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Chapter 24
Two days after they drove Harper to her friend’s house, Julia stood in the kitchen of Madeline’s, watching the servers, cooks and bussers trying the daily special. Several of them gave her a thumbs up. Dustin, one of the new servers she’d promoted from busser, said, “This is amazing! Best yet, Ms. Stewart.”
“Thanks, Dustin,” she said with a smile. Then she looked around the table. “Here’s what’s in it,” she said, watching as the servers pulled out their notebooks. She dictated the ingredients so her servers would be able to describe the chicken dish. And recommend it as they’d all tasted it.
As she pushed through the door into the restaurant seating area, her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she clenched her jaw when she saw who the caller was.
“What?” Nico said quietly from beside her. “What’s wrong?”
“Carole’s calling me. I hope she doesn’t expect me to bail her out.”
“Are you going to answer it?” he asked.
Julia took a deep breath and nodded. Pressing the call icon, she said, “Hi, Carole.”
“Ms. Stewart, I need to see you. Talk to you.”
Julia sighed. “Sorry, Carole, but that’s not happening. We have nothing to talk about, other than the money you owe me.”
“This is important,” Carole insisted. “There are things you need to know.”
“Need to know about what?” Julia asked, goosebumps rising on her arms.
“I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. Will you talk to me if I come into the restaurant tonight?”
“Tonight? Are you out of jail?” Julia asked, surprised.
“One of the guards told me an attorney is posting my bail. I should be out of here this evening. You’re the second call I made after talking to Harper.”
“Who’s the attorney working for?” she asked, her voice a little too sharp.
“Don’t know and don’t care. I just want out of here.”
Goosebumps rose on Julia’s arms. “Maybe you should think about who would post your bail,” she said quietly. “And why.”
Carole hesitated, then said, “I have. Harper and I will be going away for a while after I get out of here.” Her voice wavered, and Julia heard fear in the shaky words. “But I need to talk to you before we leave. It’s important.”
Julia wanted to say no. But the waver in Carole’s voice and the urgency that thrummed through the former hostess’s words made her hesitate. And Nico would be here, so she wouldn’t be alone. “All right. Fine,” she said, feeling like a pushover. “Come tonight after ten-thirty when everyone will be gone. I imagine it wouldn’t be comfortable for you to see your former co-workers.”
There was a silence. Then Carole said, “No, it wouldn’t. I’ll see you at ten-thirty.”
“Are you bringing Harper?” Julia asked sharply. She didn’t want the girl to hear what her mother might say, but after Nico had seen Dawson go into the building, the girl shouldn’t be alone in their apartment.
“No. Harper’s staying at Kendall’s until… until after I talk to you.”
“All right,” Julia said. “I’ll see you at ten-thirty.”’
“I’ll be there,” Carole promised.
Julia clicked off the phone, then shoved through the door into the kitchen. Headed to her office to gather her composure.
A handful of seconds later, she heard the kitchen door open again. Without looking over her shoulder, she knew it was Nico. Knew he’d follow her to her office. The line chefs and pizza makers wouldn’t think it was unusual for a busser to seek out the boss. Everyone knew they could come to Julia if they had a question or a problem.
In seconds, he was directly behind her. As she stepped into her office, he followed her and asked quietly, “Everything okay?”
Julia looked out the glass and saw no one else was close. “Carole is coming here tonight. After we close,” she told Nico. “Someone’s posting bail for her and she said she’d be out around five. She wants to talk to me. Said it was important. That there were things I needed to know. I told her we were done, but she was very insistent. So she’s coming by at ten-thirty to talk.”
“You want me there, or out of sight?” Nico asked.
