When Violet arrived at the office the next day, she had to admit that there was a slight spring in her step. If all went well and she worked Tate's file to death, she would be greeted with a generous raise and paid lunch breaks.
Violet plopped down on her chair and set to work, she took a sip of coffee and put on her headset. She started humming a random tune as her computer loaded, she felt confident that she could get into Tate's head. If there were to be one positive thing about being a bill collector, it would have to be the art of manipulative, which Violet had mastered. Her manager Patrick knew she was a natural from the start.
Samuel raised his eyebrows as he took in Violet's strange behavior.
"You're humming." Samuel took a sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving Violet's.
Violet furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. "And?" She asked.
Samuel stared at Violet for a few moments; taking in her long blonde hair, her chiffon blouse that was tucked into a black pencil skirt. Samuel glanced down and noticed that her lips were glazed with a pink gloss, accentuating her smirk.
"I don't know what you're plotting, but don't get me involved. I was damn near stripped of my license last time, if you recall." Samuel eyed her wearily.
Violet grinned and looked back at her computer, humming Eye of the Tiger under her breath.
"I feel like a storm's a-brewing." Samuel said, shaking his head with a chuckle.
Naturally, the day dragged on and Violet found herself looking at the clock every minute, silently cursing herself for doing so. Her nails were chewed down to jagged stubs, a nervous habit that she coincidentally developed once she started working in collections.
Violet glanced up from her computer and noticed that Samuel was talking to their coworker, Ryan, a blonde who had as many brain cells as there were letters in his first name. Violet was sure that when Ryan died, the coroner would discover a dead hamster on a wheel in place of his brain.
She chuckled at the thought and in turn, she received a look from both men.
"You okay?" Samuel asked, grinning slightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Violet replied.
"You cool?" Ryan asked.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm chill as a cucumber."
"Wrong expression," Samuel started to banter, "But yeah, you're cool as a cucumber."
"No, I'm chill as a cucumber. You know, cause cucumbers chill in the fridge." Violet kept her stance.
"Yeah, okay, Miss Oxford English major." Samuel retorted, grinning from ear to ear.
Violet groaned in frustration. She had made a mistake by telling Samuel about her English studies and now she was viewed as a pretentious "English Major" from then on.
Violet had about thirty minutes left of work when she decided to browse through Tate's file in order to see what she was up against.
Of course, there were numerous note lines in the file, documenting a few years of unsuccessful attempts from previous collectors. Violet saw that Tate was prone to hanging up on collectors and had been evading this account since it was placed in the office.
With a sigh she decided to call him again. Violet reasoned that if she wasn't able to have him pay within two more attempts of contact, she would place the fucker on a tow order and greet her raise with open arms.
The phone only rang twice when Tate answered, catching Violet off guard.
"Tate Langdon speaking." His voice gave an air of professionalism, no longer raspy or taunting.
Violet held her breath, resisting the urge to hang up. She would rather sew her head to the carpet than deal with being sexually harassed once again.
"Hello?" The voice came again, reminding Violet of her nagging task.
"Hello – Hi, this is Violet with LA Accounts Recovery. If you have a moment, Mr. Langdon, I would like to discuss your account again."
There was a chuckle from the other line that Violet had been expecting. She crossed her legs, clamping her thighs shut and gritting her teeth together.
"Hello princess, back for more?" The voice on the other end of the phone immediately took on a playful tone.
Violet ignored the flush that settled on her face and began again.
"If I could get you to verify your date of birth, then I can open the details of the account for you."
"I'm sure that's not the only thing you're willing to open up for me." Tate replied, giving her a playful laugh.
"Sir, there are other 1-800 numbers for the type of matter that you're looking for. My friend can recommend a nice Slovakian girl named Tatiana who wears all sorts of lingerie." Violet couldn't help but snap at Tate, she was growing impatient and wanted to close this file. Realizing what she said, Violet glanced up at her manager and saw that he was loosening his tie and getting ready to faint.
There were strict call regulations that every collector had to abide by and Violet felt that she might have put a toe over the line.
"What do you want?" Tate sighed, he sounded bored.
Violet smiled. She liked it when he became frustrated. This was familiar to her. She could concentrate when he wasn't throwing around lewd statements.
"I'm thinking that you and I could come up with a mutual agreement that doesn't involve a tow order." Violet stated, twirling her pencil between her fingers as she waited for a reply.
