Page 21 of Muted

Chester/Susu

Chester

“Cliff, have you talked to our supplier to confirm this week’s delivery?” I ask my partner sitting behind me at his desk while I page through the order form.Why the hell is this so expensive?

The past four days have been incredible for revenue now that Susu is partnering Vance, but we’restilllosing fucking money. I didn’t expect to make it up after just one weekend, but it’s like we’re only digging ourselves deeper.

His voice comes out distracted when he says, “Yup.”

I frown as I look at the numbers, then pull up some of our older ones and notice they were significantly cheaper, even from just last year. “Why the hell are we paying more every month? Doesn’t it seem like the prices just keep going up?” I’m not sure if I’m asking Cliff or myself, but he answers me anyway.

“You know how shit is now. Prices are going up everywhere, so it’s only a matter of time before it filters down to us. Listen, can I ask you something?”

I’m clicking through each month’s order form, noticing that the prices have been inching up gradually, which I hadn’t really noticed until I look at it with a large gap of time between them. “Sure,” I mumble.

I’m distracted and don’t process what he said. Spinning in my chair, I set the papers down to give him my full attention. “Sorry, I was distracted. What did you want to ask?”

I know it’s irritating when I do that, because I do ita lot, but he simply sighs and repeats himself. “I wanted to talk to you about taking out a personal loan against the business. I’m trying to get into a condo, and they need my debt-to-income ratio lower before they’ll approve it.”

“Dude, didn’t you just buy a new place last year?” He’s already paying back a loan to Sonority forthatpurchase. Which reminds me, I don’t think he’s made any payments for a few months.Jesus, I need to get a handle on this shit.

I go to spin back to check on my computer, but he stops me. “Yeah, I did. But this place is a really good deal, and I was sort of thinking I wanted to get into real estate on the side.”

Tilting my head sideways, I purse my lips. “Since when have you ever been interested in that? Where’s the condo?”

The way he waves me off irritates me. “East side of town. That’s beside the point. It’s not as big a loan as last time, and I’ll just double my payments to pay it off faster.”

“Cliff,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. I hate being difficult because we both own this place 50/50, but he’s not being logical. “We justcan’tdo that right now. We’re drowning here. Money is pouring out the door and I still haven’t figured out a way to stop the flow.”

I know he’s gearing up for a fight when he grinds his jaw; the muscles popping. “I’m not sure I reallyhaveto be asking permission. I was being courteous because we’re in this together, but what the fuck is the point of owning a business if we can’t reap any of the benefits?”

“It’s not that you can’t reap the benefits, but it’s bad business to pull money out when we’re already in the red. How much are you trying to borrow?” I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. There was no issue when he took a loan last time. Our numbers were phenomenal, but now? We need to start looking at cutting costs across the board.

“Twenty-five thousand,” he says without shame.

My eyes literally bulge. “Cliff!You just told me it was less than last time! That’s more than double!”

“Nooo…” he drawls out as if I’m stupid. “My last loan was forty.”

I jerk my head back, shocked because I very vividly remember him borrowing ten thousand to buy his house. Narrowing my eyes, I bite out, “The loan was for ten, Clifford Ford. Are you telling me you took fortythousanddollars? Is that what you’re saying?”

The audacity of this fucker is destroying everything I’ve ever known about my ‘friend’ since college. There is no embarrassment, no shame, nocareover the fact that he went ahead and took that kind of money from our business.

How the hell did I not see this? Wait… I didn’t see this.

I open my mouth to confront him about never seeing the withdrawal in our records, but a soft knock at the door has me snapping my mouth shut. Pointing at Cliff, I whisper, “We’re not done talking about this. And we can’t afford another loan. Sorry if that puts you out, but you’ll have to find it elsewhere.”

No wonder his debt-to-income is high, a forty-thousand-dollar loan on top of a mortgage, car payment, and a spiraling business. Shaking my head, I ignore him when he sputters to call out, “Come in!”

The door squeaks open and in walks Susu, holding the ledger to her chest. I’m sure she can sense the tension in our small space as her gaze bounces between the two of us.

I know I’m being abrupt, but I’m so furious with my partner, I can’t contain it. “All done?” I snap, holding out my hand for the book.

She swallows and quickly hands off her work before spinning around to leave. I notice she’s got her bag and an umbrella, so I ask, “Are you leaving now?”

Her steps falter, and she stops in the doorway. The lights from the bar room illuminate her hair and it lights it up like a fucking halo as she looks back over her shoulder.

With a straightened spine, she nods once and holds up a laminated orange paper. Narrowing my eyes, it takes me only a few seconds to realize what she’s holding. “Is that a bus pass?”

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