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“No. They actually didn’t say anything. They walked by me and went straight up to your office. They ignored me when I tried to stop them. John tried to get them to come out of your office. But even he was freaked out by them.” She looked guilty, but if the men were who she thought they were it was probably better they hadn’t pushed. “So we figured we’d wait for you to get here.”
“All right. You did the right thing. I’ll handle it.”
“Do you know them?”
“I think so, unfortunately. They’re people Eric knows.” Jade didn’t want to air all of her dirty laundry, but the woman deserved at least a partial explanation.
Christina’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, God. What has he done now?” The tone in her voice said Eric had lost more than only her respect.
“I don’t know, but they shouldn’t be here. I bought the business off of Eric yesterday so his problems aren’t mine anymore.”
“That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you. And honestly glad to not have to listen to him anymore. Okay, good luck with them.” Christina gave her a hug.
Dealing with the men up in her office would probably take some time. Her class was supposed to start in ten minutes.
“Is there anyone free right now who might be able to teach the beginner tumbling class?”
“Yeah. Linda is training on the wall right now, but I’m sure she’d be willing to pick up an extra shift. She’s been saving for that vacation to Thailand.”
“All right, do me a favor and see if she’ll cover my class for me. I’m gonna deal with the guys upstairs.”
“Will do.” Her employee gave an uneasy glance in the direction of Jade’s office. “Good luck.”
Her fears were realized when she opened her office door. Andrey Petrov sat behind her desk as if it was his office instead of hers. Two new goons stood against the walls, somehow managing to loom even though there was no one else in the room.
Why would he show up with more muscle when their dealings were done?
“Mr. Petrov, what are you doing here?”
He glanced up at her from her chair, a smug smile on his face. He stood and spread his arms wide. “Ah, my lovely Jade. It is good to see you.”
Razors of ice skittered across her nerves. This jovial act was disturbing. “I didn’t think to ever see you again.”
“Yes, well. We have unfinished business. I’m here to collect the rest of my money.”
Jade jerked back. “What do you mean? Your man collected your money yesterday. I watched him take the check.”
“Yes, he did. But Eric owed us $107,000, and the check was only $50,000. Which means you still owe me $57,000 dollars.”
Jade's knees buckled, but she caught herself before falling. How could Eric have owed these people so much money? Fear trembled through her, but she clenched her fists and found her courage.
“Well, that sounds like you have a problem with Eric. Not me. I gave him all the money I owed him from the business. If that wasn’t enough to cover the debt. You need to bring that up with him.”
The Russian man made a tsking sound that grated on her nerves. “You are mistaken. We sat here in this office and you promised me I would get my money. As I see it, his debt is now yours.”
“That’s ridiculous. It took everything I had to buy him out of the business. There isn’t any more money.”
Her thoughts scrambled for ideas as the man walked around her desk and approached her. Even if she was willing to give this man his money, she couldn’t. Even if she got approved for the expansion loan, it would be weeks before she would have access to the funds.
If she used that money to pay this guy back, then it would put her plans back years. That was if she didn’t go out of business in the meantime. Paying the loan back and the business expenses without the increased income from the planned upgrades would be near impossible.
How could Eric not have warned her that this was the situation? Why has he only been asking her for $10,000? She grabbed desperately at any possible solution.
“I thought he only owed you $10,000.”
“No. That was the amount of his weekly payments. He was several weeks behind. I’ll be kind and offer you the same terms if you can’t pay for everything immediately. But I would need the first installment today plus ten more installments.”
“That’s ridiculous. You said he only owed you $57,000 more.” She didn’t understand why she was arguing about this. It wasn’t her debt.
