Page 77 of Waitress at the Shadow Ridge Inn
“Oh, honey, believe me, this town has seen far worse than that. Sit down.” She called out, “CJ, bring Casey a drink.” She turned back to me. “What do you want?”
“Iced tea,” I said, sliding into the seat across from her.
“Are you sure you don’t want something stronger?” she asked, looking at me doubtfully. “I’d say you’ve earned it.”
“I’m sure. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me.”
The corners of her mouth turned downward. “You’re still planning on leaving?”
“Yes.”
Her frown deepened. I felt a lecture coming on and hurried to stop it before it got started.
“Working on the accounts?” I asked, glancing at the table.
“Yes,” she said on an exhale. “It’s hopeless.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
I expected a protest. Usually, Rose was closemouthed about the financial details of running the inn, preferring to stick with generalities. She surprised me by waving her hand over the disarray. I didn’t know if it was because I was leaving or because the situation was so dire that it didn’t matter.
A few minutes later, I had my answer. It wasn’t because I was leaving.
“These accounts are a hot mess, Rose,” I said.
She snorted. “Is that your professional opinion?”
“As a matter of fact, it is. I’m a CPA.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding me.”
“No. In fact, my last job was analyzing recently acquired failing businesses and creating plans to make them profitable again.”
She blinked. “And you were working as a waitress?”
I nodded. “I was keeping a low profile. As a rule, CPAs don’t get paid under the table.”And make a hell of a lot more than five dollars an hour, I silently amended.
“CPAs don’t get …” she echoed, then shook her head. “Honey, if you can find a way out of this, I’ll pay you any way you want.”
“When is the bus due to arrive?”
She checked her smartwatch. “In about twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes. Rose would be busy schmoozing them for about two hours, give or take.
I had time. My Jeep was packed, and I wasn’t in a hurry to put Shadow Ridge in the rearview. It hadn’t even been eight hours, and I was already missing Steve. I wasn’t looking forward to a week of sleeping without his arms around me. Or waking up alone instead of spooned against his hard, aroused male body. Mostly, I was going to miss just being with him. I felt calmer, more in control when I was with Steve, and this week was going to be rough emotionally.
“Can I use your office?”
“Don’t you have to leave?”
I shrugged. “I should probably eat something first.”
“Of course,” she said, her grin widening. “I’ll ask Lou to bring you a plate from the buffet.”
“That would be great, thanks.”
Two hours later, I sat back and exhaled. Saying the books were a hot mess didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. They were a resounding confirmation that while Rose and John were good people, they didn’t know the first thing about running a small business. The only reason they’d lasted as long as they had was because they had mortgaged everything to the hilt and had been borrowing against their retirement funds for the past couple of years. If they lost the inn, they’d loseeverything.
