Deceived: Devon Brothers, #2, page 13
Sawyer came back to the table with a beaming smile on his face.
“Today is your lucky day,” he said, patting Isaac on the shoulder.
“Told you,” Parker said with a smirk as he sipped his milkshake.
“What?” Isaac asked.
“I have the perfect spot for you... for both of you,” he said, taking a seat next to Avalynn and giving her knee a squeeze.
“Well?” she asked. “Where? Tell us!”
“I just spoke to Cade. For the past several months, the restaurant at the farm was allowing traveling chefs to cook and offer their menus, but they’d been having issues finding new chefs to sign on, and they were starting to run out of options. Chef Peter had been his regular fill-in, but he got offered a position at a restaurant in Amsterdam, and he’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks. Cade’s been scrambling to find a replacement.”
“Kismet,” Parker said with a smile.
“And they always need waitresses. Most of the ones they have are local kids, and they aren’t very reliable. He said it would be a perfect fit, and your schedule can be as flexible as you need it to be.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” Sawyer said with a grin. “Neither of you will have to spend one moment worrying about where to go next. You’ve already got a spot, that is, if you want them.”
“Of course!” Isaac said, holding out his hand to shake with Sawyer. “This is wonderful news! It takes such a burden off my mind and for Ava as well, I’m sure.”
“Of course it does. Oh my gosh, such a relief. I was just worrying about where I would even start. I’ve never had a job interview and don't know how to manage one.”
“Well then, no need to worry anymore. No interviews are required. And I hear the boss isn’t too bad to work with either,” he said and smiled as Avalynn hugged him.
Isaac stood and put his chair back in its place, his smile beaming.
“So much to be thankful for in the face of all this change. I owe your family so much.”
“Nonsense,” Sawyer waved him off. “This place has been a part of my family’s life, so now it’s our turn to share our life with you. It’ll be nice to still have you around.”
“And if you think about it, it’ll be a win-win,” Parker offered. “The farm will get a great, established chef, and we’ll gain regulars who love your food. There’s a lot for us all to be thankful for.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Sawyer said with a nod. “Yes, it’s definitely a win for us all. Plus, you won’t have to worry about all the upkeep and stress of keeping things afloat like you did here. And I guarantee the salary will be much better.”
Isaac heaved a sigh of relief.
“So much to be thankful for, for sure.”
Chapter Fourteen
They stood in silence as they watched Isaac lock the restaurant door one last time and hand the keys to the bank representative. The two of them spoke for a few moments, and the representative handed him an envelope of paperwork after looking through the doors one last time, Isaac turned to them all and gave a sad smile.
“It’s the end of an era,” he said.
Cade and Kit stood arm in arm, as did Sawyer and Avalynn. Parker stood between the couples, his arms around each of his brothers. All were tearful and silent.
“Come on, cheer up. This place couldn’t last forever. Things change,” Isaac prompted.
“We had our first date here,” Kit said softly, and Cade cradled her closer.
Avalynn smiled up at Sawyer sadly.
“I fell in love here,” Avalynn said.
“So did I,” Parker offered. “That double blue burger, man....it holds a place of respect in my heart.”
The five of them chuckled despite the sadness and watched with some small amount of regret as the bank rep attached a huge sale sign and notice to the door. On the window above it, Isaac had posted a notice that he and Ava would be moving to the restaurant at Shady Glade Farm and that patrons could find his familiar menu items there the following week.
“Well, I hate to cut this short, but I need to get back to the farm,” Kit said, looking at her phone. “I have a lesson in fifteen minutes and my students aren’t always so attentive to start with.”
“Yeah, I need to get back as well. I need to pack, and will be heading out soon,” Parker said.
“Really? So soon?” Sawyer asked.
“I have a gig in Palm Springs to get to,” he said, throwing his arm around Sawyer, walking them back to their car. “You should come visit.”
“Ha,” Sawyer said, opening the door for Ava to get in. “I wish I could, but I have projects of my own at work to deal with.”
