“Being hungover is basically just your status quo now, huh?” I asked playfully.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Kaddy said. “I can now drink without worrying about shirking my daily responsibilities. If I couldn’t function with a hangover, I would have to miss work and thereby lose money. If I lost money, I wouldn’t be able to continue drinking myself stupid. That’s not a path I want to venture down, my dear.”
“You could always try not drinking for a while,” I said. “You know, just for a week or two. A trial run of sorts.”
“Nah,” Kaddy said, shaking her head. “Adjusting to a perpetual hangover is much easier. And more fun.”
“What’s his name?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows at her as we stepped behind the counter.
“Frank,” Kaddy said, drawing out his name seductively. “He’s gorgeous, and my god, Sophie, he is built like a Greek god.”
“Aren’t they all?” I asked wistfully.
Kaddy told me all about her date from the night before. We were the only two people in the café this early, so it was the perfect time to catch up. Not that we needed to. Kaddy and I had been best friends since the first day of kindergarten. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. Since I didn’t have any siblings, she was the closest thing to a sister, always pushing me out of my comfort zone. And me? I was her safety blanket, the one thing she could fall back on when life became too insane.
“You think you’ll see him again?” I asked as I filled the carafes for the day.
“Absolutely,” Kaddy said. “The sex was incredible, so I hope to see him again.”
“Sex?” I asked, jerking my head around to face her. “Already? Didn’t you say you just met him?”
“Tone down the judgement, Mom,” Kaddy said. “He’s a good guy. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“That you know of,” I said. “He could have a disease or worse.”
“Girl,” Kaddy said. She glared at me warningly. “That’s gross.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Which is why you need to be careful.”
“Oh, I’m always careful.”
Kaddy wiggled her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the job at hand. The café would open in just a few minutes, and we still hadn’t set out the chairs. Luckily, the shop was small and quaint, so opening duties were light. Still, I hated being unprepared when the first customer arrived.
The weather hadn’t yet turned frosty, but there was a nip in the air that brought people in earlier than usual. Everyone needed a hot cup of coffee to start their day, and sure enough, two minutes before five, there was a soft knock on the front door.
“Leave it,” Kaddy said with a groan. “We don’t open for two minutes.”
“I can’t just leave them outside,” I said.
I hurried around the counter to let the customer in. She was a middle-aged woman with bright red lipstick and fingernails to match. Instead of thanking me for opening early, she demanded a triple skinny latte without looking at me.
I made her drink while Kaddy glared at her from behind the counter. It wasn’t until she stepped back outside that Kaddy hissed loudly and shook her head.
“I can’t believe you served that bitch,” she said.
“It’s our job, Kaddy,” I said.
“Still, that is a woman in desperate need of someone like Frank.”
“Is sex your answer to everything?” I asked.
“Of course not,” Kaddy said. “You know me better than that.”
She smiled at me and bounced around, getting the pastries ready for the day. While we worked, I could tell Kaddy’s hangover was starting to fade. If there was one thing she was good at, it was rallying after a night of drunken debauchery.
“How’s your dad doing?” Kaddy asked when there was a lull in the day. “Any better?”
“No.” I shook my head. “If anything, I think he’s getting worse.”
I looked down at my feet and sighed. Ever since my mother died, my dad had withdrawn into himself. He barely left his house and almost never worked anymore. His entire life just seemed to stop after her funeral. It was like he didn’t have the energy to live anymore.
“It’s gotta be hard,” Kaddy said sympathetically. “She was his entire life, you know? For what? Thirty plus years?”
“They were married for thirty-five years,” I said. “I can’t even imagine how he must feel, but I worry about him. I keep trying to get him to go out, see some friends, or take a trip, you know? Something, hell, anything that might help him adjust to life without her.”
“Do you think he can?” Kaddy asked. “Adjust, I mean.”
“He has to,” I said firmly. “What are the other alternatives?”
Kaddy nodded. She knew I was right. My dad’s entire life couldn’t just stop because my mom died, although that was exactly what was happening. No matter how often I went over to spend time with him, it never seemed to help. He just looked at me blankly or talked only about Mom. It was heartbreaking.
“I just feel like he’s slipping away,” I said. “Like there’s nothing I can do to hold onto him anymore. I already lost my mom. I don’t want to lose him, too.”
“You won’t,” Kaddy said firmly. “Your dad is strong. He’s going to get through this. It just may take him longer than we hoped.”
I nodded, but didn’t say anything. Kaddy was right. My dad had always been a strong man. He took care of me and my mom without a fuss. This was the first time I’d ever seen him break, and it was terrifying. I just wanted things to go back to normal.
“How are you doing with it?” Kaddy asked. She stepped closer to me and stared at me, making sure I couldn’t brush off her question.
“Not great,” I said with a sigh. “But I’m getting better. Life goes on, you know?”
“Have you gone out at all?” Kaddy asked.
“I went out with you two weeks ago,” I said. “That counts.”
She rolled her eyes. “We went bowling. That does not count.”
“You mean, have I been on a date?” I asked.
