AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I flinched. “Ohh…I’d really rather not.”
The silence hanging heavily between us dragged on for so long I started to squirm. I flicked a sideways glance at my friend and hurriedly took a sip of wine before returning my gaze to the fire. There was a very determined look on Ally’s face. “Tell. Me.”
“I can’t.” I finished off the wine forcing it past the lump that was forming in my throat.
“Girl, why not?” Ally leaned over and poured more wine into my glass, gazing at me steadily.
“Because... Because I’m ashamed.” There. I’d said it. It was the first time I’d admitted it, even to myself.
“Oh honey, no!” The note of utter shock tinged with anger in Ally’s voice finally forced me to meet her eyes. She leaned so far forward in her chair she was close to falling off and her eyes were blazing. “You are my best friend and I love you. Nothing you do, orthinkyou did, will ever change that. Got it?”
“Got it,” I whispered, fighting back tears.
“Good. Now spill.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath. God, where to begin? “Greg isn’t who I thought he was.”
Ally snorted.
“Don’t do that, please. He took me for a sucker, and it’s embarrassing.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I stared at the fire for the longest time, memories falling tumultuously through my mind. “You remember when we had just finished culinary school?”
Ally rolled her eyes. “Of course. You had the job at the oyster bar lined up before we even completed the course.”
“I was on top of the world, you know. All my plans were going to work out. The future was bright. Well, you know how they had the open kitchen at the oyster bar?”
Ally nodded.
“I noticed Greg the second he came into the restaurant. Tall, dark and handsome, a walking cliché.” I couldn’t help the bitterness that laced my tone. “Well, I watched him all night. I was so excited when he had asked to meet the chef. He just swept me right off my feet.” I could almost cry for the starry-eyed girl I had been.
“I know all this, Zee. I was around for it,” Ally reminded me gently.
“Yeah, I know, I’m just trying to get it straight in my head, figure out how I could have been so dumb.”
“Oh, sweetie. Okay. Go on.”
“I just couldn’t wait to get away, you know? Get away from Mom. So when he suggested we move to New York I jumped at it. He said he’d work on Wall Street and I’d get a restaurant job. So we did that for a little while. And I was happy. So happy! I thought the long hours were totally worth it because we had a plan and we were working to make our dreams happen. Together. Well,Iwas working. He did no work at all. Not legitimate work, anyway.” My tone dripped with contempt, whether for Greg or for myself I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe a bit of both. “And then he had this great idea. We should open a restaurant! I was ecstatic, Ally. Not even twenty-five and all my dreams were being realized. So we opened The Hub, right in the heart of the East Village. I worked my ass off and I thought he was doing the same. It started taking off, it was successful. I couldn’t tell you the number of famous guests we had.”
“I remember. I was so proud of you.” Ally topped up both our glasses before leaning back in her chair.
I gave her a small, bitter smile. “Greg took care of all the finances, from finding the initial investors to managing the books for the restaurant. I didn’t give it a second thought. What would I know about dealing with investors? Tax? Capital expenditures? I just wanted to cook.”
“But that’s what I don’t understand. You were always so independent. I’ve never met anyone more capable than you at getting shit done. Why did you let him take over like that?”
I paused, considering. In hindsight, that was something I didn’t understand, either. “You know, I think when I met him, I was just so sick of being on my own, of always having to look after myself. I never met my father, and Mom wasn’t the most hands-on parent, you know? So I always had to look after myself. Until I met Greg. He was so much older than me, so worldly. God, maybe he was a father figure. He took care of everything, and I just chugged along, living my life. I’ll never forget the night I was in the kitchen sweating over a soufflé and there was all this noise out front. I ignored it, thinking Greg would handle it, but then one of the waiters burst into the kitchen, babbling that it was the police, arresting Greg! I ran out as fast as I could. They had him face down on a table, handcuffed. I shouted, told them to stop. There must be some mistake. ’No mistake, Ma’am, we’ve got enough evidence on this guy to send him to jail for decades.’And then they took him away and I just stood there, in the middle of the restaurant, everyone staring at me. God, it was awful.” I leaned my head on the back of the chair, closing my eyes, the memories washing over me.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ally breathed. “Can I ask what exactly he had done? You never said.”
“Money laundering, mostly. Insurance fraud. He had it all lined up when he met me, had it planned from the start. He wanted to make his fortune in the big city, knew that a restaurant would work well because of how much cash is involved. He was just looking for the necessary sucker, and he found it in me. I gave him legitimacy. People trusted me, and I worked so damn hard for him, for us, for my dreams.
“They took me in for questioning, but I knew nothing, and they’d been investigating both of us for such a long time they knew I was genuinely clueless. Still, they seized all our assets. Shut down our restaurant. I had nothing. Nothing to pay our suppliers, our staff, the bank. All those people that had put their faith in me... I let them down. So badly. I’d prided myself on sourcing locally, from family businesses, you know? I screwed them over royally. They lost thousands from doing business with me. Some of them might never recover.”
“I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I wish you’d told me. Maybe I could have helped you.”
“I didn’t want any help. I was embarrassed. I got myself into this mess, and I wanted to get myself out. All I can do now is fix this place up, sell it, pay the creditors, and move on.”
