Love Between Enemies

by Molly E. Lee

  “Oh, Dad. No.” I shook my head. “That is not possible. I wish I was half the man you are.” I stared at my shoes.

  This restaurant was like a second home, and in some ways, it had been the glue that held Dad and me together after my mom passed. I wanted to make both her and him proud—that had always been a goal of mine…to be someone like my father. Someone who worked his ass off to get what he wanted. To be able to wake up every single day and do what he loved.

  I slipped the check into the envelope and handed it back to Dad. “I can’t take this, Dad.”

  “It’s yours. You have to take it.”

  “No.” I raked my fingers through my hair and took a few steps away from him, my chest threatening to crack from all the emotions battling each other beneath the surface. “You could take that check and continue paying Stacy for a month, plus the electric and gas bill. And when our stock runs out, we can open for just lunch or dinner, and run a special with ingredients we buy from the market on Sundays.” The idea of keeping this place running—on our own terms—even for just a month had my heart filling with hope. “I’ll help you. We can do it.” Another idea formed in the back of my mind—a crazy, totally against the odds idea, but I had little left to lose.

  My dad’s eyes glistened, and I swallowed hard. “I can’t ask that of you,” he said, his shoulders dropping.

  “You didn’t. And you don’t have to.”

  “This money is yours,” he said.

  “Fine,” I said. “I get to choose how to use it, then.”

  His brow furrowed.

  “And,” I continued before he could counter me. “I would rather use it for this. Buy us time, Dad. I may have an idea.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “I’ll talk to Mr. Handler. Come up with a business proposal, show him this place can be profitable without a silent partner who is nothing but a leech.”

  Dad flinched. “Son,” he chided.

  “What?” I took a breath to calm my tone. “Don’t you want to slug the guy? I mean, Dad. What Hank did? He deserves all of your wrath.”

  Dad gripped my shoulder. “You can’t give in to that line of thinking.” He shook his head. “Do I want Hank to pay for what he’s done? Absolutely. But dishing out personal revenge is a road that only leads to pain for both people. It’s never worth it.”

  I gaped at him, almost in awe of his control. His calm attitude when looking at our chaotic situation. He wasn’t off slaying Hank on his social media pages, or making horrible speeches…he was taking the high road.

  Damn, I’m such an ass.

  Dad smiled, squeezing my shoulder. “Now, about your idea. No one knows the numbers better than you,” he said. “If anyone can convince Handler not to flip this place, it’d be you.”

  “Thanks. I’m not saying it’ll work, but it is worth a shot.”

  “Still, you should be taking this money and figuring out how to use it for your future.” Dad continued to battle with himself.

  “As much as I appreciate what you and Mom did for me…all you’ve done for me…I can’t use this for college. We don’t even know if I’ll go without a scholarship.” The truth of those words pinched my nerves.

  “You’ll go. I know you will.”

  I shrugged like it didn’t matter. “Thanks, Dad. Now,” I said. “Will you use that like I asked?” I pointed to the check.

  He pressed his lips together, the conflict clear in his eyes.

  “Say yes,” I said.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve a kid like you, son, but I’m so glad you’re mine.”

  I coughed, forcing the sting out of my throat. “Dad,” I groaned.

  “I’m proud of you.” He hugged me again before pushing me back to look me in the eye. “And you’re right,” he said. “You aren’t half the man I am.”

  I nodded.

  He clutched my shoulders with a fierce grip. “You’re me and a hundred-times more.”

  I wanted to argue with him, but decided to live in this moment a little longer.

  He wouldn’t have been proud of me earlier today. Not if he’d heard my speech. Thank God he didn’t.

  I had time to make this right. If I could do nothing else, at least I could apologize to Zoey, maybe explain why I’d snapped even though it wasn’t a good excuse. Maybe even ask her why she’d felt the need to lie to me about the whole situation.

