Page 15 of The Holy Grail
“Yes, I am.”
“Overhead costs are the ongoing business expenses not directly associated with the creation of products or providing a service. This includes rent, utilities, supplies, equipment repair, and even things like office staff wages. Still with me?”
Evan cleared his throat, momentarily sidetracked by how much of a turn-on it was to hear her talk about materials, labor and overhead costs in that smoky drawl of hers. The juxtaposition was oddly erotic. “Still with you.”
“As a cost accountant, my job is to basically track the spending of a company across these three areas, then put that information into a report. I can then use this report to develop a budget, identify any opportunities to cut costs or waste, and keep track of the overall financial health of the company so it can earn higher profits and expand, if that’s one of the company’s goals.
“So, if I could get a look at your books, at the very least, I can maybe point out some areas for improvement, or whatever. I’ve done the books for a few bars, and they make pretty good money. There has to be a reason—or reasons—why Three Amigos isn’t.”
He slowly returned to wiping down the table, shaking his head. “I don’t know if Everett will go for that.”
She walked over, stopping a few feet away. “I could do it on the down low. You’d have to hire me for a small retainer … say, like a hundred dollars. And if I don’t find anything, then he doesn’t have to know, and I’ll even return the retainer.”
She was a little surprised at how much she wanted to do this. It bothered her to see him practically killing himself, and she knew she could find a way to fix it, even if it meant doing it for free. “But if I do find something … then you can tell him, and I can go over what I’ve found. It’s your bar, too.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I doubt I’d even be able to get you our financial stuff without him knowing.”
“You wouldn’t have to. I could come in when you’re working, maybe late at night, so there’s very little chance of your brother or sister seeing me.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “So, what do you say?”
He really didn’t have anything to lose. Plus, he’d get to see more of her, so that was actually a win.
“All right,” he agreed, going behind the bar to retrieve his wallet. After counting out a hundred dollars (mostly from his tips), he returned to her and handed it over, slightly embarrassed at all the small denominational bills. “When do you want to start?”
“How about right now?”
Chapter 3
Character reference
Jules flipped through the channels on her TV, utterly and completely bored.
In the six weeks since New Year’s Eve—and her resolution regarding Malcom—she’d experienced several more moments where she’d thought of him. It was almost like he was popping into her thoughts even more, now that he was forbidden.
It was both annoying and inconvenient.
On this particular Sunday night, with no work to be done at Three Amigos and nothing but the TV to keep her company, her mind began drifting.
She’d always told Paige as soon as men got introduced to her ‘crazy’, they ran away like babies, and for the most part that was true. But as Jules gave it more thought, it occurred to her to wonder if she was choosing the wrong men … men who she knew would run away. Was she afraid of really investing herself emotionally into a relationship and then possibly being discarded?
She prided herself on her honesty, but what if she was beingdishonestwith herself? Or worse, what if she was being a coward?
What if she took a chance with a man who was really looking for long-term, and hedidn’trun away?
Slightly unsettled, Jules began flipping through the channels on her TV, barely registering the shows she clicked past, until she came to a showing ofThe Godfather. She immediately stopped, just in time to see Michael killing Sollozzo and police captain McCluskey in the Italian restaurant in the Bronx. The violent and bloody scene madeher think of Malcom, which made her think it would be enjoyable to be watching it with him.
Not surprisingly, this led her to wonder what he was doing at that moment, if he was possibly watching the movie right now (maybe with a woman), or if he was doing something entirely different (also with a woman). He was a very attractive man, and it was unlikely he hadn’t found someone in the past year.
An attractive man looking for long-term? Yeah, he’d probably found a woman smarter than Jules.
But what if he hadn’t?
She took Malcom’s card out of her purse and held it for several moments. The card was fairly worn, because she’d looked at it many times, reading the words written on the back in a neat, masculine hand:For a character reference, feel free to call my mom. Her name is Beverly.She thought back to the meeting with him at the restaurant for probably the hundredth time, pondering the possibility she hadn’t gotten rid of the card because deep down she knew it had the potential to lead to something, but at the same time, she hadn’t called the number on the back, either—for that same reason.
Because she was a coward.
Suddenly the urge to call the number was all-consuming, because she obviously hadn’t forgotten about him, or ripped up his card, which made her resolution pure garbage. But it had now been fifteen months …
Had she missed her window, regardless?
