Chapter Thirty Five

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Wednesdays at Chessman's are always surprisingly busy.

Luca has been working his ass off with Aris as new customers flock in everyday. Since he thought that he didn't lock up the cafe on the weekend, I know something isn't quite right. I'm unsure what is on his mind but he won't open up.

I'm confused why he doesn't trust me. I want him to trust me more than anything.

But the more I push it, the more he'll back away and that's the last thing I want.

I attempt to do an inventory for tax forms and business intake because I need to complete a report to see the true profits of the cafe over the last couple of months. It's boring work but it needs to be done.

I've been trying to work around Luca and Aris, double checking orders and making sure what we originally paid is correct. I have no idea why buying in bulk is so chaotic when the back room is the size of a broom cupboard.

"Luca," I call over to him at the counter as he makes coffee for the customer. "Where is your paperwork for the new coffee machines? I asked if you could put them somewhere safe."

He hums and flashes those blue eyes at me. "Yeah," he nods. "In that drawer at the back. I think."

I turn around and open the filing cabinet that is covered with a bunch of things that could really do with sorting. My eyes fly through the paperwork until I land on a letter addressed to the cafe with 'URGENT' stamped on the front. But it's not just one letter, it's multiple letters.

My brows crease and I know I shouldn't be reading other people's mail but curiosity gets the better of me. I glance over my shoulder but Luca and Aris are both too distracted with orders to be paying any attention to me.

I dip my thumb into the envelope that is already ripped and pull out the letter. The first thing I look at is the date and I blink when it's only a few weeks old. I grab another one and look at the date, even sooner than the last.

Luca calls an order out to Aris behind me and I know they're keeping busy. I take out the letter and open it, my eyes flicking over the words on the page.

My mouth turns dry at the words.

Full payment of mortgage upfront, no instalments. Threat of court action. Less than a month to pay.

"What the–" I whisper under my breath.

I quickly re-read the letter again, as fast as I can. My heart increases in my chest. They never mentioned anything like this to me. I bite down on my lip and stare over at Luca who is chatting away to a customer before taking their money.

Is this why he's been so off? They're about to lose the cafe unless they pay back the remainder of the mortgage in full. I know that they don't have the money to do that and from what I saw, it's still a big chunk to pay.

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