He Thought the Food Was Free, I Made Sure the Lesson Wasn’t Chapter 09

He Thought the Food Was Free, I Made Sure the Lesson Wasn’t Chapter 09

The crowd had been hanging back, rubbernecking. The second Derek’s words landed, their faces

shifted.

“Derek, you’ve got some nerve. We came here because you invited us. You said you were booking the whole place. You said the whole night was on you. Now you want us to pay? That’s a joke.”

“Seriously. If you didn’t have the money, you shouldn’t have pretended you did. We spent all this

time kissing your ass for nothing.”

“I watched you order half a million dollars in food and liquor without blinking. I really thought you’d made something of yourself. Turns out you’re just a broke poser.”

“If I’d known you were the kind of guy who skips out on his own tab, I never would have come.’

“You ordered all that fancy stuff on your own. Now you want us to bail you out? You think we’re

stupid?”

Derek stared at his friends and relatives-the same people who’d just been calling him a legend, toasting his success. One by one, they turned on him. His eyes went bloodshot, his face twisted with

rage

“You ungrateful bastards! You were all loving it ten minutes ago. Now I’m asking everyone to pitch in a little, just to get me out of a tight spot, and this is how you act?”

The replies hit fast and landed hard, “You treated us. We don’t owe you a dime.”

“The most I’ll do is give back these leftovers. Whether that helps your debt or not, that’s your

problem.”

“I’m not paying a single cent. If you can’t cover it, that’s on you. Don’t drag me into it.”

Vincent glanced at the to-go bags in everyone’s hands. His voice was flat.

“The lobster and crab have already been cooked. No refunds there. The bourbon, I can credit back.

But that still leaves you with at least four hundred thousand. Time to pay up.”

Derek looked utterly hollowed out. Desperation carved deep lines into his face. Then his eyes darted to me. Suddenly I wasn’t his enemy anymore. I was a lifeline. He grabbed my arm.

“Claire, don’t just stand there watching! You just sold this place. You’ve got the cash from the sale. Use it. Cover the four hundred grand for me.”

I shook him off and stepped back. “Cover it? Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a Hartley now, that’s why!” Patricia’s voice was a full-throated shriek now.

“Derek’s your brother-in-law! He’s family! When family’s in trouble, you help. Who else is supposed to?”

“Family?” I laughed out loud. “He slapped me in front of a packed restaurant. Where was ‘family’

then?”

Patricia had no answer. So she did what she always did. She dropped to the floor and started wailing. “I don’t care! You have to pay this debt for us! If you don’t, I’m not leaving. I’ll stay right here

forever.”

I shrugged. “Go ahead. This restaurant belongs to Mr. Russo now. You can stay. He won’t be as patient as I was.”

Vincent’s voice came in right on cue. Ice-cold. “She’s right. Pay up, or sign the note. Keep making a scene, and I promise-you’ll regret it.”

Derek’s eyes were bloodshot now. He pointed at me, voice cracking with rage. “Claire, you vicious bitch. You’d really just stand there and watch me get destroyed?”

I almost laughed again. “I’m vicious? Derek, every bit of this, you did to yourself. I sold this restaurant so you couldn’t bleed me dry anymore. Did you really think I was going to clean up your

mess too?”

Evan tugged at my sleeve. His voice was pleading. Desperate. “Claire. Please. Just help my this once. Four hundred thousand-we can’t come up with that on our own.”

brother

I pulled my arm away. “Evan, I’ve already helped him more than enough. And what did it get me? Slaps in front of a crowd. Your whole family cursing me out. You bringing an entire mob here to empty my restaurant and destroy everything I built. So tell me. After all that, why would I help you

now?”