She looked grim as she sat down in the chair next to mine. Jeremy was sitting across from us behind his desk, scrolling through his laptop.
Marina snorted. “Trust me when I say I wish I didn’t have to. But the fact remains we are. I got notice this morning we didn’t get the grant we applied for. Went to a place in Flagstaff.”
“I’m just reading the email now,” Jeremy murmured, eyes darting back and forth. “That’s… unfortunate. I mean, good for Flagstaff but not for us.”
“We’re not down for the count yet,” Marina said. “I’ve got a few more irons in the fire, but we need to make a plan. I spoke with the accountant. We’re good for the rest of 2016—barely—but after?” She shook her head. “That’s where we come up short.”
Jeremy looked thoughtful as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay, so let’s plan. What’s the next step?”
Marina pulled out her phone and began tapping on it. “My wife has some good connections through her law firm—”
“She’s a lawyer?” I asked.
Marina grinned at me. “Right? I don’t know what I was thinking. But she’s not all bad. Denise is the one who helped me find the immigration lawyer who would help us through the red tape should it come up for Diego or any of the others.”
“Then I forgive her for her chosen profession.”
Marina rolled her eyes. “I’ll be sure to let her know. Anyway, she’s going to put me in touch with some people who might be able to help. There are still a few more grants I’m waiting to hear back on, but they’re long shots. I was really counting on the one we just got turned down for.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have, but at least I didn’t put all our eggs in one basket. What about you? You got anything?”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Um. Well, yes? Maybe. I mean, I know drag queens, and if anyone knows how to guilt you out of money, it’s drag queens.”
Jeremy snorted. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I glared at him. “Are you mocking me?”
He looked solemn when he said, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Marina glanced between the two of us. “Uh-huh. So, drag queens. Could they raise a hundred grand to keep us funded through the next two years?”
I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. “A hundred what and how many zeroes?”
“This place isn’t cheap, Corey. There’s rent and utilities and taxes, not to mention all the programs we’re running and the ones we’re trying to run. And the financial crisis wasn’t too long ago, and people have long memories. Everyone is tighter with their money these days, and for good reason.” She tapped something else on her phone. “Which makes this whole Cheeto thing all the more baffling.”
“I taught her that,” I told Jeremy.
“I’m sure you did,” Jeremy muttered as he pulled out his own phone and began to type on the screen.
“I don’t know about a hundred thousand dollars,” I said. “But Helena Handbasket can be really persuasive when she wants to be, even if you don’t want her to be. And every little bit helps, right? I’m sure we could use Jack It again. Helena has enough shit on the owner that he doesn’t even sneeze without making sure it’s okay with her first.” I glanced at Jeremy, trying to choose my next words carefully. “And I’m sure we could use that… other… bar… if we needed to.”
Jeremy laughed. “Marina knows.”
Marina nodded. “My wife’s into leather. She’s known Jeremy for years.”
“What? Explain!”
“Later,” Marina said, not even looking up at me. “Bigger things to focus on.”
She had a point, but still. I had questions.
Jeremy’s phone vibrated. He frowned down at it before typing out a response to whoever had texted him. “You have a suit?” He looked up at me, head cocked slightly. “Or that dress you wore at the barbecue could work. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
I was confused. “For what?”
He set down his phone on the desk and leaned forward. “I have an idea.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Do I even want to know? And yes, I have a suit, but it’s peach, and I wore it when I was pretending to be a jazz flautist named Slim Trim Colvin.”
Marina dropped her phone as she choked. “You did what?”