Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Keely: We gotta talk.
Jamila: Everything okay? You run into Nolan again???
Keely: Worse. Ash.
Jamila: What did she say?
Keely: We’ll talk tomorrow.
I put my phone on Do Not Disturb then shove it into my bag before leaving the bar and heading home.
Chapter 12
Keely
I show up at the shop bright and early, coffee in my hand. I stand in the front, staring around at the half-built seating, the partially constructed front counter, the skeleton of our business. It’s so close to being something real, but I’ve never felt further from it than right now.
Jams shows up not long later. She breezes in like I never sent her a text last night. “Good morning,” she says sing-song, and sits down on a workbench to survey the back room. “How much of this do you think we can finish on our own before we screw something up?”
I sip my coffee. “I don’t know. Maybe we should ask Ash.”
The surprise on Jamila’s face makes me feel guilty for the harshness of my tone. I should try to approach this rationally, but I’m too hurt to be kind.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Is this about the text you sent me last night? Honestly, I kind of figured you were just drunk.”
“I wasn’t drunk. I was sitting in Smoke right after Ash came up and offered me money. I was pissed. I’m still pissed.”
Jams’s face shows nothing. “And did you take it?”
“Of course I didn’t take it. I keep telling you I’m not going to take Ash’s money.”
“So what’s the problem?”
I throw up my hands. “You went behind my back, that’s the problem.”
Jams stares at me. She remains where she’s sitting, but her fingers are gripping the edge hard enough to make her knuckles turn white. “I didn’t go behind your back,” she says, her voice level and soft. “I told a friend about my problems.”
“Yeah, and you knew that friend would want to stroll in and solve everything.”
“I could’ve asked her to invest, but I didn’t out of respect for you. I didn’t know Ash would go talk to you herself. I didn’t tell her to do that. I was only venting about our problems.”
“Convenient you vented to the one person that can solve all our problems.”
“It wasn’t like that,” she says, frustration cracking through her calm.
“Are you sure about that?” I feel my self-control slipping. I know this is going to get out of hand if I can’t reel myself in, but the stress of the last few days, compounded by this pregnancy, pushes me over the edge. “From my perspective, you did it on purpose.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“You want to take Nolan’s money. You’d happily take Ash’s too. Just admit it.”
“Yeah, I would,” she says, getting heated now. “Damn right I would, because I’m not too proud to admit we need a little help. We’re in over our heads and Nolan’s going to screw us if we don’t do something. Ash is our best chance, but you’re too stubborn to do anything about it. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose everything I’ve invested.”
“I knew it,” I say, glaring at her. “You could’ve just respected my wishes and vented to someone else. You chose Ash on purpose.”
“You’re not the only person in this place,” she says, eyes wide. “I know you think you are, but we’re supposed to be equal partners.”
“An equal partner wouldn’t go behind my back.”
“I didn’t do that,” she says through her teeth. “What the hell is with you, Keely? I’m serious, you’ve been so short with me for the last few days. I know this is hard and stressful, but I’m not your enemy.”
I pace back and forth, hands shaking with nervous anger. “I want to do this the right way. Otherwise, what’s the point? Do you have any idea how long I’ve felt like I’m a total loser? I’m in my mid-twenties, no boyfriend, nothing to call my own, still working as a waitress in my friend’s bar. It’s freaking pathetic. I want to be able to wake up in the morning and feel proud for once. But you seem hell-bent on ignoring my wishes, like what I want doesn’t matter. I thought we were on the same page here.”
“We were,” she says coolly. “Until now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I stop pacing and face her.
“I love you, Keely,” she says, not smiling as she hops down from the counter. “You’re my best friend. You always will be. But maybe going into business together was a mistake.”
I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I stare at her, my heart thudding so hard I hear it pounding my ears. “Are you being serious right now?”
“I think it’d be better if I walked away. Clean break. Forget about the money I put into this place. It’s a loss and I’ll survive. Whatever.”