Chapter 4
Chapter Four
I was still feeling optimistic when I walked into the office the next morning. That only lasted until Rachel raised her eyes from the computer screen and pinned me with a look. “Really, Gina? I invited you to come along yesterday, and instead of saying yes, you went behind my back to spy on me?”
I hung my coat on the rack by the door and took my time making my way over to the sofa. Edwina, sensing the tension, stayed close to my ankles. “I wouldn’t call it spying,” I said, despite the fact that it was exactly what I’d done. “More… curiosity.”
She snorted. “And you couldn’t have satisfied that curiosity by coming along when I asked you to? You could have seen the inside of the building that way, too.”
“But I would have had to deal with Kenny and Daniel to do it.” I sat down and tried to look contrite. “Look, I know how it must have looked—”
“It looked like you didn’t trust me,” Rachel interrupted. “Like you think I’m not capable of taking care of myself.”
She waited for me to tell her that that wasn’t what I thought, and of course I couldn’t.
“It isn’t that I don’t trust you,” I tried. “It’s just… Kenny and Daniel.”
She didn’t answer, and I added, “Yes, I’m worried. About you. About the bar. About the two of them getting you into something that could blow up in your face.”
At least she had the decency not to tell me that there was no chance of that. At least, I told myself, she saw the possibility that it might.
“So you decided to stake out the place like I’m some kind of suspect?” she asked instead.
“Of course not,” I answered. “I don’t suspect you of anything. I don’t suspect them of anything, either, really. Not other than being stupid and careless, anyway.”
Her face darkened, and I added, “Come on, Rachel. You know Daniel’s history. You worked for David for years. You know how many times my dearly departed ex had to bail Daniel out of one failed business venture or another.”
She didn’t say anything, but I could see from her expression that she did remember, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“There were the Christmas trees,” I reminded her. “And the vintage motorcycle business.”
That one had ended with a warehouse full of rusty Harley Davidsons that Daniel never got around to restoring, that had to be auctioned off to recoup costs. At a loss, of course. A loss to David.
“And then there was the food truck. The one selling ‘Chinese-Irish fusion cuisine,’ as if anyone sane wants to eat French fries, rice, and deep-fried chicken smothered in peppers out of a paper bag.”
Rachel’s lips twitched.
“And don’t forget the diner. The one where he couldn’t make rent because he’d spent all the startup capital on a vintage jukebox and Naugahyde and a neon sign that spelled ‘Daniel’ wrong.”
She winced. I saw the chink in the armor and leaned forward. “I promise I’m not trying to control your life, Rachel. But Daniel has a pattern. And now Kenny’s involved, and you know as well as I do that Kenny’s track record isn’t great.”
Rachel was quiet for a moment, and then she made a face. “Two high schools and at least one college, wasn’t it? And he’s been through half a dozen jobs or more since then, that never went anywhere.”
I nodded. “He’s stupid enough to throw his entire inheritance into this bar, and then they’ll spend it all on making it look perfect, and if the customers don’t show up, they won’t have any kind of buffer for utilities and rent two months later.
And if that happens, Daniel’s going to come to you for the cash to keep it afloat. ”
“I’m not putting any money into it,” Rachel said firmly.
“You say that now, but when he looks at you with those puppy dog eyes, and tells you that he’ll pay you back next month…”
Rached shook her firmly. “I won’t, Gina. And I certainly won’t jeopardize what we’re building here, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
I guess it was partly what I was afraid of, now that she’d brought it up.
And really, now that she had, it was not as if I had a whole lot of room to talk about solvent businesses, was it?
We were anything but solvent—or rather, the only reason we were solvent was because of my own inheritance from David.
We were nowhere close to paying bills and salaries with money earned.
Yes, Zachary got paid, and Rachel did, too—unlike me, she didn’t have a hefty inheritance to fall back on—but I hadn’t taken a dime out of the business myself.
“I should just stop talking now,” I said, and Rachel nodded.
“That might be best. Not that I don’t believe in you, but you did start this business on a whim without much of a plan.”
I had. I was lucky that Rachel was handling the business end of things, because I had no idea how to make a business plan of my own.
All I had wanted to do was to turn my enjoyment about stalking David and Jacquie into a business where I could get paid for stalking other people.
Rachel was the one in charge of making that profitable.