Kaddy nodded. “Yes.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t have time for romance right now, Kaddy. I have to take care of my dad, plus I work here fulltime. Doing the books and covering my barista shifts take up a lot of time.”
“You need to meet someone, Sophie,” Kaddy said. “You deserve to find someone to be happy with.”
“Like that will ever happen,” I said, more to myself than to Kaddy.
“Why?” Kaddy asked.
I just stared at her. She knew exactly what I meant, but I didn’t want to say it out loud. There were a couple of customers sitting in the corner of the café. The last thing they needed to hear was a conversation about my love life.
“The virginity thing again?” Kaddy asked, keeping her voice low.
I nodded. “Yes, but hush. We can’t talk about this here.”
“No one can hear us,” Kaddy said. “And no one cares that you’re a virgin, Sophie. You’re the only person that cares.”
“You don’t think the guys I date would care?” I asked doubtfully. “Somehow, I feel like it might be an issue.”
“Guys don’t care as much as you think,” Kaddy said. “You’re a virgin, but you’re hot. It’s not like you have two heads or something.”
“I’m twenty-six,” I said. “No guy is interested in dating a twenty-six-year-old virgin.”
“You’re just psyching yourself out,” Kaddy said. “Anyone would be lucky to have you. Trust me.”
I rolled my eyes just as a customer walked up. I hurried over to her, grateful for the distraction. Talking about my virginity, even with Kaddy, wasn’t ever enjoyable. I hated that I had such little experience, but I wanted my first time to be special. I kept putting it off, waiting and waiting until I found the right person. Now, I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen.
“I’ll just have a small black coffee,” the woman said. “Pleas
e and thank you.”
I nodded and typed it in to the register. She pulled out her phone just as I moved over to get her coffee poured.
“No, Heather,” she said sharply. “That won’t work.”
I tried not to listen to her conversation, but after a few seconds, it was impossible not to.
“I need to see the numbers first,” she said. “But there’s no way we can bring in that kind of capital.” She paused. “Because we can’t. We’ve been over this.”
She fell silent and listened. Finally, she pulled out a calculator from her purse and began typing in numbers. I watched her closely, my eyes drawn to the calculator and my ears glued to her conversation.
“Sorry about that,” she said when she hung up. “Work.”
“I understand.” I smiled and handed over her coffee. She thanked me and hurried out of the café.
When I turned around, Kaddy was watching me with a knowing look on her face.
“What?” I asked.
“You need to get the hell out of this café,” Kaddy said with a sigh. “And this town.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked blankly.
“You were staring at her calculator like you wanted to make out with it,” she said. “And you couldn’t tear yourself away from that woman’s conversation.”
“So?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what she was getting at.
“You want to be in that world, Sophie,” Kaddy said. “You want to actually use your accounting degree.”
“I do use it,” I said. “Why do you think I do the books here?”
“Because Michelle asked you to,” Kaddy said simply.
“I use my degree,” I said. “I’m happy with my career choices.”
“Whatever you say,” Kaddy said. “But I can see it in your eyes. You wanted to be on that phone call. You want to do more with your life.”
“My life is fine,” I said.
“So, you never think about leaving Maine? Ever?”
I just shook my head and turned away from her. This wasn’t a new conversation for us. Kaddy, like my parents, thought I should be doing more with my life. No one could understand why I chose to work at a coffee shop instead of somewhere in corporate America.
What they didn’t understand was that I was happy. I loved my job and my life. Working at the café was the best of both worlds. When I was in the back, I worked with numbers. I kept the books in perfect order, and when that became boring, I could come out front and interact with people. It was everything I wanted.
Kaddy was right about one thing, though. The idea of leaving Maine was one that I couldn’t seem to shake.
Chapter 3
Andrew
I spent the rest of the night pacing around my study. Rick was in a spare bedroom, just a few doors down from my own. Liam insisted I let him leave, but I wasn’t stupid. If I let Rick go, he would disappear, and I’d lose my chance at punishing him for his actions. He broke into my home. He tried to rob me. Retribution had to be paid.
The night seemed to drag on forever. By the time the sun rose, I was more confused than ever. My anger had faded just enough that I no longer wanted to physically harm Rick. I knew it would be wrong to kick his ass, no matter how badly I wanted to. Instead, I wavered between calling the police or taking Rick up on his offer.
I pictured the cops showing up outside. In my mind, I could see them dragging Rick out of my house and tossing him in the back of a squad car. The image was a pleasant one. It filled me with a sense of vindication. But the more I thought about it, the more Rick’s offer appealed to me.
It wasn’t a secret that my accounting department was suffering. After losing Margie, I was beginning to wonder if we would ever find someone permanent. Hopper Antiquities’s finances were floundering. I knew it. Rick knew it. Even Liam knew it.
“Mr. Andrew,” Liam said from the hallway. He pushed open my study door an inch. “I brought you coffee.”
“Thank you, Liam.”
He nodded and set the cup down on my desk. I ignored it. As I continued to pace around the room, I noticed Liam was still there. He stood off to the side of the room, watching me with slightly narrowed eyes.