“How about you, Ava? Care to visit?” Parker asked.
“I wish I could, but I have two new jobs to get off the ground, remember? I also have a chat scheduled with Amanda in an hour. Can you imagine? Amanda Rudnick!”
“I can imagine, and you’ll do great. I have faith in you,” Parker said, and closed the door.
“Hopefully you won’t stay away too long this time,” Cade called out as he got into his truck.
Parker shrugged at that.
“Hard to say. I go where the work takes me these days.”
“Well, as long as you’re happy and keep your head above water, that’s all I care about. Just try to keep in touch this time,” Cade offered, and Parker nodded.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Parker hopped into his own car, and one by one, they all pulled out of the Meeting House parking lot one last time.
Avalynn couldn’t help but watch it in her rearview mirror as they drove away, and though her life had suddenly taken a turn for the better, leaving that place pulled at something deep in her heart. She’d practically grown up there. It was more of a home than her home was at times. She’d enjoyed her time there, mingling with the locals, hearing all the gossip, and watching Isaac perform miracles in the kitchen. She’d been his tasting guinea pig for over a decade, relishing the fact that she was the first to enjoy all his masterpieces. And he’d been the father she’d never really had. And though the place was gone, she wouldn’t lose any of it. And that made her happier than ever.
“I’ll drop you home, but I have to head into the office,” Sawyer said.
“OK, that’s fine. I have to prepare for this meeting with Amanda anyway. I’m so nervous.”
“Why? She’s going to be teaching you, not testing you. She knows you’re new at all this. If anything, it should be a fun couple of hours for you.”
“Yeah, but I’m still nervous. I get that she knows I’m new, but I’m beyond new, I don’t know half of what goes into any of it.”
“And you can be sure that she wouldn’t lead you astray either. If anything, I guarantee she’ll back you once you’re on your feet and then your stuff will take off for sure.”
“Please don’t say that,” Avalynn said with a tremble in her voice.
“What?” Sawyer asked, furrowing his brows.
“That it’ll take off. That makes me so nervous. I’m nowhere near ready to be any kind of influencer. I don’t even know how to handle any of that.”
“One thing at a time,” he soothed her. “She’s not going to throw you into the fire then turn up the heat, that would be suicide for both of you. And if you’re not ready, just let her know how you feel so she can help you through it.”
“OK,” Avalynn agreed hesitantly.
“Just breathe. You’ll be fine,” he said as he pulled onto her road and maneuvered the ruts and holes. “They really need to fix this road.”
“It’s considered a private drive and neither Mr. Peterson or myself have the funds necessary to pave a mile worth of road. It serves us well enough.”
“It’s awful,” he said.
“Good thing you didn’t bring the Porsche then,” she said with a chuckle and groaning, he pulled onto the weathered path leading to her place.
“You should at least make this a real road, throw down some gravel or something.”
“It’s never been an issue for me,” she said as she opened her door and turned to him for a kiss which he offered freely and generously.
“Enjoy your meeting and give me a call when you’re done.”
“Will do,” she said, gave him another kiss, and jumped out of the car. She watched as he pulled away, then turned and made her way into her place. The minute she shut the door behind her, she felt anxiety start building in her stomach. It made her lightheaded and giddy.
“Get a grip, girl,” she mumbled to herself and dropped onto the couch where Parker had set up her laptop and her new webcam so she could chat with Amanda. He’d told her it was a gift. The Devon boys were all about the gifts, but she knew it was their way of helping her financially and in a way that made her uneasy.