And given that I trusted her to do it for me, maybe I should stop giving her a hard time about trying to make it happen for Daniel and Kenny, too.
She wasn’t stupid, after all. If she thought they could make a go of it, maybe they could.
Edwina chose that moment to trot over to Rachel’s desk and drop her squeaky toy at Rachel’s feet, tail wagging hopefully.
Rachel looked down at the dog. “Trying to make me feel better, are you?”
“She’s good at that.” I managed a smile. “I really am sorry, Rachel. You’re much better at business than I am. If you don’t think it’s a problem, then I should trust you. I trust you to run our business, after all.”
“And I should be less defensive,” Rachel responded, “especially when I know you have a point.”
She picked up the toy and tossed it gently across the room.
Edwina took off after it like a bullet. Rachel glanced over at me.
“I understand why you’re worried, Gina. There’s precedent for failure, and we both know it.
Given Kenny’s past experience, not to mention Daniel’s, it’s almost inevitable.
But I need to let them make their own decisions just like you need to let me make mine, even if they turn out to be wrong in the end. ”
“I can do that,” I said. Or at least I could try, which is all anyone can do, really.
Rachel gave me a dubious look—I’m sure she could tell the difference—but before either of us could say anything else, the front door opened and Jacquie Demetros slunk across the threshold.
We watched as she glanced around the room, perhaps for Zachary and his no doubt satisfying admiration. When he wasn’t there, her attention settled on me.
“Gina.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she floated toward the chair in front of Rachel’s desk and put her hand on the back of it. Her nails were at least an inch long and so deep a purple they looked almost black. “I didn’t hear from you yesterday.”
“That’s because nothing happened yesterday,” I said. “Although I was going to call you this morning with an update.”
“I’m here now.” She minced around the chair on four-inch heels and settled her posterior on the seat. She moved like royalty, without once looking at the seat as she folded herself down on it.
I bit back my irritation. It wasn’t her fault that she was fifteen years younger than me and stunning. “Zachary and I have been trading off watching the Body Shop. He spent most of yesterday afternoon there.”
“And?” Jacquie leaned forward and inhaled. Her cleavage was impressive, and what was even more annoying, she probably didn’t even need a bra. On the other side of the desk, Rachel rolled her eyes so hard it must have hurt.
“And so far, nothing.” I kept my tone professional. “Nick and the blonde work together, they talk occasionally, but there’s no evidence of anything inappropriate. No lunch dates, no extended conversations, no touching beyond what you’d expect from coworkers.”
Jacquie’s perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together. “That doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. It just means they’re being careful.”
“That’s possible,” I agreed. “Which is why we’re going to keep watching. Zachary is there again now. I’ll head over later, so we can have two cars at the ready in case they leave separate for lunch or at the end of the day. Would you happen to have Nick’s home address handy?”
She rattled it off without hesitation, and I wrote it down on my legal pad. Nick lived in what Jacquie described as half a duplex in Bellevue. Close enough to the Body Shop for an easy commute, cheap enough for someone on a mechanic’s salary.
“I want to know where he goes,” Jacquie said. “Who he sees. What he does. All of it.”
“That’s what you’re paying me for,” I agreed. “And once he goes somewhere other than the Body Shop, and sees someone other than his coworkers, you’ll be the first to know.”
She nodded, satisfied for now. “Anything else?”
“Nothing on my end,” I said. I thought about telling her that I had actually spoken to Nick yesterday, and that he knew that Jacquie suspected him of carrying on with Megan, but if he hadn’t cared enough to take it up with her privately, maybe I could just let that particular dog sleep for now.
“I don’t suppose you know Megan’s last name? ”
Jacquie shook her head.
“That’s all right,” I said. “We’ll follow her home and get it.”
Jacquie stood up and smoothed her palms down her thighs. “Call me the minute you know anything.”
I promised I would, and she swept out the way she’d come in, leaving a cloud of Prada Rhubarb in her wake. I waited until the door had closed before I let out a long breath. “That was a bit more intense than I expected.”
“Sounds like the jealousy is getting to her a bit,” Rachel agreed. “Most people don’t need to know everything their boyfriend does in that sort of detail. I would want to get away from her, too, if it were me.”
No kidding. I checked my watch. “Zach should be in place by now. Let’s see if anything is happening.”