Page 15 of Archer
“Ron.” I massaged the back of my neck. “You don’t have anything to give…”
The pang in my heart was more than I expected as I saw his will to fight drained from him. His bottom lip trembled, and I was about to leave before I had to experience any more pain for the man, but then his eyes lit up. “I’ll make you a business partner.”
My forehead crinkled. “Huh?”
“Yes,” he said. “I have nothing to give, but I’m always making money. I’ll give you five percent of our bakery’s total profits a month.”
Now he was speaking my language. “Every month?”
“Yes. Forever. I’ll make it official, sign the documents and everything as soon as we are out of this mess,” he said. “Please.”
Pulling my lips to the side, I pondered the offer. Having an extra—legal—income indefinitely for putting up with his brat of a daughter seemed like too good of a deal to be true. It would be hell, but I could finally get that vintage piece of artwork that would match the motorcycle portrait hanging on the wall. I’d been eyeing it up for weeks without being able to justify the expense. Running my hand through my hair, I shook my head and said, “Fuck.” Paused. Then added, “Fine. But once you get her back, you should try teaching her a thing or two about manners.”
“I’m sorry, this behavior is unlike her,” he said. “She’s so frightened.”
“Yeah, about that,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell her about me? That I’m in a club, myself?”
He looked taken aback that I’d even ask him that. “Well, I didn’t want to scare her, of course.”
“Well, she found out.” I couldn’t conceal the bitterness on my tongue. “She probably would have appreciated being a little prepared…”
As if he didn’t even hear me, he asked, “Will you tell her I said everything’s going to be okay? And that I love her?”
“Umm, sure,” I said. “Is… everything going to be okay, though?”
A dark look crossed over his face and I could tell he had no idea.
“I need to get back to it,” he said, motioning to his office. “Take care of her, okay?”
Nodding, I watched him disappear into the back then went to my bike to go back home to my new roommate.
When I opened the door, the living area was quiet and empty, unlike the night before. Dropping my keys on the breakfast island, making a loud jingle that cut through the silence. “Rose?”
No answer.
Peering down the hallway, I noticed the note I left for her was gone and I felt relieved. At least she was eating. Slowly, I walked down to her bedroom door and tapped my knuckles. “Rose?”
Still no answer.
“All right, well. I just wanted to let you know that I saw your dad today.” Through the door, I heard the faint rustling of bed sheets. “He wanted me to tell you that… that everything’s going to be okay. And that he loves you.”
Silence.
Breathing out with defeat, I continued down the hallways to my bedroom. When my hand touched the doorknob, I heard a gentle “Thank you,” from Rose. A small, gentle smile tugged at my lips as I closed my door behind me.
Chapter Eight
Rose
Five days had passed since I said the harshest words that had ever come from my mouth. All of them directed toward Archer. As usual, I awaited to hear the front door click before venturing out into the kitchen.
It wasn’t that I didn’t mean what I said… nothing I told him was a lie. That only made it worse, though. They were thoughts that should have remained in my mind. No one deserved to hear such awful things about their character, even if I didn’t like them. I put a slice of my father’s bread in the toaster and pulled out some blueberry jelly. I’d never had blueberry jelly before Archer’s, but it was quickly becoming one of my favorite enjoyments since arriving there.
As I spread the blue jam over the toasted sourdough, I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that my father had been in touch with Archer and was doing fine. After the cruel insults I threw at him, he didn’t need to say anything at all.
A knock came from the door, and I ripped my eyes from the toast, paralyzed with fear. There were another three quick taps, and I dropped the toast to the plate, crouching to hide behind the breakfast island.What if it’s them?My eyes darted through the kitchen, looking for a weapon and hiding spot, when I heard a woman’s voice call, “Hello? Archer?”
Releasing the breath I was holding, I rolled my eyes. Obviously, it was some woman he slept with acting clingy.