  I pulled out my cell, my thumb hovering over her phone number. I’d had it since the one time freshman year when we’d been forced to work together on an advanced chem project. We’d completed ours in half the time the rest of the class had, and if I hadn’t hated her so much for stealing my spot as school manager of the newly opened store, I would’ve loved to work with her again. Funny, the person I couldn’t stand because we were always pitted against each other was the one person I worked the best with. If only the scholarship and internship had been a team effort.

  I chuckled to myself at the absurdity and Googled the offices of Handler Organix instead.

  After fifteen minutes of arguing with a secretary, dropping my name, my father’s, and then finally Zoey’s, I was transferred to Mr. Handler’s office phone.

  “Mr. Meyers,” he said once he picked up, and I inwardly cringed. Did Zoey call him right away? I knew he wasn’t at the ceremony because I hadn’t seen either of her parents in the crowd. Plus, they hardly ever showed up to any function of Zoey’s in the past. If she told him about my speech, I could kiss this brilliant idea goodbye. Another wave of guilt crashed over me.

  “Hello, Mr. Handler.”

  “What can I do for you?” The casualness to his tone implied Zoey hadn’t made my stunt known yet. Maybe I still had a shot.

  “My father tells me you’re looking to buy our restaurant.”

  “Are you a co-owner now?” he asked.

  I thought about the five thousand that I’d “technically” invested no more than ten minutes ago. “Not on paper.” And to him, that was all that mattered. Still, I hoped I could at least get a face-to-face. “Regardless,” I said before he could stop me, “I wanted to ask you for a meeting.”

  “Really?” he asked, the silence afterward thick. “What for?”

  “I’d like to show you a business proposal that will prove our unhindered operations will outsell the potential coffee shop you’d like to flip it to.”

  The sound of a luxury suit scraped against leather on the other end of the line, and I could easily picture him puffing out his chest. I kept my jaw locked to prevent myself from blabbering on. The last thing I wanted was to sound desperate—didn’t matter if I was, he didn’t need to know it.

  “What makes you think you have more of a grasp on profit margins than your father?”

  Damn. Good question. “My father knows this business inside and out. He’s the talent and the heart and soul behind it. But I’m a soon-to-be economics major”—if I somehow manage to find a way to pay for Stanford, thanks to your daughter—“and I’ve worked in the shop since I was ten years old. I know it, and its potential sans an awful partner.”

  The dead air between us wrapped around my neck like a noose. After losing the scholarship, and the near loss of the store, I was dying to hold on to something solid—even if it was only a meeting.

  “Give me a chance to prove it to you,” I said. “I’ll take any fifteen minutes you have available. If you come to the shop, I’ll even make you a meal. Paper and product proof.”

  “The only opening I have is tomorrow morning. Seven a.m.”

  I fist bumped the air. “Yes!” I took a deep breath. “That would work perfectly.”

  “You sure?” he asked. “I won’t tolerate you being a minute late.”

  “I’ll be there, sir.”

  “I’m a waffle man,” he said, chuckling. “And I like my bacon black. I’d say have an espresso ready, too, but you don’t work at a coffee shop, now, do you?”

  I forced out a laugh. “Thanks for the opportunity, s
ir. I look forward to meeting with you.”

  He grunted and I took that as my cue to hang up. I didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind, not when this was the last shot I had.

  After slipping my cell into my pocket, I resisted the urge to run and tell Dad about the meeting. I didn’t want to get his hopes up if Mr. Handler looked at the numbers and still bought us out merely to flip the place. Better to wait until I had real news, but the shitty day already felt lighter with the prospect of saving this restaurant.

  Now, along with preparing the numbers, there would only be one thing left to do.

  Apologize to Zoey.

  She deserved a face-to-face apology no matter how much the idea of admitting my stupidity made me want to puke.

  Thanks to her Snapchat I knew where she’d be tonight.

  Lennon’s party.

  Every senior would be there.

  I told Mr. Handler I wouldn’t be late tomorrow. And I wouldn’t be late. But I had to make things right.

