“Is he an employee?”
“Yes,” she answered.
Victor gave a faint smile.
“Then perhaps he should return to his work.”
Daniel didn’t move.
“Was the board involved?”
Victor’s expression tightened.
“That isn’t information we discuss with kitchen staff.”
Evelyn stepped beside Daniel.
“He asked a reasonable question.”
Victor looked surprised.
“You’re allowing your dishwasher to interfere in a business matter?”
“I’m allowing an employee to ask a question in my café.”
Victor closed his portfolio.
“Ms. Carter, I suggest you consider the offer carefully. It expires Friday.”
“I’m aware.”
“If you refuse, the alternatives may be considerably less comfortable.”
Evelyn met his eyes.
“I’ll make my decision after reviewing my lease and speaking with an attorney.”
Victor’s mouth tightened.
“Then I hope your attorney understands commercial development.”
He turned and left.
The bell above the door rang sharply behind him.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Rosa came out of the kitchen.
“Well, that was unpleasant.”
Evelyn rubbed her forehead.
Daniel remained near the counter.
“Do you have every letter they’ve sent you?” he asked.
Evelyn looked at him.
“Yes.”
“May I see them?”
She hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because something about what he said doesn’t sound right.”
Evelyn studied him.
“You seem to know an awful lot about corporate approvals for a dishwasher.”
Daniel looked down.
“I worked in business once.”
“What kind?”
He took a breath.
“Large companies.”
She waited.
He didn’t continue.
After a moment, Evelyn said, “Well, large companies or not, I can’t afford a long legal fight.”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“Have you spoken with the other shopkeepers?”
“A few.”
“What happened to them?”
“Some accepted the offers. Others are still deciding.”
“Anyone refuse?”
Evelyn nodded toward the empty storefront down the block.
“Mr. Parker tried.”
Daniel followed her gaze.
“The bookstore?”
“He ran it for thirty-one years.”
“What happened?”
“He signed an agreement after the company told him he’d face major costs if he stayed.”
Daniel looked back at her.
“Did the same executive contact him?”
“Victor Mercer.”
Daniel became very still.
Then he said quietly, “I think we should speak with Mr. Parker.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Why do you care so much about this?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the dining room, where a little girl was helping her grandmother arrange sugar packets into neat rows.
“Because I know what happens when people make decisions about neighborhoods without listening to the people who live in them.”
Evelyn studied him.
There was something in his voice she hadn’t heard before.
Not bitterness.
Regret.
“Daniel,” she said gently, “you don’t have to explain anything you aren’t ready to.”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
Then he returned to the kitchen.
That evening, Evelyn stayed after closing.
She spread the lease, the Whitmore letter, and several unpaid invoices across the counter.
The numbers were discouraging.
She could pay her employees.
She could cover the next delivery.
But hiring an attorney for a complicated property dispute would stretch her savings almost beyond what she could manage.
Daniel was finishing the last dishes.
He noticed the papers.
“How bad is it?”
Evelyn gave a tired smile.
“Depends which bill you’re asking about.”
He dried his hands.
“May I sit down?”
She nodded.
He took the stool opposite her.
For several moments, he studied the documents.
Then he asked, “Did you exercise your renewal option?”
“Yes. Certified mail, just like the lease required.”
“Do you have the receipt?”
She opened a folder and showed him.
He examined the date.
“Good.”
Evelyn looked surprised.
“Good?”
“It means there’s a record that you followed the agreement.”
She sighed.
“Records don’t mean much when you’re up against a company that big.”
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“They should.”
Something about the way he said it made her pause.
Then she looked toward the empty dining room.
“My mother built this place. She worked six days a week for years so people in this neighborhood would have somewhere affordable to eat.”
Daniel listened.
“When she passed away, I promised I’d keep it going. I don’t need to become rich from it. I just want to make a living and keep my employees working.”
He looked at the photographs on the wall.
One showed June Carter standing behind the original counter.
Another showed Evelyn as a teenager wearing an apron much too large for her.
Daniel studied them for a long moment.
“My daughter would have loved this café.”
Evelyn looked up.
“You have a daughter?”