Page 32 of Pining for You

As the chatter floated around me, I watched Chloe work her way through the backyard, laughing with a group of people, touching a hand or a shoulder, or giving a hug to an older lady.

I found my attention drawn away from her when Malcolm shoved my shoulder. “You weren’t listening to a word I said, were you, doofus?”

“You were talking about hockey. It’s boring. Talk about trees, and I’ll talk your ear off,” I countered as someone called to Malcolm and he wandered away.

“Philistine!” Nick snorted, picking up on the conversation. “Do you even watch hockey, big guy?”

“Sure. That’s the game where they throw a big rock down the rink, right?” I didn’t like the game, mainly because I was a crap skater, but my parents had thought it necessary for my upbringing to learn how to work as a team by enrolling me in hockey in the winter and soccer in the summer. I didn’t mention I preferred bowling over hockey. Why open myself up to more ribbing?

“Hey,” Josh added, hooking a thumb in my direction, “Brad here was our high school’s champion wrestler. He’d have you on the ground and flattened in a count of ten.”

“Colour me warned,” Nick said, raising his beer bottle to me in a salute. He glanced over his shoulder when Malcolm called to him, gave his apologies and left me alone with Josh. Who led me away from the crowd, to the back porch by the kitchen.

“Have you heard back from the bank about your loan?”

I nodded in answer, swallowing hard to utter, “Yup. They said no.”

“Shit. Sorry, man. Did they say why?”

“Something about the valuation being off. They’re also not happy with the cash I have on hand.” There’d been other stuff, too, but my brain hadn’t processed all yet. “Maybe it was because I need more collateral? Or if I sold my truck and bought something cheaper, they’d reconsider?” It wasn't as if my truck was worth all that much in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps I'd misunderstood that part.

“Did they give you a number they figured you’d need?”

I rhymed off the amount the loan officer had mentioned in our conversation.

Josh whistled softly. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“You got any rich relatives you can hit up?”

I nearly spat the beer I’d just taken a swig of, managing to turn my head so it wouldn’t spray Josh. “Yeah, no. We’re the rich ones in the family according to my uncle. While my parents have paid off their mortgage, I’m not about to ask them to go into debt for me, thank you very much.”

He swiped one arm with the other, guess I’d hit him after all. “Most business plans take a lot longer to put together and while Ellie’s a miracle worker, maybe you need to do some more research. Write up a new proposal and try again.”

I grimaced. “Business proposals aren’t my strong suit. That’s why I hired Ellie to write one for me.”

He shrugged. “She’s good at what she does. Maybe there’s something wrong with the business on John’s end that you don’t know about? Maybe the client list hasn’t been cleaned in a while, or they fudged the numbers somehow?”

“Could be. I don’t know. I have no idea how I’d find out.” I blew out a breath and leaned against the railing that creaked in protest of my weight. While I'd never thought of John as a dishonest person, I could easily see him not telling me things he didn't want me to know. “The other company is just buying PRP for the equipment. They figure they can service the area with the crews they have on hand, and plan on laying off all our teams.”

“Did John know that when they made the offer?”

“Yup. That’s why he gave me first chance at buying him out.” And now I’d failed, not just myself, but the teams too.

Josh sipped his wine and stared across the lawn before saying, “You could always try a different bank. There’s more than one in town.”

“Maybe.” I doubted any other reputable financial firm would be any different. Unless I was willing to pay mob rates. “I guess I’ve gotta face facts. I climb trees for a living. I don’t know shit about hiring people or keeping them happy. I don’t know how to find customers or any of the front-office stuff Molly looks after. Hell, one of our newbies mouthed off in front of a client the other day and John fired him instead of me. It should have been my responsibility.”

“So you’d find yourself an office manager who knows that side of the business.”

“That’s not going to happen if I can’t afford to buy John out.” I finished my beer and glanced around to find Chloe. Who wasn’t in the back yard. “Hey, you seen Chloe anywhere?”

Josh shook his head. “Ask Ellie. Maybe she knows. They were laughing about something earlier.”

I asked Ellie who said Chloe had wandered off a while ago, but maybe she’d gone to the bathroom? I checked the main floor bathroom in Ellie’s place first. Checked the rest of the house too. No Chloe. I dashed up the stairs to my apartment. No Chloe. I paused. Not only was Chloe not here, but neither was her purse where she’d left it. Had she left without telling me? Why?

CHLOE

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