"My birthday is April 24th, 1991"
Violet's eyebrows flew straight up as she verified that the file did indeed have the same birthday listed as Tate's. This kid was only a couple years older than her and he was already established at a well respected business?
"Perfect. I'd like to discuss a settlement offer with you. I'm willing to offer you fifty cents on the dollar to close out your account if you can pay off this settlement within thirty days." Violet crossed her fingers, hoping that this sounded reasonable.
Another chuckle came from Tate, making Violet's blood boil.
"So, in layman's terms, instead of paying the full $1200 file, you'll pay us $600 and we'll close the file and walk away." Violet continued her script, praying that Tate would reason with her.
Violet could almost hear the gears turning in Tate's head as she sat in silence, waiting for him to answer.
"And how can I be assured that you won't call me again, saying that I never paid off this amount fully?" Tate asked, sounding like he was deep in thought.
"We'll provide you with a receipt of course," Violet replied, trying to hide her excitement. "All of our calls are recorded, so if you feel that we didn't hold up our end of the bargain, you can always call back and request that this call be pulled for review."
"You know what, $600 still sounds pretty steep to me. Can you call be back when you have another offer?" With that, Tate hung up, leaving Violet to stew in her own shock.
Before Violet could comprehend what had just happened, her phone started to ring. She answered it only to hear Tate's voice again.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, I just felt like the last time I hung up wasn't as satisfying as it could have been." With that, she heard Tate hang up on her for the second time today.
Violet let out a small scream and snapped her pencil in two.
"Can I see you in my office?" Patrick's voice startled Violet and she whirled around in her chair to see that he was standing behind her with a strained look on his face.
Violet sighed and trudged over to his desk.
"Dead girl walking." Samuel called out from behind her.
It was quarter after five when Violet's shift ended and she had to restrain herself from clicking her heels together as she ran down the office floor to the front doors.
Patrick hadn't been impressed when he pulled her in for a meeting. He reminder her of the rules and regulations and chastised Violet for letting her frustrations get in the way. Violet knew it was useless to explain her situation, because if Tate had made a complaint, she would have been in the wrong and her employment could have been jeopardized.
Violet turned her phone on and a flood of text messages bombarded her. All from Vivian of course, asking about her possibly wage increase and what she wanted for dinner. Violet's stomach growled, but she had promised to meet Gabe for a quick cup of joe at the Corner Bistro. Violet climbed in her car and threw her purse down on the passengers seat. She sat in the drivers seat for a moment, cherishing the few precious waking hours she had before her next shift tomorrow.
Fifteen minutes later, Violet opened the door to her favorite coffee shop; a jangle of bells greeted her entrance. She quickly scanned the room and realized Gabe hadn't arrived yet, so she stood in line to order them both a vanilla latte.
She seated herself in a two-person table at the back corner, which had become her and Gabe's usual spot. It was always vacant, since customers enjoyed the sunny area at the front of the shop. This gave her privacy to bitch about her work life, coworkers, and other frustrations that Gabe always enjoyed listening to. He was a true friend, that guy.
To her frustration, two customers decided to occupy the table in front of her, blocking the view of the front door. She briefly glanced up and noticed a blonde man with wavy in his early twenties sat facing her. She focused her attention on the text message she was writing to Gabe.
Violet: where r u?! latte's r getting cold a-hole.
Gabe: hey, sorry. running behind. 5-10 mins tops.
Violet sighed and took a sip of her coffee, letting the warm mug defrost her freezing cold fingers. She decided to take another glance at the blonde man and noticed that he was impeccably dressed. He was wearing a grey suit that was noticeably pressed, a black skinny tie that complimented his crisp dress shirt, and black leather dress shoes. Violet guessed that his outfit cost more than her second-hand car.
A few more minutes passed by and Violet was shifting in her seat from impatience. She couldn't go for a cigarette because she couldn't trust leaving Gabe's latte unattended and with the caffeine swirling in her blood, she started to crave a smoke.
Violet's ears perked up when the two customers in front of her started to have a noticeably heated debate. Violet started to eavesdrop and from what she heard, it seemed like the two men were business partners, fighting over some kind of acquisition. The brunette that sat with his back turned to Violet was refusing the idea that the blonde man had come up with, making both parties extremely irritated.
