“Hello?”
“Charlie! Hey.” It’s Oliver.
“Oliver. Where are you?” I look around as though he’s going to step out of the rubble any moment.
“I’m around. I only have a second though. Quick question for you.” City noise overlaps his words.
“What? You cut out there for a second.” I cover my other ear and turn away from the crew cleaning up around me.
“Did the insurance pay out yet?” he asks.
A shiver runs through me. “Insurance?” I haven’t gotten a hold of him to tell him about the fire yet. I figured it would be easier to deal with it without him.
“Yeah, for the deli. I read about the fire in the paper.”
He reads the paper? Since when?
“Oliver, I have a lot of work to do here. Everything’s been destroyed but I’m trying to find whatever I can salvage.”
“I’m not trying to take up your time, Charlie, just tell me did the insurance pay out yet?”
“Why?”
“I need my cut, that’s all.”
“Your cut?” Ice runs through my veins. “What the hell do you mean, your cut?”
“I had a stake in the deli.”
“I bought you out, Oliver.”
“You bought most of it out. I still have ten percent.”
“You want ten percent of the insurance money?” I have to be hearing him wrong. He’s been hiding for a month while I’ve been trying to save his ass. And now that I need him, now that I could really use the support and help of my big brother, he’s looking for his cut.
“It is mine, right?”
“I’m using it to rebuild, Oliver. I need it all to rebuild the deli.” I think I’m shouting; some of the crew has stopped working and they are looking at me.
“So, rebuild with what’s left. The business had an estimated worth of half a million dollars. You can spare ten percent. Or better, maybe we take the money and invest it somewhere else. Somewhere we can double the money.”
“Invest it.” My jaw aches from clenching it. “Oliver, I don’t have time for this. We can talk about it later.” I hang up the call just as Jared comes back over to me with more concern on his face.
“Maybe you should take a break. I was just about to get coffee from down the street, join me?”
I stare at him. He’s hitting on me. My brother wants all the money from the deli, my father’s dream is circling the drain, and I can’t get my heart to stop hurting every time I think of Nikolai, and now Jared is asking me out for coffee.
I laugh.
It’s the worst response, but it’s all I have in me.
“Sure, Jared. Let’s go get coffee.” I shove my phone into my back pocket. “Joey, Silvia, you want coffee?”
Joey looks at me like he’s never seen me before.
“Sure, Charlie.” Silvia notices Jared standing beside me. “You want me to come with?”
“No, Jared’s going to take me.” I gesture with my thumb.
“Maybe see if Nikolai wants a cup?” she suggests. “In case he comes by to help?”
I laugh harder. “He’s not coming, Silvia. He’s never coming back.” I grab my purse from the only clean area of the mess and swing the strap over my shoulder. “Okay, Jared. Lead the way.”
He flickers his gaze from me to Silvia, then back. “Uh, okay, sure.”
I’m sure he’s reconsidered any thoughts he had previously about hooking up with me, but I still want coffee. Or maybe a bottle of wine. There’s a liquor store close to the coffee shop.
I’ll figure it out when we get there.