Dark Desire: A Paranormal Romance Novella (The After Dark Series, Book #1) by Rebecca Foote

Chapter One
     
    Juliet Northman opened the letter addressed
to her from Jackson College. The notice warned that her college application for
financial aid wasn’t completed on time and she would have to find alternative
means to pay for school. Juliet shook her head in frustration, crumpled up the
letter, and dropped it in the garbage. She gathered her long, blonde hair into
a ponytail, hastily put on her blue fleece hoodie, and headed over to the
college’s financial aid department to clear up the misunderstanding.  Juliet
gripped the steering wheel of her car as she drove down the street,
anticipating the worst. If her financial aid fell through, Juliet wouldn’t be
able to finish her last term. 
    Once there, Juliet spoke with the
financial aid manager who looked through her paperwork glumly.  “Miss Northman,
in order to complete your final term, you will have to cover the balance on
your account.  Your school grant won’t cover it all.  I suggest you go to the
student employment center,” advised the balding, financial aid manager.
    “But, I already work and can hardly
keep up with my studies as it is.  I have a full class load and I don’t think I
can jam anything else into my schedule.  Isn’t there something you can do? 
Please, this is my last term.”
    He shook his head wearily as he
continued flipping through her financial aid file. “Sorry, Miss Northman, but
your only recourse is to find other means, or you won’t be able to complete
your term.  Could your parents help you?”
    Juliet felt momentarily insulted by
his suggestion.  Her mother died two years ago and the pain stayed with her in
the back of her mind.  Her father was MIA and had never been part of her life.
    “No, she can’t,” Juliet said flatly. 
Although she understood the manager didn’t know that her mother had died, the
suggestion still felt like a slap in the face.
    “Miss Northman, I suggest you try the
employment center.  There are new job postings every day.  Go talk to one of
the counselors and see if they can help you.”
    Juliet frowned in disappointment at
the advice she was given.  She didn’t see how going to the employment center
would make her situation better. She was already working as many hours as
possible at Terry’s Grill, a local restaurant. She scrimped and saved to make
ends meet, yet barely accomplished that.
    Dejected, Juliet walked down the hall
and turned the corner into the small, onsite employment office.  A young female
receptionist sat behind the front desk taking calls. As one conversation ended,
another one started.  Judging by the amount of calls pouring in, the employment
center was very busy.
    Juliet glanced around the office and
noticed a large bulletin board hanging on the wall. At the top of it was a
yellow banner that read “Employment Opportunities.”  Feeling immediately
interested, Juliet walked over to the board and began scanning the available
openings. Each vacancy was written on a postcard and pinned to the board in
order by date.  She sighed in frustration as her eyes traveled from job to job,
for most weren’t any better than the one she already had, and all paid minimum
wage.  Hooray for low wage jobs!  But, her interest peaked as she
noticed a bright pink flyer at the top of the board.  It stood out from the
rest because of its flashy color. “Make big money working only a few hours a
week” the job posting boasted—at the bottom was a phone number.  Juliet took an
employment pamphlet from a nearby table and used it as scratch paper to jot the
number down. She quickly folded it up and placed it in her purse. 
    At the end of a long, hard week of
working extra hours at the diner and having hardly any time to study, Juliet
collapsed on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, worried about her finances
as she considered ways to pay for school. She remembered the phone number she
had written down from the employment bulletin board and reached for her