“Well, that’s an option.”