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Now, that bottle shattered, loosing a flood of tears. Wiping angrily at her eyes, she tried to fight back the sobs, but found it impossible. Her vision blurred and fiery trails of tears stung her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” she sobbed.
It was over. Everything she’d hoped to accomplish had just vanished. Worse, Brock was going to hate her now.
“What happened to your restaurant?” he demanded.
“Yes. Tell us, Summer. Thing were going so well,” Grandma Abigail demanded coldly. “What went wrong? How was your partner able to steal from you?”
Trying to get hold of herself, Summer kept trying to wipe her tears away. It was useless. She was overflowing with salt water and snot. Someone—Brock—handed her a clean dishtowel, and she buried her face in it.
His hand landed on her shoulder, the warm weight anchoring her.
Why is he being so nice to me? I’ve just ruined everything for him!she thought, but she was still pathetically grateful for the comfort.
He and Grandma Abigail both waited in silence while Summer clawed at the scraps of her tattered self-control and gathered them back around herself.
When she could speak, she told them the same story she’d told Jenna about Greg Brandywine and his proposal that they open a restaurant together. He’d founded a successful software startup, he was rich, and he loved her food. She’d been ecstatic at his proposal to become partners, and she had eagerly invested her savings in the venture.
Then came the hard part. “Everything was great at first,” she continued. “The restaurant reviewer atThe San Francisco Chroniclegave SummerTime a glowing review, the foodies on Yelp loved us, and the restaurant had a long waiting list for tables every night of the week. I was so happy—I had a great staff and complete creative control over the menus.”
“So, what happened?” Brock rasped. His hand was still on his shoulder, and she felt tension vibrating through him like a live wire.
“Greg’s company went public in April and immediately tanked. I—I don’t know why or what happened. I was busy at the restaurant and didn’t really follow high tech news. Three weeks later, he embezzled all the money from the restaurant’s business account and disappeared, leaving me holding the bag for everything. He didn’t put his name on the title or mortgage, just the partnership agreement and our joint business account. I thought it was because he trusted me and he was being generous, ensuring that SummerTime was all mine…” She inhaled a shaking breath. “But it means I’m responsible for everything. I’ve been working to make it right. While the restaurant was doing well, I started saving up for a down payment on a home. Well, that’s gone now, and I’ve drained my retirement savings, too.”
“Your retirement savings?” asked Grandma Abigail, her tone heavy with condemnation. “Oh, Summer. Younevertouch your retirement!”
Summer shook her head. “I know the situation sounds terrible. But I can still turn things around! I mean, look at how well The Yummy Cowboy Diner is doing after just a few weeks. I’m going to do the same thing for SummerTime, too.”
“How? By finding more investors and lying to them?” Grandma Abigail asked harshly.
Summer recoiled. She felt as if Grandma had physically slapped her.
Grandma Abigail continued remorselessly. “If you lied to your own grandmother about being successful in SF, whatelsehave you been lying about, young lady?”
Summer’s head snapped up. “I’veneverlied to you. I just didn’t tell you everything that was happening. As far as the diner goes, well, I’ve done everything you asked for, haven’t I? The business has been profitable for the past month… not hugely, but we’re not losing money right now.”
Grandma Abigail’s gaze shifted to Brock. “Is that true?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Summer and I have been running the numbers every day after the diner closes. We’re in the black. Barely, but yeah.”
“And what about the expansion we discussed?” Grandma Abigail asked. “Will you still be able to add the extra seating capacity before the LVR begins operation?”
Summer shrank in on herself.The loan to buy the Cooperman building!she thought in despair.
“I don’t know,” Brock said. “Maybe after September.” He didn’t say the words out loud, but Summer heard them loud and clear.When The Yummy Cowboy Diner is all mine again.
Grandma Abigail sighed heavily. “I just don’t know what to do, Summer. I thought I could trust my flesh and blood to help me in my time of need. Now, I just don’t know what to do about this diner.”
The situation was getting worse by the minute.
How much of Grandma Abigail’s plans for the diner depended on Brock being able to qualify for a new mortgage on the Cooperman building? By keeping silent about her own financial difficulties, had Summer just tanked the deal and screwed him over?
“Grandma, please don’t punish Brock for my mistake,” she begged. “If you have to, you can keep the half of the diner you promised me. But please, honor your promise to clear the diner’s mortgage and Brock’s loans. He’s worked so hard—hedeservesthis!”
And he deserves it much more than me. Especially now that I’ve screwed up everything.
“I—I need time to think about everything I’ve learned today,” Grandma Abigail said sadly. She turned and left the kitchen.
