The high from her success didn't last long as a new, horrifying need came over Lindsay. She needed to use the bathroom. She knew there was no way out of her stall and the last thing she wanted to do was call the cowboy back and tell him that she needed something from him. Swallowing her pride, she walked to the farthest corner from her bed and squatted down. But before anything started, she had an idea. The unintentional placement of her plate in front of the gate had led to a wonderful bit of frustration for the cowboy, why not do it again?
She repositioned herself over the same spot where the broken glass had been only moments before and relieved herself. It wasn't pleasant, it was humiliating, but it was all part of the game. At least that is what she told herself. She used a few chunks of straw and the last bit of water that was left in the pitcher to clean herself.
When she had finished, she walked to the back wall of the barn and tried to peek out through the cracks in the boards. She wasn't able to see much, but she could make out the field of wheat that surrounded the barn and, judging by the placement of the sun, she determined that she was facing south. It was midday and she began to pace along the wall, deciding what to do next.
She knew that she would need something to help with the passage of time or she was going to lose her mind here. She crouched down in the back corner of her stall and dug through the straw until she reached the dirt floor. She was disheartened to find that the wires composing the innermost walls of her cage had been encased in concrete. Any effort to pull up the barrier would be useless.
She looked around her and realized that only her stall had been wired in. If the monster had prepared this space specially for her, then there was a good possibility that he hadn't dug the wires down very deep, only enough so that they couldn't be pried up from the floor. If that was true, maybe - just maybe she would be able to dig underneath it.
She started to paw at the ground, only to find that the dirt was too compacted for her to break through with her fingers. She glanced around the stall and found nothing that would be of use to her. She covered the ground, frustrated, and returned to sit on her cot. As she stared at the gate in front of her, willing it to burst into flames or fall apart or really anything that would let her out, an idea occurred to her.
She crossed once more to the area where she had done her business and, very carefully so as not to touch any of it, she rooted around in the straw. After a minute she smiled to herself. There it was; a piece of broken plate about three inches wide and four inches long gleaming up at her from below. She picked it up and carried it over to test its effectiveness. She placed the smooth, curved edge of the shard in the palm of her hand so as not to cut herself and began to scratch at the surface of the hard dirt. It made a notable impression in the ground. However small and insignificant, it gave Lindsay another small shot of accomplishment.
She had to work slowly so as not to break the glass in her hand but after half an hour of digging, she had made a small hole about six inches deep. She sat back on her heels and dropped the shard into the hole, covering it all with straw. She took extra care to make sure that it was leveled out and concealed well.
Lindsay was feel proud of herself, until she tried to stand. Her head immediately began to spin and she collapsed against the wall, leaning for a moment before sliding completely back to the floor. She was incredibly light headed and covered in sweat and dust.
You should have eaten something.
Her inner monologue was not helping right now, chastising her for what she was already well aware of.
She wasn't going to make it back to the cot. She was too lightheaded and trembling all over. She sat on the floor and wiped the dust off of her arms, knees and face so as not to give away her activities to the cowboy. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she allowed her eyes to close and waited for the cowboy's return - hoping it would be accompanied by another chance at a meal.
***
Jake had awoken earlier than usual that morning after a night of restless sleep. It had been days since his night at Lindsay's and upon reflection, he thought that the encounter had gone over very well. Granted, dinner was a little awkward but how exactly is a man supposed to bring up serious intentions for the direction of a relationship that hadn't even begun yet? True he could have at least made better small talk, but that had never been his area of expertise.
His life was a rags to riches story. Having an innate sense of the inner-workings of a capitalist society from a young age, Jake had quickly realized that he was built for an entrepreneurial lifestyle. He had left his job at Goldman Sachs after only a few months and began his first business venture. He employed a few of his high school friends and set up a delivery service for groceries, office supplies, and other regularly purchased goods. He quickly expanded across the state of Texas and captured the market. The excess capital raised eventually led to the purchasing of failing businesses which were then sold off in pieces at a very large profit.
Only a few years of doing this found Jake Snyder once again bored with the mundane schedule of his daily acquisitions, and he decided that he would rather buy rising businesses and keep them for himself. This was how he had become the shark that he was today. Offers came to him in the form of young entrepreneurs needing investments to fund their start-ups and Jake would simply buy a controlling share of the firm, as they were in no position to bargain, and sit back collecting the benefits of his money and their hard work.
He was a direct man whose only concerns were the bottom line and closing the deal. These qualities leaked out of his professional life into his personal life and many women had, upon this realization, been disappointed. Too many women seem to be concerned with the many wandering paths of love that include small gestures, intimate conversations, and trivial displays of affection that reassure them their feelings are reciprocated. This was not how Jake operated.