Free Scott & Mariana by Vera Roberts

Chapter One
    This fucking sucks.
    The sky was blue. Was it blue? No, it was a soft baby blue. The surprising wind factor made the normally calm trees sway feverishly back and forth. The weatherman predicted rain for tonight and tomorrow and Mariana sighed at the thought. Rain. It didn’t matter if it was sunny. She still had to go work.
    Mariana Harlow couldn’t help but to stare at the window. It was the perfect day for shopping. She was going to the mall later but she swore herself it was only to ‘look.’ Yeah, right. She damn well knew she wasn’t going to look. She had a credit card that wasn’t quite maxed out and there was a few dollars left on it to get something. Anything.  However, Mariana had business to take care of and that meant being stuck inside class.
    Economics. Supply and demand. Consumer need versus business want. She wondered how it was possible for one person to talk as long as her professor did. He was discussing the effects of the 2008 financial disaster and how corporations and small businesses reacted differently to the global recession. It was charming to see the little man become so passionate about finances and everything associated with it. He would often close his eyes as if he was straining to make a point as he talked.
    On any other day, it would’ve been a great lecture to listen to. That is if Mariana cared and her professor wasn’t so long-winded. It seemed like he could speak one sentence for 10 minutes without stopping to take a breather or a sip of water. She was impressed by his stamina. Not everyone had the ability to talk 30 people into complete boredom.
    Just a few more minutes, Mariana.
    Despite how much she hated being stuck inside her Economics class, it helped her understand the economy and her contribution to it. Mariana always felt she contributed a lot to society as it is so there was no need for her to volunteer. The mall made a killing off her every weekend. Her mother always told her, ‘ You never know how much money you’ve spent until you don’t have any. ’ Mariana currently had none but she knew exactly where her money went.
    There were the Louis Vuitton handbags. There were the Christian Louboutin heels. Of course, Mariana couldn’t forget having the Tiffany collection to match. Yet, Mariana was still surprised she racked up 13K in credit card debt.  All she did know was creditors were calling her and she needed to get them off her back. It meant cutting up her cards. It meant no more weekend dalliances at the mall.
    It also meant getting a second job. At least she looked good in her designer garb.
    With the current state of the economy, it seemed everyone applied at all the places Mariana went to: McDonald’s, the mall, department stores, everywhere. The pundits always said ‘Go out and get a job and stop collecting unemployment’ but Mariana wondered how many of them were in the hunt with the rest of the country. Kinda hard to tell people to get a job at McDonald’s when you’re living in your own McMansion, she griped. She quickly got used to hearing the phrase: We’ll call you if there’s an opening . Except there was never an opening. She couldn’t get hired even if she wanted to.
    Desperate, Mariana checked out the local bulletin board at school and saw a cleaning service hiring for another worker. At first, Mariana scoffed at the idea. Her? Cleaning homes? She barely liked to clean her home , let alone someone else’s.
    But daily calls from the various creditors and collection agencies reminded Mariana she better suck it up and get real. The sooner her debt was paid off, the sooner she could quit her job and relish her free time. Broke, desperate, and needing to pay off multiple credit cards, Mariana reluctantly signed up.
    Most of her clientele were word of mouth referrals due to her exceptional work ethic and great cleaning style. Her clientele was mainly rich and wealthy executives; CEOs, attorneys, doctors, and the like. She dusted,