AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Maybe if you'd let loose once in a while, you'd see there's more to life than just business," Lev counters, his voice rising to meet mine.
"Let loose? You want me to 'let loose' when our entire livelihood is on the line?" I sneer. The concept is so foreign that it might as well have been spoken in another language.
"Man, you really need to get laid," Lev says, laughing bitterly, but his humor is a thin veneer over the tension.
"Get out," I order, pointing toward the door. "Before I forget that you're my brother."
"Whatever you say, boss," Lev replies, his sarcasm biting as he walks out, leaving me alone with the silence and the simmering fury that threatens to boil over.
"Fix this, Zolotov," the investors’ words echo in my head. I will fix this, all right—for the family, for our legacy. No matter what it takes.
Chapter 2 - Robin
I wipe down the greasy counter, my tired muscles screaming for a break. Another day slinging burgers at McDonald’s. My feet ache from standing all day, and my head pounds from the constant noise of customers yelling orders.
"Order up," I call out, sliding the tray of food across the counter to the next customer in line. Their faces blur together with the dozens of others I've served today. The clock on the wall seems to be moving at a snail's pace as I count down the minutes until my shift is over.
"Robin!" my manager shouts from the front counter. "You've got a phone call!"
"Can you take a message?" I ask, not wanting to abandon my post during the post-work rush.
“Are you crazy? First, I’ve told you to stop giving out this number to your friends. Now, you think I’m your personal assistant?”
“Sorry,” I mumble, reluctantly wiping my hands on my apron before walking over to the phone. There’s no point explaining to my manager that I don’t hand out this number to my ‘friends’, and most of the calls are from my ten-year-old brother, Adam. It’s mostly just him and me in this world, and I wish I could be with him the entire day, take care of him, and make him lunch when he comes back from school.
I pick up the receiver, praying Adam is okay. "Hello?"
"Robin, it's Uncle Craig," comes the gruff voice on the other end of the line. "I need you to meet me right now."
“Is Adam okay?” I ask instantly, my thoughts running in all the wrong directions.
“Fuck Adam. I need you,” Uncle Craig announces.
"Right now? But I'm at work," I protest, glancing around nervously as the line of customers continues to grow.
“I won’t say it again. You hear me, you ungrateful brat? I said you need to come meet me. Right this instant.” It’s clear he’s upset, and his tone sends shivers down my spine. I know this can't be good news. I don’t respond, trembling at my knees.
"Leave now. This is important," he snaps without waiting for my response. My heart races, and I wonder what could possibly be so urgent that he'd demand that I abandon my job in the middle of a shift. My mind races through the various possibilities, each more worrisome than the last.
"Okay, okay. I'll be right there," I agree, trying to keep my voice steady as the panic begins to rise within me.
"Good. Meet me at the usual spot," he says before hanging up abruptly.
I set down the receiver and take a deep breath, attempting to calm my racing heart. I glance over at my manager, who's busy overseeing the chaos of the early evening rush. "I have to go," I blurt out.
“No can do,” he barely looks at me.
“Please, Dave. It’s a family emergency.”
“You think I care? Ask someone else to cover it.”
“You know there’s no one else. My uncle needs me, and my brother is ten. Adam can’t cover it.”
“There’s always something with this uncle of yours, isn’t there?” Dave grumbles. I hang my head in shame. I’ve tried to keep my family affairs from my workplaces, but my uncle is always so entitled and demanding, and somehow manages to always get himself in trouble one way or another. We live with him, Adam and I. And he reminds us of that ‘roof over our heads’at every opportunity. So when he calls, I run, afraid that if I don’t, Adam and I might find ourselves homeless.
“Dave. I really need to go.”
“I said no.”
