Page 22 of Cider
The door opened. I glanced up to say that we were still closed when my mouth snapped back.
Samuel walked in. He looked like he’d bathed in oil with his hair smoothed down. He ran his fingers along one of the tables.
He’d been slinking around the rink lately while construction continued on his store.
“Hello, Cider.” He glanced at his fingers before rubbing them on his shirt. “I hoped you would have a few minutes to discuss a proposal.”
I tried not to wince at the slimy feeling he gave off. I was glad I was behind the counter.
“I’m sorry?” My lips pressed together as he got closer.
“Well, we’re expanding our menu to reflect the rink. I’ve noticed your shop is fairly popular.” His compliment sounded like an insult.
“Thanks?” My fingers grew claws and I had to hide them under the counter.
“How would you feel about sharing your recipes with us? They’ll be featured nationwide with your brand.” He stood on the other side of the counter. He withdrew papers from his inner coat and placed it in front of me. “This would be your contract. You’d only have to close this shop and work exclusively with Darcorp, creating more of these delicious concoctions.”
This guy had balls. Breathing in deeply, I forced my claws back.
“The offer is appreciated.” No, it wasn’t. “I’ll have to decline.” I pushed the paper back to him.
Samuel took a step back without picking up the paper. “I was curious. Have you happened to hear about my car?”
I blinked innocently. “No. What happened?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Someone thought it would be funny to prank me.” He shook his head. “Think about it for a few days.” He backed himself to the door. “It might be your only option soon.”
With that ominous statement, he left. I blinked, confused for a few moments. I picked up the paper and noticed a sticky note in the middle.
It read:Sign soon. Supplies and stock will be missing for a long while.
My curses filled the room. I grabbed the phone and dialed Triple E.
“Triple—“
I interrupted. “This weasel just basically admitted to buying up all the stock and left me a note about it! He wants me to sign over my recipes.”
Glancing over the paper that held his offer, I grunted in annoyance. The offer was insulting, too. It would barely cover the loan I had to take out to get the shop started.
“Wait. He actually came into your store and offered to buy you out?” Lys sounded like someone had punched her in the gut.
“Oh, not even that. Just to buy my recipes. I’d have to shut down my store if I accepted. Which I am not going to accept. It’s a disgusting offer. Plus, the whole note about the missing stock!” I started to pace behind the counter. “We have to stop this guy and Darcorp. It’s not just going to be my place they go after.”
“I’m going to talk to Titus. See if he has any ideas on what we can do. In the meantime, everyone’s going to need stock soon. I think Titus might be able to help with that, too. He uses a separate supplier for his lodge than we use in town.”
I stopped in mid step. “He does? Lodge?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” I could practically see the knowing grin she had to have. “He owns Sanguis Vinum.”
Shit. Sanguis Vinum was a fancy resort for supernaturals that wanted to get away from humans. It was pricey. I’d wanted to go there for years to run through the woods without fear of running into a human.
And one of my mates owned it. Would it be bad to drop hints at him that I wanted to go away with him for a weekend there? It would. Right?
“Cider?” Lys brought my attention back to the phone call. “You alright there?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking.”
There was the sound of scuffling before Quinten’s voice came on the line.
