But I texted back anyway:Sure. See you then.
Jake appears in the doorway, already dressed for work. “You, okay? You’ve been staring at that cereal box for five minutes.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“You’ve been saying that a lot lately.” He grabs his travel mug from the cabinet. “Meeting with Doug this morning?”
“Yeah. Nine o’clock.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“No. I can handle it.” I pour milk into Tommy’s bowl. “Besides, you’ve got that department meeting.”
“I can skip it.”
“Jake, I’m a grown woman. I can meet with my former boss without my brother holding my hand.” I soften my tone. “But thank you. Really.”
He studies me for a moment, then nods. “Call me after if you need to talk.”
“I will.”
Tommy thundered back down the stairs wearing his blue shirt and two matching socks. “Found it!”
“That’s my boy. Now eat your cereal before it gets soggy.”
We get through breakfast with minimal chaos. Tommy tells me about a project his class is doing on insects, which involves far too much detail about spider anatomy for seven in the morning. Jake leaves for work. I get Tommy to school with five minutes to spare.
And then I have to drive to Riverside Coffee and face whatever’s waiting for me there.
Doug’s already at a corner table when I arrive.
He looks tired. Older than I remember. The café fire aged him in ways I didn’t notice before—new lines around his eyes, gray hair that wasn’t there three months ago.
“Rachel.” He stands when he sees me. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Of course.” I sit down across from him. “How’s Linda?”
“Good. She’s good. Still in Seattle with our daughter.” He wraps both hands around his coffee mug. “Getting some space from all this.”
“I don’t blame her.”
We sit in awkward silence for a moment. I can see him trying to figure out how to start. How to say what he needs to say.
I decide to make it easier for him.
“You’re letting me go.”
His shoulders sag with relief that I said it first. “The insurance company is dragging its feet. They won’t pay out until Marco’s investigation concludes. It could be months. Maybe longer.” He looks at his coffee. “Linda and I can’t afford to keep paying staff when we don’t have income coming in.”
“I understand.”
“You were a great manager, Rachel. Best we’ve had in years. If we rebuild, I want you back. First person I’ll call.” He finally meets my eyes. “But right now, I can’t even promise we will rebuild. The numbers don’t make sense. We might have to walk away.”
My chest tightens. “What about Emma and Marcus? Jennifer?”
“I’m meeting with all of them today. Everyone’s being let go.” He slides an envelope across the table. “Two weeks’ severance. It’s not much, but it’s what I can do.”
I take the envelope without opening it. “Thank you.”