  I just had to hope she’d give me a chance to explain. Maybe do some explaining herself. And if she didn’t, well, at least I’d know I tried.

  “Will you take this order out to table twelve?” Dad asked, completely back in chef mode as I walked into the kitchen.

  I nodded and slid my hand under the tray weighted down with six baskets of food. I headed out of the kitchen, expertly navigating between the tables as Stacy cleaned the few empty ones. I could walk these paths with my eyes closed.

  A hole opened up in my gut as I handed the group their food. This wasn’t just the day I’d lost a scholarship. It wasn’t just a day I’d made an ass out of myself in front of the entire senior class. It wasn’t just the day my father told me he’d been betrayed by his business partner. And it wasn’t just the day I graduated.

  This was the last day I’d ever get to serve food in my father’s restaurant without thinking about the expiration date. I may have bought us a month and a meeting, but the days to come would be nothing like they were before. Days where I studied during the slow times of the day, sitting on the wooden bench seat by the window, reading, doing homework. Days where we never got a second to breathe because of how busy we were. Days where my dad and I had a few laughs as we closed the shop, munching on something special he whipped up after flipping the open sign to closed.

  Before today, I never knew how much I valued days like those. I never realized how deeply I loved this place like it was a part of me rather than just a place I worked until the stability of it was threatened. Axed. Gone.

  Maybe I hadn’t needed the scholarship. Maybe my dreams of Stanford would’ve fizzled and I would’ve found my happiness right here alongside Dad.

  I took the tray back to the kitchen, submitting my mind to the joys of cooking with my father, and ignored the clock. I was more than ready for a drink, and Lennon’s party couldn’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Four

  Zoey

  “Pumpkin?” My father’s voice rang from the living room as I walked through my front door, still fuming over Gordon.

  “I thought you were at the office?” I asked when I found him and Mom sitting on the couch.

  “We just got back,” he said. “How’d your speech go?”

  I sighed. “Perfectly.”

  “Oh good,” Mom said. “It was such a lovely speech.”

  One that you weren’t present for.

  Braylen’s mom had shot me a look of sympathy as I’d rushed off stage, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate it. Hell, I’d thought about running to her like she was my own mother—someone who would support me and hate Gordon on principle. Instead, my mother was distant—elegant and brilliant, but distant. The company came first. I’d known that since my fourth birthday, when my party was attended by my nanny only. My parents had been off on some trip to stroke the stock-holders’ egos.

  And they wondered why I didn’t want to immediately sink my teeth into the family business.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Sit down.”

  I sat perched on the edge of the loveseat across from them.

  He glanced at Mom before returning his focus on me. “We’ve decided to support this whole internship business.”

  I raised my eyebrows, a smile on my lips. “Really?” No more arguments, no more threats of taking my car away if I landed the position?

  “Yes,” he said, adjusting his cornflower blue tie. “I’ve created a position at the company. An internship. You will be able to work there just as you would at this other company. Doing nothing privileged. Only real, gritty intern things.”

  My shoulders sank, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That is so not the point.” I shook my head, looking across our glass coffee table, eyeing my parents like they’d lost their minds. Could they really not see why I wanted the internship? How many times did I have to explain it?

  I pushed off the couch, standing to look down at them. “I’ve busted my ass since the first day I went to school. I’ve never stopped for a second, and I’ve never asked you for anything. This is about proving who I am without the family name attached to it. Without you ‘creating’ a position for me. This is about…” I struggled to find the right words. “About doing something just for me. For once.”

  Their stone silence said more than if they had begun arguing with me again.

  “Can either of you even tell me why I want this internship so badly?” My eyes darted between the two of them as they scrambled for an answer.

  “Because,” Mom said, “you want to be adventurous. See what it is like outside our company first?”

  I shook my head. “Because I’m going to Stanford to get my degree in International Relations, and A&J happens to have a Stanford alum with the same degree at the helm of the corporation. Do you know how invaluable that experience will be for me?” I arched an eyebrow. “Especially when I’ve earned my degree and bring all that knowledge over to your company?”