“What is it?” I snapped impatiently.
“I only wondered if I should take something up for Mr. Newman,” Liam said. His voice was calm, but his words were pointed.
“He’ll be fine,” I said shortly.
“Mr. Andrew,” Liam began. “I feel it’s my duty to tell you, your father never would have kept a man hostage this way.”
“Hostage?” I scoffed. “Rick Newman was stealing from me!”
“I understand that,” Liam said. “Your father would have forgiven him, worked things out in a civil way. He wouldn’t have used threats or fear to…”
“To what?” I snapped again.
My anger was suddenly back. I glared at Liam. He stared back at me impassively. He wasn’t afraid of me. He never had been. Still, it angered me even more to see how little my fury affected him.
Liam shook his head. “This is wrong, Mr. Andrew, and I believe you know that.”
“It’s none of your concern,” I said. “How I handle this is my business.”
“You’re right,” Liam said. “I just thought you would do well to remember your father’s lessons. Think for a second about him, his legacy. How would he have dealt with something like this?”
“I’m not my father.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. He nodded once and then turned away from me. Without another word, he disappeared into the hallway.
I sighed and sank down into my chair. The coffee Liam brought sat untouched on my desk. I glanced at it but made no move to drink it. My stomach was tied in knots. When I went to bed the night before, I never imagined I would be awoken to this.
My options hadn’t changed. I could either call the police or allow Rick’s daughter to sort out my financial problems. Neither option felt right, and yet, only one truly benefited me. As satisfying as it would be to watch Rick get carted away, my business would still suffer afterward. I would still suffer afterward.
With a sigh, I got to my feet and walked slowly through the house. Liam was nowhere in sight. I assumed he’d retreated into his own bedroom to hide from the shame he now felt because of me. My stomach tightened again, but I pushed the thought away and kept walking.
When I reached the room where Rick was staying, I didn’t bother to knock. I shoved it open with a bang and stepped boldly inside.
“Hello again,” I said.
Rick was perched on the edge of the bed, his feet barely touching the floor. I never realized how small of a man he was until that moment. He couldn’t have been more than five feet, three inches. His toes grazed the carpet as his sallow face turned upward.
His green eyes were wide as I walked over to him. He flinched when I pulled up a chair to sit right across from him. His kind-hearted nature from before was gone. His eyes darted from my face to the door and then back again. He was terrified of what I might do.
I cleared my throat and interlocked my fingers over my stomach as I leaned back in the chair and eyed Rick with amusement. Seeing him fearful didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t fill me with any sort of sadistic pleasure. It didn’t ignite a fire in my belly. It did nothing at all to improve my sour mood, but in that moment, it was nice to know I held all the power.
“I’ll make this perfectly clear,” I said slowly. “If you want to avoid jail, you will have your daughter come to me. Here. She’ll stay here in this house while she works on the company’s finances. That way, I can be sure you two aren’t planning something behind my back.”
“Planning something?” Rick asked with a frown. He shook his head sadly. “Who do you think I am, Andrew?”
“A thief,” I said simply. “Sophie will stay here. She’ll work for me. And if she doesn’t, I’ll have you arrested and be done with this mess.”
Rick just stared at me. He seemed afraid to talk. My pat
ience was running thin. I’d been up all night. I was exhausted and just wanted to get on with my day without having to look at Rick’s face any longer.
“Do we have a deal?” I snapped.
Rick jumped. “Yes. We have a deal.”
“Monday,” I said. “Have her here then.”
“Okay.” Rick nodded.
I nodded back and got to my feet. With that settled, I could get on with my day. There was so much to do, and this Rick mess had only gotten in the way of my productivity.
“May I leave?” Rick asked nervously.
“Yes,” I said, without turning around. “But if she’s not here on Monday morning, I’ll have you arrested and prosecuted. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” Rick said. He nodded and got shakily to his feet.
“She better be as good as you claim,” I said shortly. “I’m only willing to make this deal because my company needs the help. If Sophie is unable to fix our finances, then all of this will have been for nothing. So, for your sake, I hope she’s as smart and capable as you say she is.”
“She graduated at the top of her class,” Rick said proudly. The fear suddenly disappeared from his eyes. In its place was something akin to annoyance. It seemed I’d finally struck a nerve. “She’s more capable than anyone you currently have working for you. I can promise you that, Andrew.”
“Good.” I nodded and turned away from him.
I led the way out of the room. My back was to Rick as we walked down the stairs toward the front door. I longed to disappear into my study, the one place I could let go of all my anger and stress. My work was calling to me. I had artifacts to catalogue and emails to answer.
We reached the front door, and I glanced behind me. Rick was hurrying toward the exit, his short legs still shaking slightly as he moved.
“One more thing,” I called out to him. Rick turned around slowly, his eyes searching my face. “If I find out you and your daughter are, in fact, plotting something, I’ll throw your ass in jail without a second thought.”
“We’re aren’t plotting anything.” Rick sighed. “I’m not the man you think I am. I wish you could trust that, Andrew.”
Debt Collector Page 2