"You're absolutely out of your mind. Your father hired me as your right hand man to ensure that everything would run smoothly once he passed away, and now you're going to fuck it up like this?" The brunette spoke in a hushed whisper.
"Listen to me, Frankie, there is no way we could lose with a deal like this, it's all profit. We sell the fucking company and with the money, we expand. Just like we dreamed about when we were new to the business." The blonde man spoke excitedly; he took a sip of his coffee after he finished, his eyes never leaving his partner's.
"Tate, please think about what your father would've wanted, keep the business in the family name."
Violet's ears perked right up. There was no fucking way that this blonde was her consumer, the guy that she spoke with not even two hours ago. She resisted the urge to throw her piping hot coffee in his face and instead, she sat still and she listened.
Tate's conversation carried on as Violet listened to his dreams of selling the company and becoming filthy rich. And this man doesn't have $600 to pay off parking ticket? That was the only thing running through Violet's head and she refrained from shaking her head in disgust.
All of a sudden Tate stood up, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He took a final sip of his coffee and headed for the door, but not before giving his partner a dirty look.
Violet glanced down at Gabe's latte and said fuck it. She pulled out a cigarette of her own and headed towards the door after Tate, not entirely sure of what she was going to do.
She found him leaning against a telephone pole beside a bus stop, taking long drags from his cigarette and letting the smoke swirl from his lips and into the chilly air before him. The sky was darkening and Violet pulled her coat against her body, trying to shield herself from the wind as she attempted to light her cigarette.
Violet flicked the lighter and the flame vanished, courtesy of the wind. About five tries later, Violet stamped her foot against the ground and started to mutter obscenities. Of course, she was too focused on lighting her cigarette to notice that she had caught Tate's attention.
The man smirked as he approached Violet, pulling out a silver Zippo and lighting her cigarette on the first try.
"Thanks." Violet muttered, looking up at the man in front of her.
Tate grinned, revealing a row of perfect teeth that happened to form a knee-buckling smile. Violet wanted to scream out her frustrations because this guy was definitely as attractive as he sounded on the phone.
"Waiting for the bus?" Tate began with some small talk, tilting his head as he waited for a response.
Violet had a car of her own, of course, but she lied in order to keep the conversation going.
"Unfortunately. The car broke down just this morning, actually." Violet took a drag from her smoke and exhaled through pursed lips.
Tate gave her a sad smile and an understanding nod. "That's funny, seeing as I work for a car dealership. Are you looking for something new?"
"Well," Violet sighed. "Does your company accept financing?"
"Yes ma'am." Tate grinned. He reached into his suit pocket and produced a business card.
Violet reached out for the card and felt a throb in between her thighs when Tate's fingers grazed against hers. Jesus, she refused to believe the effect that he was having on her.
"Please, call any time if you have inquires. Our website is listed on the back and I'm sure you'll find something that piques your interest." Tate smiled, trying to make eye contact with Violet.
Violet looked up and gave him a curt smile. She was torn between kneeing him in the balls or assaulting his stupid mouth with her lips. In that moment, she hated herself for thinking of the latter even for a split second.
"I'm off work early on Friday. If you're available, I'd like to arrange an appointment?" Violet's reply shocked her. She knew she had no intentions of financing a vehicle and now she was entering dangerous territory by conversing with a consumer outside of work.
Tate's smile came easily. "Does four o'clock work?"
"That's perfect, actually." Violet replied, giving him a grin.
Was she really letting herself flirt with him? This had to be a new low.
"Well, I have more business to attend to," Tate dropped his cigarette and crushed it with the tip of his shoe. "Nice to meet you—"
Violet panicked. If she said her real name, she would have her collector's license revoked so fast that her hair would blow back.
"Moira." Violet replied, hiding her panic with a tight-lipped smile. "And you are?"
"Tate Langdon. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Violet detected a slight southern accent.
Tate stretched his arm out and Violet placed her smaller hand into the grasp of his larger one, taking note of the ring on his thumb. Her heart started to flutter when she realized that he was holding on to her hand longer than a normal handshake allows.
"Friday at four o'clock." Tate said, confirming their arrangement. With that, he let go of Violet's hand and started to walk down the sidewalk.
Violet silently cursed herself for letting this guy fuck around with her not once, not twice, but three times today.