and end things with Lexi, which was a big deal breaker, because, separated or not, they were still married and Jeff had been talking a lot about his sous chef Sara.
When after a few months there had been no progress in finalizing the divorce, Marc pushed. Jeff said he and Lexi had been unable to come to terms on, well, anything other than that they were terrible together, and she wanted more money than the restaurant could afford. Since she was unwilling to sell the house, Marc suggested Jeff take out a loan and buy her out of the restaurant. Their next meeting with Monte was just a few weeks out, and his brothers were pushing to go with another restaurant, a local one that wasn’t at the center of a divorce.
Two weeks later the loan was secure, Lexi filed for divorce, Jeff moved in with Sara, and the deal went forward. Yet no matter how many times he played over the order of events, Jeff’s timeline didn’t match up. And suddenly, Marc realized just how many other things Jeff had said that didn’t match up.
“She said she was lending us money from her retirement, not out of the bakery.”
This situation was so messed up it took Marc a full minute to get out of his head and understand what she was asking. “As far as I can tell, her bakery is her retirement, which is why I think she kept two sets of books. There’s no way you’d agree to a loan that came from the bakery’s account, and she also knew that at some point you’d sneak a peek at her records.”
“Oh God. I screwed up so bad.”
Marc knew by the way her face crumbled that he wasn’t going to like what he heard. And that he was going to like his best friend even less. And he was right. After Lexi spilled the entire story about the loan and Pricilla using the bakery as collateral with the bank, Marc understood why she’d given up on the recipes so easily.
“When did you leave Jeff?”
Lexi fiddled with the stem of her glass, and Marc wanted to change the topic. This was awkward and it was none of his business, but if Lexi’s timeline was accurate, then the son of a bitch had been with Sara while he was still married.
“If you are politely trying to tell me about Sara, no need. I already knew. I kind of walked in on…” She looked away, her eyes suspiciously shiny, and it was like a fist to Marc’s gut.
He had to come clean. He had to tell her about Monte and the deal. He had to tell her that it was his decision to bring Jeff on, and his decision that had cost her the recipes.
Marc reached out and rested his hand over hers. “Look, Lexi, about Jeff—”
“Don’t,” she whispered, tears thickening her voice. “I don’t want to talk about my divorce or Jeffery anymore. Not tonight. Not with you. Okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay. Nothing about this entire situation felt okay anymore. But outside of his sudden need to punch something—Jeff’s face, to be exact—Marc just wanted to make Lexi’s world right again.
“All I can handle right now is figuring out how to fix this mess.” She dropped her head to the table with a soft thunk. “God, what if Abby is wrong? The last thing I should be doing is spending the last of my money on a new kitchen. I should put it into the bakery until we are on solid ground again.”
“No, Abby’s right, and if you ever tell her I said that I will deny it.” He waited for her to smile. When she didn’t even lift her head, he laced his fingers with hers. This was not how he’d expected tonight to go. “The best plan would be to move forward with the new kitchen. This idea of phasing out the bistro build is brilliant. The kitchen will allow you to generate income faster, while keeping your debt low.”
“There’s no way I can make enough to pay everyone back.”
“You can and you will. Look.” Marc pulled out a new file and opened to the projected financials sheet he had put together. Lexi scooted closer, her knees bumping his under the table. “By catering you are diversifying your income, not to mention opening yourself up to a whole new clientele base. If you and Pricilla team up, you can cross promote and increase both of your customer bases.”