‘What’s going on? Who are they?’ Evie asked when Nicole came to her side. She didn’t look too happy.
‘They’re sniffing around to check the place out. They already visited last week, so I don’t know why they’re back.’
‘Where are they from?’
Nicole shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but I sure as hell am going to find out.’
Evie watched as Nicole went over, hands on hips, blue and white checked tea towel swinging from one hand. The men looked startled and Evie let a giggle escape. Nicole could be quite intimidating when she was determined to get to the bottom of something.
‘What’s wrong?’ Evie asked the second Nicole walked back over to her.
‘There’s someone very interested in this building.’ She shook her head, looked to the floor, and if Evie wasn’t mistaken her eyes filled with tears.
‘Who?’
‘The Diamond Touch.’
Evie’s face fell.
‘The Churchills are interested in taking over the lease, buying it. I don’t know the ins and outs, those men wouldn’t tell me much. All I know is that because of Kent Churchill, all these people who trust us and stay safe when they are under this roof will have something else snatched away from them.’
Evie stood, stunned until a ruckus dragged her attention away. But it was only Jenny, one of the regulars, falling through the door into one of the men in suits. She’d given him quite a fright by the looks of things, and Evie would have laughed in different circumstances. ‘Can’t you talk to Kent?’ she asked. ‘He might listen to you.’
Nicole hooked an eyebrow suggesting he would do nothing of the sort. She sighed. ‘Oh, I guess if it wasn’t him then it’d be someone else.’
‘You sound like you’re giving up.’
Nicole leant against the kitchen counter. Evie had never seen her so deflated. ‘I’m tired of fighting, Evie. I’m tired of fighting anything. Life shouldn’t be this hard.’
Evie wanted to probe. There was more to this than the loss of a building. The Nicole she knew would be talking about where to open up next, the petition they could do, how she’d tackle the Churchills. But that Nicole wasn’t here now and defeat had crept in.
‘Those Churchills have a lot to bloody well answer for.’ Evie grabbed her coat from the cupboard, apologising as she sent a cup of tea flying from a table. She stooped down to pick it up, mopped it up with a piece of paper towel, and stormed out.
‘Evie, where are you going?’ Nicole called after her.
Evie spun around at the doorway. ‘They think they can mess with people’s lives and they don’t give a shit about anyone other than themselves.’ She’d thought she’d seen a glimmer of humanity in Jack last night, but this was his business too and you could bet he’d be in on it, ready to make a quick buck or thousand, or million even. He was as bad as his father. ‘I won’t let them do this to us.’
And with that, she stormed out.
*
She’d been right. Jack’s condo building was nothing short of magnificent. Evie couldn’t even fathom what it would be like to come home to this, with its limestone-clad lobby and views that would look out over neighbouring rooftops and the Empire State building.
Jack had told her the street address, but standing in front of the building now, looking in through the glass doors at the lobby, she had no idea what the next step was. These places were secure, the tenants paid for it, so she wouldn’t be able to march through the doors and up to his condo to have it out with him. She hovered near the entrance. It wasn’t as though she was huddled beneath a blanket now, she wasn’t a scruffy homeless person as she’d been once upon a time. She was clean, respectable, and dressed in a smart wool coat, with a healthy glow to her cheeks from the cold; she felt sure she could be mistaken as any one of these residents leaving or coming home to this building. She was wondering how she could use her respectability to her advantage and gain entry, when she turned at the voice behind her.
‘Evie, what brings you here?’ It was Jack, a ruby red scarf hanging around the collar of a black business coat completely dissimilar to the jacket he’d worn to Nicole’s the other night. It was as though there were two Jacks: the one who did business in Manhattan every day, powered by a suit and tie, and the other Jack who dressed in designer jeans hugging a pretty awesome runner’s body.
She crossed her arms, dismissing any complimentary thoughts. ‘I’ve come to see you, actually.’
‘Oh?’
‘We need to talk.’
He was clearly on his way out, but said, ‘Let’s go up to my condo. We can talk there.’
Evie took in her surroundings and was tempted by his offer, but she didn’t need to take the elevator to know it would be plush, or step into his apartment to know it would have top-of-the-range appliances and views to die for. It was all money to him, but some things were more important.
‘I’d rather not,’ she told him. ‘What I have to say won’t take long.’
