NINE
JULIE HUNG UP THE PHONE, wondering again if she should have told Eric about her meeting with Caleb. She wanted to be able to talk things out with him and get his impressions on what her brother said. But Eric had already said he was busy and it didn’t seem like a good idea to bother him with it at work. She’d wait until she could curl up and rest her head on his chest, then she’d tell him while she listened to his heartbeat.
Grabbing her laptop, she perched on the stool at her makeshift desk at the island counter and looked over her notes. She’d started to let herself believe that the aquaculture thing might work out and even crazier she’d decided she was okay with Eric helping her find the funding to do it. He was right. She would make a success of it and then she’d pay back every penny he loaned her with interest. She booted up the computer and was waiting for it to connect to the internet when her cell phone rang. Hoping Eric decided to call back, she answered without bothering to look at the screen.
“Hey, Jules,” said Caleb.
“Hey yourself,” she said not sure why he’d be calling so soon after their meeting at the café.
“There’s something I forgot to tell you. It’s about dad.”
Guilt lanced through her. She hadn’t visited her father since before Christmas. Even worse, she hadn’t wanted to see him. She didn’t want to give in to the bitter part of her that still resented him for the farm, but she hadn’t wanted to sit and listen to him go on about what a success Caleb was going to make of himself either.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, he’s good. He misses you.”
Julie found herself making a noise remarkably similar to the French noise Eric made.
“Really,” said Caleb. “He does, but that’s not it. The nursing home has some papers they need us to sign. If you have a couple of minutes, I could swing by now. You could meet me in the lobby if you want,” he hurried to add. “I get that you probably don’t want to invite me up to Eric’s place. At least not yet.”
Julie glanced at her watch. Three-thirty-seven. Too early for the front of the house staff to show up, but at least some of the kitchen staff should be in which meant the waiting area at Comme Ci should be unlocked.
“We don’t have to meet in the lobby. I’ll meet you at Comme Ci. The restaurant isn’t open yet but there’s a place up front with some chairs where we can sit.”
“Great. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”
Julie hung up the phone and hit the button to dial Eric. It was one thing to put off telling him she’d met Caleb. It was an entirely different thing to meet her brother in Eric’s restaurant without him knowing about it.
The phone rang four times before going to Eric’s voicemail. Leaving a message was even worse than telling him over the phone, but Julie wasn’t going to meet her brother at Comme Ci without Eric knowing. She debated calling Caleb to reschedule, but guilt about her dad had her holding back.
“Hey,” she said when she heard the beep. “I probably should have told you when I talked to you earlier, but I thought I could wait until you got home and tell you in person. Caleb asked me to meet him today, and I went. Don’t worry I took the security guy with me. It was okay. Weird but okay, Caleb was actually decent for most of it. Anyway, he just called again and said he had some papers that I have to sign for my dad. I’m going to meet him in the waiting area of Comme Ci. I just wanted you to know. I love you. I’ll see you tonight.”
JULIE WAITED FOR Caleb at the entrance to Comme Ci. The lights were dimmed in the small area where patrons waited for their tables, but the door was unlocked so at least some of the kitchen staff must already be at work in the back. She looked around until she found a plate of switches on the wall and slid the toggle, bringing up the lights. She turned back around in time to see Caleb coming through the door, holding a stack of papers.
“Hey,” she said. “We can sit over here.”
She led her brother to a pair of chairs off to the side of the door into the dining room. As she sat, Caleb finished sending a text, sinking into the chair a moment later and pocketing his phone.
“Are those the papers?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.
“What?” he asked clearly distracted. “Yes, these are the papers.”
He handed her a stack of papers, and she started to flip through them, becoming more puzzled with each one.
“I don’t understand, Caleb. These are the bank statements for Blake Enterprise. Why are you showing me these? There’s nothing here about Dad.”
“Oh it’s about Dad all right,” he said the familiar unpleasant edge creeping into his voice. “It’s about how he’s going to lose everything if you and your rich boyfriend don’t pony up some cash.”
“But we already talked about that,” said Julie, still confused with an unpleasant tightening in her stomach. “Just a couple of hours ago. You said you’d clean up your own mess.”
“Fuck that. You owe me. Don’t worry; I’ll be happy to let your rich boyfriend pick up your tab.”
“Owe you what, Caleb? I don’t understand. You’re not making any sense.”
“Maybe I can help you, Sugar.”
Julie heard the familiar voice behind her and jumped to her feet, ice water running through her veins. She didn’t have to turn around to know it was Mustache Guy. What she couldn’t understand was how he’d gotten in there.
