Broken Road Café 1 - The Broken Road Café (3 page)

“You did
what
?” Charity’s face was truly a sight to behold. In the entire time she’d worked for him—
with
him, he mentally amended—Dan had never seen her lose control, show any emotion more than disdain and boredom, much less her surprise . It amused him greatly that it took something like his leaving the firm to get a rise out of her.

Leaning back in his chair, he tucked his hands behind his head and grinned. “I told them to buy me out and fuck off. It was so worth it to see Simkins have to eat shit. I really hate that bastard.”

“You and me both, kemo sabe. If he makes another pass at me or touches my ass ‘accidently’ one more time, he’s going to draw back a bloody stub.” Charity crossed her legs and relaxed in the chair. “So enough about that douchebag, let’s talk about Abe. And then let’s talk about what the hell you’re going to do next.”

The smile on Dan’s face disappeared, and he let his hands drop onto the arms of his chair. “Let’s not talk about Abe.”

“Daniel.” “Charity.” “Don’t make me call him myself.” He stared. “You wouldn’t.” She pulled out her cell phone, from where he

Burying his face in his hands, he gave a choked laugh. “Oh my fucking God. You not only threaten me, you quote Joan Crawford. If I weren’t a big old ‘mo, I’d marry you.”

Charity snorted. “Honey, you couldn’t afford me. And I’d have your balls for breakfast. Or brunch, since it’s so late in the morning. Now. One last chance. Abe. Yesterday. Spill.”

“Ah, geez.” Dan sighed and let his head fall onto the desk. “Long story short. I took off early yesterday, feeling my oats. I walk in, and guess who’s the meaty center in a Gary and Kerry sandwich? Yeah, my loving partner.”

Prada website.” Dan snorted. “Am I really that gay?” “Oh, honey. If you have to ask, it’s a little

pathetic, don’t you think?” “I hate you.” “No, you don’t. You worship me. You can’t live

Turning his head so he could see her, he smiled. “I really do, you know. I’m going to miss you so much. Come with me?”

“And where are we going?” She had her hands folded on her knee, tapping one long French-tipped nail, her leg swinging.

That brought him up short. He’d done all this, quit his job and forced the firm to pay him out to leave, and hadn’t really given a thought as to what he’d be doing next. Suddenly, Dan remembered the caterer, the wonderful piles of food and that coffee. He jerked his head up and sat up straight. “I’m going to open a restaurant.”

“A restaurant? And you see me doing what? Waiting tables? Do I look like Alice?” She actually looked offended.

