It's Only Temporary

Chapter 9: Unpaid Debts (part 1)

As David moved about Penny's cubicle, packing away the items from her desk, Penny sat less than a mile away, unpacking a box of her own.

She knew she was probably being foolish. Why bother with unpacking? She couldn't afford to stay here very long. Compared to her share of the rent in Brooklyn, she'd be paying nearly double to stay in this hotel.

Originally, her plan had been to hit the road immediately and fly back home to her parents' house in Minnesota, but she couldn't leave town just yet. She was scheduled to sit for the MCAT exam here in New York City, three weeks from today. She couldn't afford to miss the test.

Still, the thought of the nightly room rate made her stomach clench with anxiety. She couldn't afford it. Not with the mountain of credit card debt she still hadn't fully paid off.

Penny did the math in her head once again. Three weeks, paying the hotel's nightly rate - it would more than double the remaining balance on her card. Assuming, of course, that the credit card company didn't cut her off before then. Exactly how long did it take for a card company to suspend your account for nonpayment?It was irresponsible to the point of reckless - especially now that she didn't have a job.

She sighed. How had she gotten herself into such a mess? The whole point of taking a temp job in the first place had been to save up some cash - not bury herself debt. Of course, she hadn't considered the unforeseen expenses. Or one unforeseen expense, in particular.

Penny closed her eyes and winced as she remembered the purchase in question. She'd known it was beyond her budget when she handed her credit card to the man at the store, but she hadn't calculated just how long it would take her to pay the balance off. What had it been now? A year? A year and a half? Nearly 18 months to the day, she realized. It had been Christmastime, of course--December 2012-- his first month back in the office after three long months away on disability.

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time....

***

December 2012 (18 Months Earlier)

Penny walked into her cubicle and groaned at what she saw. The pile of boxes and gift baskets had nearly doubled in size overnight. Honestly, how many baskets of shortbread cookies and gourmet kettle corn could one person possibly receive?

She grabbed an armful of gifts and carried them over to her desk, glancing at one of the cards as she sat down.

Dear Mr. Powers:

On behalf of your friends at General Electric/NBC Universal, Merry Christmas.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO

It went with the territory, Penny supposed. When you're Senior Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions, it meant Christmas presents from every major multinational conglomerate you ever helped to merge.

She turned on her computer and pulled up the Excel spreadsheet entitled: Schwag.xls.

She'd started the spreadsheet yesterday, once she realized she could no longer keep track of all the gifts inside her head. Ever since David had returned to work last week, her main job had been keeping up with the Thank You notes. Now, she undid the crinkly cellophane wrapping paper tied up with a silver bow, and took stock of the yuletide offerings from his friends at GE/NBC.

Chocolate, she saw with satisfaction. Now we're talking. She popped one of the dark-chocolate-covered spheres into her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring as the cherry-liqueur filling spilled out onto her tongue.

She was already chewing on a second one as she began composing the Thank You note inside her head.

Dear Mr. Immelt,