On my way up to the counter, I ordered a boxed lunch for Tom. He had eaten his little microwave cup of soup, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to make sure he had enough food to get him through the day. I ordered what I knew was his favorite because I had ordered it for him to be delivered to the office multiple times before.
Landon and I headed back to work, and I went into Tom’s office. He was still on the phone, so I crept over to his desk quietly and set the little white box down on it.
“Roast beef and swiss,” I mouthed. “Chocolate cupcake.”
He gave a little swoon and mouthed a thank-you, then gave me that endearing smile that made my heart melt. I pushed the feeling away, not wanting to even indulge it for a second, and headed for my desk again. There was still a lot to be done before the afternoon was over.
3
Tom
I snapped awake to the vibration of my phone on the nightstand beside me. It was set to not use the ringer before 5:00 a.m., but the vibration rattling on the wood was nearly as alarming. It took a second to orient myself and reach over to grab the phone off the charger and pull it toward me. The sun was still not up yet, so the room was pitch-dark, and my eyes nearly clenched shut at the brightness of the screen as I read both the time and the name on the display.
Three forty-three.
Mason.
“Yeah,” I said, not knowing an actual greeting.
“There’s been a fire Tom. The bar burned down,” Mason said, his voice shaking.
I blinked in the darkness for a moment. What the hell did he just say?
“Tom?” Mason asked. He sounded panicked and distraught. Suddenly, the cobwebs of sleepiness were gone and replaced by my own panic.
“Christ, yes, sorry. What happened? Is everyone okay?” I asked.
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. I knew that sound. My brother was trying to control his emotions. He always tried to keep his head cool, especially when he spoke to me. I knew how much he looked up to me, and yet, he was the one I left de facto in charge of the family bar. He might not have known it, but I admired him just as much as I admired anyone in my life.
“No one was inside. But Tom, they think it was arson. Someone burned down our fucking bar,” Mason said.
“Dammit,” I said, beginning a string of swears. They were the only words I could think of that seemed appropriate. “I’m glad everyone is okay. Tell everybody I will get down there as soon as I can. I’ll let you know when I land.”
Mason mumbled a distracted goodbye and hung up. I understood the feeling. Someone burned down the bar—our bar. The bar I’d bought for my brothers to run in our hometown, to make money to care for our parents and keep the family together, safe, and employed while I went off to pursue this career. It was my way of taking care of them while I was gone.
And now it was gone.
Arson.
I was so freaked out I didn’t know what exactly to do first. I got out of bed and paced for a moment, trying to get my head to clear. Suddenly, the solution popped into my mind. I had someone who could clear my schedule and make sure the ship sailed smoothly here while I went home. Before I even processed the thought fully, my thumb hit the call button, and I raised the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” came the groggy voice on the other end.
“Amanda, I’m so sorry to wake you up, but I need you,” I said. There was silence on the other end for a moment.
“Tom?”
“Yes, it’s me. I’m heading up to the office. I need you to meet me there in a half an hour. It’s an emergency. Can you do that?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. Is everything okay?” she asked. There was genuine concern in her words, but I didn’t know how to answer it.
“No, not really. Just meet me at the office, please.”
I drove to the office in a daze, and when I parked the car in my spot by my private elevator, I saw her car was already there. When I opened the door to my floor, she was standing behind her desk. Her hair was in a messy bun above her head, but she was dressed as professionally as I gave her time for. She seemed to have been putting on makeup when I came in, and she snapped a compact shut and tossed it on the desk.
“Tom,” she said, looking like she wanted to come around to me, but hesitating. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently someone burned down my family bar. No one was hurt. The bar was empty. But everything my brothers worked for is gone. Everything I worked for with them, gone. The police are sure it was arson. I need to get home right now.”
“Of course,” she said.
“I’m going to write an email to Landon when I get to the airport, but I want you to be ready. I will be leaving him in charge, and that means taking on some of the things we had on my schedule for this week. I’ll need you to help him out. The meeting on Wednesday I’ll videoconference for, but other than that I’ll need you to walk Landon through my schedule.”
She nodded and then took a step closer. One hand reached up and touched me on the shoulder, and I felt my body give way. As much as I tried to stop it, I sagged against her touch, my head dropping down and my eyes clenching shut.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I took a moment before I opened my eyes again and met hers. The concern was written all over her face, and I forced myself to nod. I realized at that moment that Amanda was probably the only person in San Francisco who knew me a fraction well enough to show that level of concern other than Landon.
“I’ll be fine if I can get home and figure this out. I trust you and Landon will keep things going here while I’m gone. I need to grab a few things and head out, if you could get to work on the rescheduling and have it on Landon’s desk before he gets in,” I said. “Oh, and if you could make sure I get the first flight out.”
“Absolutely. If you need anything else,” she said and let the words hang there. I nodded and she turned to head back to her desk.
I crossed the room and went into my office. Filling a bag with some of the important files I thought I might need for work, especially the things I would need for Wednesday’s Zoom meeting, I zipped around my room as quickly as possible. Amanda came in after a few minutes to tell me I was booked on a flight in an hour. I didn’t have a lot of time to dick around, so I tossed the business papers I had for the bar into the bag and headed for the door.
“I’m headed out. I’ll update you later today. Thank you again, Amanda,” I said.
“Have a safe trip,” she called from her desk, looking up with a sad smile. I turned and headed for the elevator, carrying my bag in my hand and the weight of the world on my shoulders.
When I got to the airport, my flight was delayed by two hours. It was maddening. Not enough time to go home and rest before the flight, but just enough time to be bored and anxious while waiting. I almost pulled out my suitcase and got out my laptop, but I knew I was no good for all that. The email to Landon had been sent from my phone as soon as I got to the airport, and everything else was being handled already.
All I could do was wait.
When the plane finally taxied out, I dozed off and only woke when the wheels touched down in Astoria. As soon as I was awake, I was alert, and I only stopped for a quick burger at the airport to settle the growling of my stomach. I didn’t know when I would eat again, and I needed to set up a rideshare anyway.