“I’m sure the dishwasher position would be more to your liking.”
“Fuck. You.” She leaned forward and slapped his head. “Now, a restaurant? Really?
Dan slumped into his chair and turned, looking out the window down onto the traffic on Peachtree Street. The view was great; he could see south toward the stadium and his beloved Braves, and really thought about it. He had the time, the freedom, and when—
if
—the partners bought him out, he’d have the cash. The only thing he
didn’t
have was the experience. But how hard could it be, really? He knew how to manage, and he’d waited tables, made coffee, and even filled in as a short-order cook when the evening shift grill guy didn’t show.
Now, the million dollar question was, where?
“Yeah.” He turned his chair back to face Charity. “Yeah, I really think so. Ten years of working my ass off for a bunch of crooks who are ready to throw me under the bus, or in Lake Lanier to sleep with the fishes, or whatever the hell their plan was, and for what? So they can keep their penthouses and mistresses? Or rent boys? They think the grunts don’t see anything, but when you’re in a fishbowl, there’s no privacy.”
She eyed him critically for a moment, then nodded. “That’s why I’m not worried when you leave. They think I don’t have copies of some of the more…egregious things they’ve done? And yes,” she said at his look of alarm, “it’s all offsite and I have a back-up and a plan.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Now, how does Abe fit into this new life plan of yours?”
Just as Dan opened his mouth to answer, his cell rang. Glancing down at it, he bit his lower lip. Kerry. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that it wasn’t Gary, or even Abe. Hell, he didn’t want to talk to those assholes, and Kerry was the least offensive of the three. But he really couldn’t get the picture of the three of them together—
together
—out of his mind. Glancing up, he saw the door closing. Damn.
Before he could think about it too closely, Dan slid his finger across
Answer
. “Hello, Kerry.”
There was a pause. “I really didn’t think you would answer.”
Dan rubbed the bridge of his nose, massaging at the tension that suddenly gave him a headache. “Neither did I. Now, what do you want?”
“We all need to talk.” Dan let that hang out there, not sure if he wanted to cuss him out, hang up, or agree. “Dan,” he said after the silence went on, “it’s a total clusterfuck, and we—I—screwed up big time, but we have a lot of history between us. And Abe—“
“Leave Abe out of this. If you wanna talk, this is about you and me, and maybe, just maybe, you and me and Gary. If you bring
him
up again, I’m hanging up.”
“Okay, fair enough. I’ve known you what, fifteen years? We’ve been through a lot together, and I just hope you and I can find a way to put this behind us.”
Dan was suddenly angry. “Put this behind us? It’s not like you just…threw up in my car, or took my credit card and bought assless chaps, or ordered payper-view porn. You fucked my lover. You and Gary chose to—you know what, I can’t do this right now. I’ll call you when I want to talk about it.” He disconnected the call, breathing heavily.
Fuck him. Fuck them all.
Turning to his computer, he brought up his search engine and entered keywords
“North Georgia restaurants for sale”
and was surprised by what came up. Starting at the top, he buried himself in the results and lost track of time.
The next time Dan looked up, it was almost lunch time, and he’d narrowed it down to two listings he wanted to look at. He emailed those to his phone and leaned back, groaning as his back popped and cracked. Looking around the office, he was glad he hadn’t put much personal stuff up.
Well, no time like the present
. Hitting the speakerphone directly to Charity, he waited for her to pick up.
Before he could even speak, she started in on him. “You owe me, O’Leary. So, so big. As in,
give-meyour-credit-card-and-ignore-the-charges-for-the-rest-of-theafternoon
owe me. Not only have I kept four different partners out of your office, including The Dark One, but I’ve talked to Abe every thirty minutes, and threatened to tear Gary a new one with my stiletto. Aren’t they calling you on
your
cell? Answer it sometime. So now, beloved leader, what else can I do for you before you desert me for the deep fryer?”
“I adore you, you know,” Dan laughed. “I need boxes and someone to help me carry all my shit to the car. I’d rather leave during lunch when the cats are away and us mice can play.”
He could almost see the droll look on her face. “Darling, you
are
one of the cats. They just hadn’t managed to slip that little rhinestone collar on your pretty little neck yet. And take off your little dangly bits and make you bitter. Start taking the larger pieces down off the wall, and I will have someone, or two someones, in your office in the next ten minutes. Davonna already let me know the whole partner team has already left for a long lunch at Veni Vidi Vici. Orders are to watch you, but not to interfere. So I figure we have an hour to pack you up, then you take The Lady Who Lunches out to, let’s say, Ruth’s Chris.”
“Whatever you want. I’ll be ready.” Disconnecting the call, Dan stood and removed his jacket, unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. He figured he should start with his degrees, framed in cherry wood and heavy as hell. Seven minutes later he heard a discreet knock, then two maintenance staff and an associate came in carrying empty banker’s boxes. In no time, they had all his knickknacks, files, artwork—all the detritus everyone with a workspace accumulates, even those who have barely moved in— packed and ready to go.
Handing off his car keys to a short hunky Italian maintenance worker—he could look, and he damn sure did—Dan took the time to give his old office one last glance. He’d worked his ass off, interned here, lost more than one potential boyfriend to the backbreaking hours he’d put in to impress the partners. Ten long years. The little secret voice in his head screamed,
You can fix this, just put your shit back and tell the partners you changed your mind
. But the relief, the lifting of some weight he wasn’t even aware of…told him he was doing the right thing.
Rolling down his sleeves and grabbing his jacket, Dan pulled his second set of keys out of his pocket and slowly slid the one that fit his office, the one for the front door to the suite, and the one for the partners’ filing room off the key ring. He tugged his jacket back on as he walked to Davonna’s workstation. Smiling wryly, Dan opened his palm and laid them on her desk gently. Reaching around his neck, he pulled the lanyard with his swipe card for the parking deck and his photo ID and gently put it beside the keys.
Davonna looked up at him, and damned if he didn’t see moisture filling her eyes. She’d always kind of intimidated him. She never lost her cool, was professional to a fault, and had that
something
that separated the rest of the staff from her. And here she was, looking like she was ready to cry over his leaving.
Opening his mouth to say something pithy to break the moment, what came out was, “Oh, what the hell.” And just like that, he was around the corner of her desk and she was hugging him. She was imperial, old enough to be his mother, and had sent his scrotum in an undignified retreat up into his groin on more than one occasion. She had darkly beautiful skin like walnut, and she was crying on his shoulder.
“You take care of yourself, Daniel O’Leary. Watch your back, and don’t take any shit from these old fools. You’re wise to get out now. I’m afraid there are dark times coming, and maybe it’s time I checked my 401(k) balance and have them air out my condo in Destin.” He pulled back and gave her an inquisitive gaze, and she put a hand on his chest and slapped gently. “You think an old woman like me hasn’t planned her future well? Young man”—Davonna leaned forward as if whispering the secret of life—“I bet my net worth is only a little less than Carter’s. And yours, I’d wager.”
She stepped back and reached up to straighten his tie and smooth his shirt front. “Now. It’s been a pleasure. If you need anything, and I mean
anything
,” Davonna emphasized with a tap of her index finger, catching his gaze with intensity, “you have my number. Call my cell. It’s already been sent to your personal email account.”
Touched, Dan grasped her hand and brought it to his lips. Brushing them lightly against her knuckles, he looked up and winked. With a smile, she slipped her hand out his grasp and lightly tapped his cheek, then smoothed her dress and took her seat behind her desk.
Dan bowed slightly, moved around the desk and headed to the elevator, not looking back. He didn’t want her to see the tears he was fighting as he realized he had friends and support he was never aware of. Ten years, and Davonna hadn’t said more than ten words to him in any given one of them, but she had evidently watched him and cared. As he entered the elevator, he snuck a peek back to her desk, hoping to catch one last glance or something, but her posture was rigid, and he saw two associates look at her with fear, giving her desk a wide berth.
Apropos of nothing, the lines of the old hymn ran through his mind. “
I once was blind, but now I see…”
Truer words were never uttered.
Now, to get home and make calls about the two properties he’d found. Figure out what the hell to do about Greg. And determine if his relationship—if indeed there was any relationship left—with Abe could be salvaged. Dan had the feeling it was going to be a long night.
But first, by God, he’d take his girl out to lunch, drink a bottle of wine, eat some cow, and put his worries behind him for a couple of hours.

