“I need to check the holding temperatures and the contents,” Cliff informed him.
“Get out of the man’s way, Dewey,” Dixie screeched from the front, where she shooed away would-be-diners.
With a grimace Hailey was pretty sure she wasn’t mistaking for a smile, Dewey shuffled a few steps and kept a watchful eye on them.
“Ground beef with an expiration date of yesterday,” Cliff called from the walk-in. He listed a few more expired items as he furiously jotted down notes. Hailey could have sworn he was enjoying himself.
Noah had disappeared, and there was no sign of Chance or his stuff, thank God. Hailey pictured Noah wearing grooves in the floor as he paced his office or his apartment. This restaurant waseverythingto him, and they had just shut him down. Her heart hurt for him. It hurt worse when she considered her part in it and the ways she might have staved it off.
So began the blame game and the what-ifs. If only she had come clean with him sooner; if only she had found a way to warn him about the surprise inspection.
But there hadn’t been time, nor could she have prevented the mice who’d taken up residence. Something about the rodents niggled at the back of her brain, though, and she tapped a quick note into her phone.
When the nightmare finally ended, Cliff had Hailey prepare a Department of Health sticker that announced to the world the Miners Tavern was closed until further notice. Worse, it listed the reasons for theclosure: presence of pests and unsafe food storage. Even after Noah cleared up the violations, the taint would linger for a long time.
Dixie stood like a sentinel beside the front doors as Cliff approached and pulled down a sad handmade sign she’d taped up that simply announced they were temporarily closed. Up went the official notice, and for the first time in Hailey’s career, the printed words gave her a harsh slap.
On her way out, she whispered to Dixie, “Please tell Noah I’m so very sorry.”
Dixie gave her a noncommittal nod but wouldn’t meet her eye. Hailey hurried after Cliff, her heart sitting like a cannonball in her chest and tears threatening to rim her eyes.
Noah raked his handsthrough his hair, unable to quell the emotions exploding inside him like a bomb. He was done. His restaurant was done. He wanted to hurl. The years of blood, sweat, and money circled the drain, along with people’s faith in him. Hell, they were alreadydownthe drain and headed to the ocean.
Hailey’s vague words about being a biologist looped in his head. She’d set him up! She had known this was coming the entire time, and she’d played along, stroking his ego, fooling him. Was every woman on the planet a backstabber? Or was he simply the lucky guy who attracted them?
“Fuck!”he yelled at the walls. A slew of curse words followed, bursting from him until his lungs were empty.
He dropped his ass onto the couch, propped his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. Cry or throw up? They were the only choices his body presented him.
The door creaked open, but he kept his head down. “Go. Away.”
“They, uh, they’s gone,” Dewey rasped.
Noah looked up at the man whose grimace seemed even more severe.
“The hoochie mama and her sidekick,” he explained, as if Noah didn’t know who he meant. Then he shuffled his feet. “I’m sorry I-I …”
Noah straightened. “You what?”
“I didn’t throw out the meat last night like you told me.”
Noah stared at him but had no words.
“They found it,” Dewey continued, his obvious guilt pressing his voice lower.
“Of course they did!” Noah thundered. “What did you expect? No rock is too small for these bloodsuckers to turn over.”
Dewey hung his weathered gray head.
Noah gusted out a sigh. “Sorry, Dewey. I’m not mad at you. I’m just … mad.” When the man didn’t respond, Noah pulled in another breath. “Dude, it’s not your fault. Besides, they wouldn’t have closed us down for food that’s a day old.”
Dewey looked up. “That’s right. They wouldn’t have, would they now? Thing is, I ain’t never seen a critter in that kitchen, other than the occasional fly in the summer. So how did all them mice get in, and why did they stay in the pantry? Them things scurry all over so they can tell the rest of their buddies where the eats is at. Don’t make no sense.”
“I don’t know, and I don’t have any brainpower left to figure it out.” Noah rose to his feet. “I’m gonna go spend some time trying to pull myself out of this shithole I got shoved into.”
“Anything I can do to help, boss?”
“Yeah. You can button this place up. I’m not planning to set foot in it for the rest of the day.” With that, Noah ambled out of the office, locked the door, and turned toward the entrance to his apartment.
