Joshua Mike stared at her thighs, the space between them. He finished his whiskey in one gulp and knocked his glass against the bar. He shifted his weight to face her, leaning on his arm. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk to your husband first? He said he was going to talk to you. Not that I’m not happy to help. The offer stands.”
Danika tried not to react as the bartender refilled his glass. She gestured to hers, too.
“I have a feeling you’ll find out soon enough, so fine. I’ll get messy with ya. I’m only sorry this is what it took to spend time with you. As I’ve always said, you’re the prettiest gal in Aldon Lakes.”
Danika kept her face stone.
“All right, fine, fine, fine. Here goes.”
Danika stayed quiet as he began to talk, drinking with an unsteady hand as she listened. He said that months ago, he’d overheard Bill talking to his lawyer—
“Frank,” Danika interrupted.
“Yes, good ole Frank.” Joshua continued to say they were discussing a few deals Bill had been involved in—a few bad deals. “Those St. Paul properties.” Josh Mike swung his head. “Bill was being reckless, if you ask me. But hey, you know what they say, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. The problem was, he wasn’t hitting that reward. He hasn’t been for a while. Though no one could have predicted COVID.
“So, I approached him. I told him I knew he’s going through it, and that he needed more investors for Briar Ridge. I knew he didn’t want me involved... I’ve been blackballed lately, don’t ask me why... but I have the cash, right? I told him I’ll buy the last forty percent. Wyatt and Malcolm, they were being cheap, you know. But I love those houses. I said I’d bring the money, but I also wantedyouinvolved. To help design, decorate. I knew you’d make it amazing. I like your style. I also thought it would be fun, you know, to be a team. I thought you’d enjoy it. I was looking out.”
Danika’s body went rigid.
“And I was right, of course! You’re killing it.”
Danika didn’t know what to say. Behind them, pool balls cracked like gunshots.
“But I digress.” He took a sip and smacked his lips. “Anyways, so there I am: I own the majority of Briar Ridge, and these guys are being so dumb about everything. It’s not my first rodeo—I know we should reinvest the dividends rather than get a payout—but these guys are being shortsighted. Then, Bill finally admits to me alone that he needs the cash. He finally came clean. And, oh boy.” Joshua Mike exhaled in a whistle. “He’s in worse trouble than I thought. I hate the idea of y’all losing your houses.”
Danika no longer felt tense now—only hollow.
“So, I tell Bill I’m happy to help. Nice guy I am. I tell him I’ll give him a loan. Even more, I offer to buy the cabin. And Danika, if I’m being real with you, I’m only doing this because I care about you.” He leaned in closer as she angled her body away.
“I know you’re special, D.” His voice was different. “I want you to have a good life. That’s why, as I told Jackie, if Bill doesn’t take me up on my offer, and you end up on your own, I’d still help youout. Whatever you need. A loan, a place to stay, you name it. You’re a talent. It’d be an investment.”
Danika didn’t know how to make sense of anything, didn’t know how to feel. While she’d suspected things were worse than Bill had let on—she’d never expected this. Losing theirhouses? Bill was supposed to be steady—they were supposed to be steady.
Josh studied her face. He waved for more drinks.
Yet as the bartender returned with the bottle, Danika stood. She hated him. She hated all of them. What she had said to Chat was true: She couldn’t rely on anyone. She grabbed her purse.
“Oh, Danika, don’t be like that.” Joshua Mike slouched. “I feel bad, but it might be for the best, in the end, you know. I’m here for you.”
She looked straight at him.
“I will never fuck you.”
Joshua Mike laughed. “I’d never say no, but really, that’s not what I’m after. I’m the one being honest here. Bill... he’s the one lying. But, again, maybe it’s all for the best. Money isn’t everything, you know. Bill has his own demons.”
Danika felt even more sick—and also like she could grab the knife the bartender was using to slice limes and sink it into his neck—but suddenly, she understood. She met Joshua Mike’s eyes directly, an icy clarity falling over her.
“Who is he sleeping with?”
Joshua Mike glanced up at the moose head on the wall—the one all those years ago Danika and Bill had watched together, singing along to “Yellow Submarine”—and just like that, he told her.
Interstitial
It was becoming more difficult to meet. Their schedules were splintering. It made their texts more desperate—and risky. Tensions grew by the day.
Finally, they met one early morning at 63 Birch. They broke their own rules: They kissed in front of windows, in the wide-open kitchen. They could even see other houses from where they embraced, the model home just up the street. It was enough to remind them that soon, the community would be filling—people moving in and taking over all the rooms they’d considered, if only briefly, theirs.
Soon, the house would be sold. The summer would be over.
