“I’ll get the money.” A bowling ball of emotion weighs me down.
Relief washes over him like a tidal wave. “Thank you.” He grabs my shoulders and squeezes. “I knew I could count on you. I’ll be here at one tomorrow. They’ll be here around two. And you know.” He eyes the door. “Let’s not tell anyone about this. If the staff acts weird when they get here, it might make for a bad vibe.”
I lock my knees and curl my toes into my shoes. A bad vibe? What sort of vibe is he feeling right now?
“I won’t say anything. But I swear, Oliver, I don’t have anything else to give you. You have to find that money or make a deal with them to pay back what you owe. But don’t bring them back here ever again.” I stick my finger in his chest.
“Of course. You’re right. Absolutely,” he nods as he backs his way to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And he’s gone.
“Hey.” Joey pops his head into the office. “Just wanted to let you know that catering order called. They screwed up the time or something, they don’t need the order until two now.”
A stroke of luck.
“Thanks, Joey.” I sink back into the chair, feeling a little bit more relaxed.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good,” I nod. “How’s the order coming?”
He grins. “About halfway in. I can finish if you need to hang in here.”
“Just give me a minute and I’ll be out to help.” I force a smile. Joey goes back to the front, and I’m left logging onto my laptop to check the lobby hours of my bank. I doubt the Romanovs are going to want a personal check when they come tomorrow.
I’ll need to run to cash a check after the lunch rush.
So much for the new ovens.