The drive up to Blue Ridge from the city was about an hour and a half, and the change couldn’t have been more drastic. Where, yes, parts of the city were green and felt more like a small town, Dan’s loft was in the middle of downtown, and his office overlooked the heart of Atlanta. In the miles leading to the second of the restaurants he’d found for sale in the North Georgia area, Dan could feel his stress level dropping more and more.

The peace also allowed his mind to wander. Despite his promise to himself, he’d still not talked to Abe or to Gary. Part of it was the anger—the betrayal—but there was also a part of him that felt guilty. Not that he’d done anything wrong. Exactly. But after having time to think about how he’d prioritized his life the past few years, he had to man up and tell the truth. Yes, he’d put work first, sometimes to the detriment of his relationship with Abe. Yes, there were times he could’ve been more present for his lover.

But he’d never cheated. The one thing Abe could count on from him was his loyalty. Hell, all the people in his life would tell anyone that about him, that the one thing that defined him—when he gave his word, his heart, it was a done deal. He might make mistakes along the way, but by God, they were mistakes of omission not commission. That was what made this whole situation so fucked up. And why it hurt so damned much.

His mind went back and forth between Abe and Gary. Yes, the cheating hit home the worst with Abe—for fuck’s sake, this man was his
partner
and they’d made a home together—but Gary was his best friend. The man who was supposed to have his back, and had for the past twenty years. Now he had to wonder. That was the worst part, he thought sadly, that now he was second-guessing everything he knew about the most important people in his life.