Page 25 of Make Her Mine

One: She was in love with Esme Bloom. Even though Esme drove her nuts and had hurt her badly, even though she’d long ago decided to put her future over her feelings, here she was.

Two: She was at the point of no return on the Fairchild Building purchase. She had to finish the deal and buy the building.

Three: Buying the building meant evicting all the existing tenants, because they were all either not profitable or dancing on a razor’s edge, and Nora wanted a fresh, profitable start.

Four: Since Esme Bloom was one of those tenants, how she felt about Esme was going to be moot as soon as she terminated Esme’s contract. Esme, very understandably, had been emotionally divided all through their affair, but this would absolutely drive her away from Nora for good.

Five: She wanted to find a space for Esme to go, so that there was a chance for Esme’s dream to live on. Nora was under no illusions that this would sway Esme back into her arms. She just wanted to do what she thought would be the right thing.

Nora picked at her cuticles. What would really be great, she thought wistfully, was a perfect solution. Like she’d find the perfect new home for the Lounge, one where it would thrive and Esme’s future would be secured. The conflict between them would be resolved as a result, and they could waltz off into the sunset together.

Ha. Nora snorted out loud, startling a squirrel on the trunk of the tree she was sitting under. She watched the fuzzy-tailed creature disappear up into the canopy and sighed. Even the wildlife didn’t want to be around her.

The fairytale sunset ending was so unlikely to happen… but as she thought about it, the more Nora wanted it. The more she desperately wanted to find the magical unicorn of a retail space that would be ideal for a café with a huge kitchen for Esme’s cranky genius chef, a wide central bar with space for any drink you could think of, a stage that could fit an entire band and a dance floor for half of LA to get down on.

Gears began to turn in her brain. Basically, what they needed was the Lounge, but… bigger. Right? Everything she’d been able to gather about the Lounge from her own observations and the data from the Fairchild file was that it was hugely popular, which was why it always at least broke even. It was just too small to be as profitable as its popularity indicated it should be.

Why hadn’t Esme ever expanded? There were four retail spaces on the ground floor, and only one other was taken up, the space across the way with the ailing accessories boutique. There should have been plenty of space for Esme to rent and expand into. Nora frowned. Esme wasn’t dumb, she would have known expansion would help her.

That meant that it had to be a Fairchild cockblock. How stupid of them! A larger, more profitable Indigo Lounge would have put more money into the Fairchilds’ pockets. But if Nora had learned anything about the three siblings over the last couple of months, it was that Alexandra was petty to the point of short-sightedness, and her brothers had licorice whips for spines.

What if… she tapped her chin and sank more deeply into thought. What if the Lounge could stay where it was, and she allowed it to expand? Without that roadblock, Esme and the Indigo Lounge could thrive. She wouldn’t have to move and worry that too much of her clientele wouldn’t follow her to the new location. The chef would get the kitchen of her gourmet dreams, actual full bands could come play shows and they’d have a backstage area to rest in, the increased action on the dance floor would be capable of triggering an earthquake. And Esme could have a nice big office, perfect for kissing and… and more than kissing. Nora blushed and shook her naughty thoughts away.

Esme’s dreams could live on, if she could expand the Lounge. Could the ideal solution really have been in front of Nora all along?

There was the matter of funding, of course. But… Nora stood up and began to head back towards her car. She had some ideas, they were coming in hand over fist, but she needed her phone immediately.

Because she was going to save the Indigo Lounge.

12

Esme had been putting this team meeting off for the last two months, but it was time. She sat on the landing of the mezzanine stairs, a clipboard clutched in her hands, and stared sadly down at her employees.

Natalie, the best barista Downtown LA had ever seen. Cam, an amazing pinch-hitter who could fill almost any position in the Lounge. Gina, Charlotte, Steph, and Nichole, some of the most loyal wait staff in the entire city. Kaylee and Regina the bartenders, true mistresses of their craft who created delicious magical elixirs. Claire, Sophie, and Rebecca, the kitchen staff that helped keep things ticking over in the back. Shawna and Mel, the bouncers that kept them all safe.

Gathered together at the bottom of the stairs, they were all watching her, apprehension in their eyes and worry creasing their brows. All with their livelihoods in her hands, a heavy responsibility to bear.

And then there was Sasha, still angry, arms crossed over her chest, still not speaking to Esme unless she had to. Esme couldn’t even meet her challenging gaze.

For efficiency’s sake, she’d also invited Ruby, Mia, and Harper to this meeting, even though they didn’t work for her. They were dear friends, and regulars, and they deserved to hear this news directly from her. Esme took a deep breath. “Thank you all for coming today. I know everyone usually has plans on Sundays, so I appreciate you rearranging things for me.”

The room seemed to be one enormous held breath. Esme’s hands wrapped even more tightly around the clipboard, which she was really only holding to have something to do with her hands. The edges bit into her fingers. She didn’t even know where to begin.

“Esme?” Ruby asked, softly, her brow furrowed with concern.

Just dive in. Esme sat up straighter. “There’s no easy way to say this. I know most of you know that the Fairchild Building is being purchased by a major corporate real estate firm. And that they want to evict us. We’ve all been working flat out the last few weeks to get more people in, we’ve held fundraisers, we’ve done all we can to increase our profitability.” When she looked down at her clipboard, she was surprised to see teardrops falling onto it. “It hasn’t been enough, and I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided to let the eviction happen.”

Gasps and cries of shock echoed through the Lounge, followed by an immediate and increasingly loud wave of murmurings. Esme watched them talk amongst themselves, keeping an especially close eye on Sasha as Ruby tugged at her arm. Sasha’s gaze was still locked onto Esme, still angry. Esme was fairly certain that Sasha wouldn’t have some sort of revealing outburst, but the intensity of the staring made her squirm.

She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention and went on. “Obviously, I don’t want to close down. You all know how important the Indigo Lounge is to me, and I know how important it is to you, too. I’ve been hoping a better solution to stay would present itself, but no luck so far. I don’t even know where to begin with relocating… or if I should.”

More mutters and mumblings filled the room. Harper waved to catch Esme’s attention. “You should have told us more, kept us updated,” she admonished. “You know Deb and I would have been willing to help you with an investment, financing.”

“That felt like too much to ask of you. If we were more financially healthy…” Esme brushed her hair back from her face and breathed in deep. “We’ve been on the razor’s edge for years. Honestly, this is all my fault. I knew we needed to expand, and I should have moved us years ago when it became clear the Fairchilds weren’t going to let me rent the space next door and expand into it.”

Mia had been holding Harper’s hand, but she let go and pushed her way forward to climb the stairs and sit next to Esme. She wrapped a warm arm around Esme’s shoulders. “Profitability doesn’t matter, mija, we would have helped… but I understand. And I know it couldn’t have been easy to even think about leaving here.” She looked around the room, and Esme lifted her head to follow her gaze, knowing they were both seeing the ghosts of performers and guests past leaning against railings and sitting at the bar. “All these memories. Half your life, sí? No, no one can blame you for that.”

Esme smiled ruefully. “Well, you can blame me for getting involved with Nora Hartley.”

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