Aiden double check his resume before sending it off to another potential job, this one a junior to the one he just had at his old law firm.

It had his name Aiden J. Arwain in a nice font at the top, showing his master's degree in technology and his bachelors in business management, then it mentioned his job history. Most of it was from the same location where he started at as a high school after school job, tracking his upward movement from starting in the mail room and going to the last VP of Technology. The only other job he ever had was a short stint as a bagger at a grocery store. Hitting send on the email to apply for the position he let out a sigh and checked his bank account before closing the lid to the laptop.

He only had a few hundred dollars left in his account; things had gone bad for him this last year. It all started when one of the office temps had reported him to HR for sexual harassment. The gall of it all, she was more than willing to have fun after hours, but when he refused to just give her a permanent position, she lost her mind, he offered to put in a good word, but that wasn’t enough. Thinking back on it he should have tried to pay for her silence like he had done before, but he had no idea she would report him or that a company he worked for would come down so hard on him. The bitch had threatened to go to the news about the boys' club and how everyone turned a blind eye. She got the full time position she wanted, a small payout and he lost it all. He was fired for cause, no severance, no unemployment and the processes were not fast. The drawn-out event gave time for it to sour his relationship with wife who was none too happy to hear about a pending court case and new report on how her husband cheated on her for years. The answer for her was a slap in the face, a divorce and being told she never wants to see him again. So here he sat in his mostly empty apartment, bank account running out and he had already sold anything of real value over the year to keep himself afloat, even sold his Jaguar two thousand and nineteen F-Type, replacing it was a god awful red two thousand and fifteen Toyota Yaris to get some money and still have a cheap reliable car. This was it, the end of the road, he already had an extension on his rent and after he paid his phone bill he would have even less. “How can that be even fair, being fired and black listing me. I could have had so many jobs even some better paying ones with my history, but it all falls apart when they do a background check calling my old... pretty much only employer. For fucks sake I have borrowed money from Max!” he yelled into the void of his empty apartment trying to get some of his frustration out.

Max or Maxwell Leon Argyris, his best friend had been sympathetic to his plight and had loaned him a few grand without hesitation. The two of them met each other through his ex-wife Vicki or Victoria Sage Arwain.. Correction Demir back then when she was his girlfriend in college. They would sometimes compete with one another over who could take home a girl from a bar and later transitioned into them bragging about different the trim they got. He had talked with Max a few times over text messages and out getting a drink at the bar, and the impression he got at this point was that Max didn’t expect the money to be paid back, but no more would be coming or any offer of sheltering him when he said things like “Sorry bro, can’t have a deadbeat in my condo it would seriously hurt my lifestyle. You understand.” it was a statement, not a question. He couldn’t go to his dad for help, that man was a good friend and funny enough wingman when he was older, but he was horrible with money. No mother to turn to, she had fucked off not wanting to raise a kid when he was ten, so that left only one avenue for help. The woman who left a hand print on his face and never wanted to see him again. Aiden wished it went all differently, he loved Vicki, he really did. He was just not the type to ever be satisfied with monogamy, never was, just like his dad after his mother left.

Victoria heard a few timid knocks on her apartment door when she was in the kitchen. “Coming, hold on a second!” she yelled and went to go rinse her hands off, clean off the spices coating her hands from prepping some chicken breasts. Tossing the kitchen hand towel on the counter she padded over to the living room to open the door in her stockinged feet, she was still dressed in her office attire minus her blazer and heels. Pulling open the door “Yes? Oh.. You the piece of shit.” the smile on her face faltered, she was having such a good day. “No, just no.” she said as she slapped his face and slammed her heavy security door shut. Tensing her shoulder Victoria glared at the door as if she could kill her ex cheating husband with a look through a solid steel door. She heard him knock once again and the muffled sound of him saying something and then more knocking this time louder.

Opening the door once again she looked the man up and down. Aiden had never been the biggest man with standing at her same height of five foot eight, with narrow shoulders. He never had large muscles but he was always in great shape from swimming and the gym, but now it looked like he hadn’t kept that up, the toned body mostly just looked skinny now. He kept his hair a little longer for a wild look before, but now while it was still kept clean it was much longer. She wasn’t sure had had had it cut since she last saw him a year ago at the lawyer's office, but at least he was still clean shaven with clear skin, he had always been one to moisturize. Other than the longer hair, he had large dark circles under his pale blue eyes and his casual clothes looked like they were thread bare. “Looks like the outside matches the inside, the shit finally shows through. What do you want?”

With some cajoling Aiden was able to get in the door to his exes' apartment and was allowed to tell his story while she continued to cook. Victoria knew most of the story already, she lived it, but she was not unmoved. She loved Aiden and he had apparently been cheating on her from the start of their relationship, the justifiable anger was only their because she loved him and feelings like that just don’t go away. “Look Aiden, I don’t hate you per say. Just hate what you did and I guess the fact you thought it was okay to live like your father even while you were married. He comes by here now and then you know, we catch up.” she said with a smirk

“Why are you spending time with my father, you divorced me?”

“Divorced as in what I do is none of your business, but maybe he likes hearing me call him daddy.”

“You are just messing with me, to bring this up now when I’m begging for help. Please Vicki, you work in HR you can get me a job and look past what happened at my old firm. If not, you know people, you could get me a position somewhere else, please!” the desperate man got down on his knees hoping the sight would show her how serious he was degrading himself like this.

“To answer your first question, I might be messing with you or not, but he does come by and stand up, that is just pathetic.” she sighed. Staring at the man a wicked grin grew on her face. “Okay Aiden, I might and I mean might be able to help you, but..” the words were cut off as her ex-husband embraced her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she stayed silent for a second till he let go, she wanted to look him in his soft blue eyes when she said this. “BUT.. You have to agree to everything and I mean everything. From the sound if it you are about to be kicked out of your place and the lord knows why, but I am going to let you stay here. Starting tonight you will go home and get your clothes and whatever you can bring that isn’t furniture. My guest room is furnished and I don't’ want any clutter. Now this is temporary, you understand me? Temporary, if I can’t find you a job in a month you are out the door no matter what. If you are working then you can maybe stay, but you will be paying me rent, unlike the alimony that you never started to pay.”

Victoria was going to keep going on with her terms when he interrupted again “Of course, of course whatever you say! I will just be happy to be near you again.”

“None of that and you will listen for once when I am talking. When you live here, I am in charge and you will not interrupt me. You and I can maybe be friends again if you are willing to sacrifice some of that ego of yours while I bend over backwards to get someone with your history a job, and you will be paying me back for everything I have to spend to support you while you are here. No you know what scratch that, you are handing your paychecks over to me so long as live here and I will give you spending money. If you are making money and want all of your paycheck, that is fine that will be the day you decided you can live on your own again. Do you accept my terms?”

“That is harsh and I would negotiate, but by the look on your face and you knowing how desperate I am. What choice do I really have?” nodding to himself Aiden built himself up in his head and smiled at Vicki. “I will not make you regret this! I will go get my stuff now.” with a skip in his step Aiden left the apartment and ran down to his Yaris to back his bags. Looking out the window as he drove away Victoria smirked. “I won't regret this, but you will.