Page 28 of Of Literature and Lattes
She also noted that Lexi’s hair was dark again, back to her natural auburn. The last time she saw her friend, when she’d come for a Napa wine-tasting weekend the year before, she’d just added blonde highlights. They were now gone, and the dark suited her complexion better. “You look fantastic, by the way.”
“I wish I could say the same for you.” Lexi delivered the line deadpan, then leaned back, pulling her hand from Alyssa’s, and crossed her arms.
Alyssa recalled giving the same reply regarding the highlights. “Touché.” She grinned. “Remind me again why we’re friends?”
This time it was Lexi who reached across the table and seized her friend’s hand. “It’s going to work out. Come crash with us. Our new place is in those townhomes they just built near the lake, and I just decorated the spare bedroom. You’ll love it.”
“Yes... I’m sure your husband would love me lurking around your place every morning.”
“He would,” she protested.
“Liam’s fantastic, but I can’t. I’m broke, Lex.”
“We wouldn’t charge you rent.”
“You don’t understand. I’m broke to the point I can’t pay for groceries, gas, anything... My lawyer promised his firm wouldn’t charge interest on my outstanding fees because I’m running a debt there too. Do you see what I’m wearing? Remember this?” Alyssa grabbed a fistful of her bright cotton skirt, then continued before Lexi could comment. “My checking account has $124 in it, my credit cards are maxed out, my savings are gone, and my car died yesterday. In fact, I gotta get going soon. My shift at Jasper’s Garage begins at noon.”
“You’re kidding.” At Alyssa’s expression, she shook her head. “You’re not kidding.”
“I’ve got to pay for the repairs somehow. I need a car, Lex.”
“But your parents—”
Alyssa pulled her hand away. “No way. Don’t even go there.”
“I’m sorry... I didn’t know, about any of it.”
“Because I couldn’t tell you,” Alyssa whispered as the full-pressured throb that always preceded tears filled her head. It was an all-too-familiar feeling, and she gave it her standard answer: she widened her eyes and set her jaw. As usual, the pressure dissipated.
Lexi leaned back in her chair. “Okay then... I’ve got a job for you too. And I’ll pay you.”
“I can wait tables? Jasper’s closes at six; I can shower and be to you by six thirty. I’ll work every night you’ll let me.” Alyssa reached for her bag and shook a couple Tums from her bottle.
Lexi raised a brow but didn’t comment. She’d commented enough on those during that same Napa visit.
“I need you for something else, if that’s okay, but if you’re desperate we can talk tables later too. This’ll be more money, though...” She leaned forward again. “As of last month’s payment, Liam and I own 51 percent of Mirabella. The restaurant is killing it, Lys, and now we want to look at how the VC guys have run things. When they bought the place to flip, they set up their own PR, accounting, and suppliers, and while we’ve taken over the suppliers, they still manage the other stuff. But the spending has bothered me for a while. I don’t see any good coming from it. In fact, I think we could throw dollars out an open window and create more buzz. Liam and I are the ones with wheels on the ground, and honestly, those guys are all downtown and have no clue how things run out here... But now we own the controlling interest.”
“So now you’ve got a voice.”
Lexi grinned. “Isn’t that a lovely thing?”
“It is... And using your money better, growing faster, means you can buy up percentage points faster too.”
“Exactly.” Lexi’s grin widened. “Can you imagine it? Me? Me owning my own restaurant? Liam too, of course.”
Alyssa noted it wasn’t the thousand-watt confident smile the world saw. Lexi’s grin was the more unguardedyou’ve been my best friend since I was foursmile. It swamped Alyssa and left her aching about her silence over the preceding six months—Lexi would have been there for her.
As she could be there for Lexi now.
“I absolutely can. You’re the hardest worker I know. Liam too, of course.” She winked.
Lexi flapped a hand to her. “After you, you mean... Isn’t that the kind of thing you did at Capital One right after college?”
“Close. I built algorithms to determine what types of spending versus income sources indicated businesses could pay back loans, but it’s the same principle. You just need to break down the numbers, see where everything is going, from where everything is coming, and assess if better choices can be made.”
“I don’t need to.Youneed to. That’s what we’ll pay you to figure out for us. I interviewed two consulting firms last week, so you’re lucky you finally called me and came home.”
“You’re hiring someone to do this for you?”