  They each blinked like they were seeing me for the first time. Like they couldn’t believe I’d thought that far ahead, or considered the big picture like that. They would know if they ever listened to me in the first place. And after everything that had happened today, I was so beyond done.

  “Right,” I said before they could say anything.

  “I never knew two kids could be so…gung ho about business and the future,” he said, a slick smile on his face.

  “What?”

  “Gordon Meyers called me today,” he said, and my hackles rose at the mention.

  “About what?” I snapped, praying he hadn’t mentioned the speech. I don’t know why he would—hell, I didn’t even know why he’d done it in the first place—but I didn’t want my parents to know.

  “He wants to show me a business plan regarding his father’s shop’s profit margins and projections.”

  I sighed, my shoulders dropping. “You’ve been trying to buy that place to flip for years.” I wondered what made Gordon’s dad decide to sell now. Maybe the market was hot and the price my father offered was too good to refuse. I bet he’d use some of the money to send Gordon to Stanford. So now he really didn’t have a reason to be as pissed off at me as he was. Didn’t get him off the hook, though.

  No. He still had to pay. And after Mrs. Rollins told me that he was the other candidate for the internship, I would make sure he had no shot of earning that spot.

  “True,” he said. “The kid even agreed to an early morning meeting tomorrow.”

  “How early?”

  “Seven a.m. sharp.”

  “You’re setting him up to fail,” I said before I could stop myself. I was always ready to battle my father, but Gordon had merely been a good solid challenge my whole life. It was hard to not instinctively want to take his side on this matter, but his speech killed any good feelings I may have had about my once semi-friendly foe.

  “I’m not. I’m giving him a chance to prove to himself and me what he wants most. If he is ser
ious about the business and its future, he’ll be clear-eyed and ready in the morning. If partying with his friends is his priority, then we’ll know what matters to him.”

  I couldn’t fault my father’s logic. He was a ruthless and incredible businessman who usually got what he wanted in the end. “But it’s grad night,” I said, despite knowing he made sense. “Seems like the odds are against him,” I continued, my mind sparking with the cleverest, most diabolical idea to get back at Gordon. I could ruin him in two different ways with one beautiful stone.

  “You seem like you’re sticking up for him,” he said. “Isn’t he the same one who’s been nipping at your heels your entire life? Like a little jealous puppy begging for attention?”

  “It’s not like that,” I said, more focused on the plan in my head than the conversation at hand. “We’ve had a good long battle of wins and losses. He never wanted attention from me…” Or did he? Well, he certainly got my attention today. Another wave of embarrassment crashed over my body and I glanced at my cell. “I have exactly ten minutes to get ready and then I have a project that desperately needs my attention. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

  I spun on my heels, hurrying to my bedroom to get dressed. I no longer wanted to hear about the internship, or my father’s interest in what Gordon had to say. Sure, he didn’t know what he’d done to me, but I did. I could still feel the ache in my bones from the blow he’d landed, and I wasn’t going to sit on my bed and eat Ben & Jerry’s all night.

  No, I was going to get even.

  …

  “I’ll have to swipe his keys,” I said, pacing the length of my room after divulging the plan to Julie.

  “Isn’t there a security system?” Julie asked on the other end of the line. “Oh, wait. That’s why you want me to call—”

  “You can totally talk Jay into it. Look,” I said, cutting Julie off and switching my cell to my other ear. “This plan is foolproof, but only if we follow every single step to the T. One slip, and we all go down. So, are you in or not?”

  “Girl, you know I’m in. This will be so epic.” Julie was more than happy to indulge my plan, especially since it involved her underclassman boyfriend Jay—Gordon’s cousin—who was wicked mopey about not being invited to Lennon’s party tonight. He shouldn’t have taken it personally, only seniors and up were invited to the grad night party, but now he’d have other things to occupy his time. Several underclassmen would.