Independence was always her thing. She’d stood on her own two feet long before her parents ditched her and headed west. And she’d never been one to accept handouts. She was no one's charity case, but she had to admit, to get this new venture off the ground she needed help. She’d spent all but a few hundred of her savings on buying Sawyer’s car. He pried so many times trying to find out how much money she really had, but she never broke. She knew if she told him, he’d sell that car to her for next to nothing and she couldn’t live with herself knowing he’d practically given it to her. And then with the news of the restaurant closing, she panicked. She would have to live on what she had left until she found a new job and that wouldn’t get her very far, especially with gas prices so high and her having to go out and look for work. It was terrifying. And again, Sawyer came to the rescue as he was wont to do. He’d stepped right in like a knight and handed her one of the best jobs on the planet without missing a step. And he’d saved Isaac to boot. She owed him so much and the unease of knowing that wore on her daily. She loved him, loved that he was so generous and helpful, but she didn’t want to lose the independent part of herself despite what he wanted. She could see herself sinking into a deep, meaningful relationship with him after only a month and that scared her too. If this got serious, would he want her to give all this up and move into his penthouse? Expect her to wear posh clothing and learn how to maneuver his country club lifestyle? That terrified her more than ever. She’d seen his ex that first morning at his apartment. The woman was statuesque and perfectly coiffed. Not a thread out of place. She was nowhere near that caliber. She wasn’t even on the same planet.
As her thoughts of self-doubt began to spiral, she stood from the couch, straightened her spine, and shook her head.
“Jesus, get a grip,” she thought to herself. Quickly she headed up into her loft and looked through her clothing to find something even remotely posh. But there was no point. She didn’t own anything posh. The most expensive looking shirt she owned was one she got on sale at a knock off store. It was the best she could do. Then she sat at her small vanity and looked at herself in her mirror. Looked at herself for a good, long while. She repeated words of encouragement in her head as she put on her makeup, hearing Sawyer and Parker cheering her on. Kit’s voice came into her mind telling her how creative and talented she was, and she smiled to herself.
“You got this,” she said and lifted her chin.
She brushed out her hair, twisting it back into a bobby pin on one side and then the other. Giving herself one last look over, she nodded then checked her phone. Amanda would be calling in less than fifteen minutes. She inhaled slowly, closed her eyes, and imagined great things. Once she felt calm enough, she headed back to the couch.
Playing with the camera, she arranged and rearranged the pillows in view at least four times until it looked good enough for her. Parker mentioned that she should set up a camera corner, like a small studio. Setup a permanent background with props that didn’t move, like the bookcases and knickknacks she saw in most influencers’ videos. She didn’t have the money for any of that either and didn’t want to mention it. Lord knew if Parker heard, he’d build her a new studio sight unseen and not want a dime of it back.
Her laptop played a little tune then and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Amanda was calling, the little icon on her desktop was blinking.
Inhaling to calm herself, she clicked the button with a shaking hand, put on a smile and looked into the camera.
“Hey Amanda!” she offered a little too cheerfully.
Amanda was beautiful as ever. Polished and professional. The shine of her ring light in her eyes.
“Hey Avalynn, so glad we’re finally touching base. I am so excited to be able to help you. Parker has filled me in on all the info so first off, before we got down to business, I’d just like to chat. Get to know you and figure out what we can do.”
“Oh, ok,” Avalynn offered. She couldn’t stop looking at herself in the small pip screen, it was unnerving, and Amanda picked up on it immediately.
“There’s a small button on the bottom of the pip,” she said. “Click it to shut it off, otherwise you’ll be too distracted. Trust me I know.”
Embarrassed, Avalynn followed the instruction and shut off the mirror image of herself and the screen view widened so all she could see was Amanda.
“So tell me,” she asked. “What are you looking to do? What kind of vibe are you looking to create?”
Avalynn raised her brows at that. What kind of vibe? She barely knew her own name at the moment, so she smiled and gave a shrug. Cade told her to be herself, so that’s what she was going to do.
“Honestly, I don’t have one idea where to start. This was Sawyer’s idea with his brother’s girlfriend's prompting. See, I live in a tiny house and most of the organization and design was all of my own doing. Apparently that’s a thing now.”
“Oh my God, really? That is such a thing right now, that’s awesome. You’ll be jumping into a great niche.”
“And I’ve never done any of this before. Sawyer lent me his camera to do the videos, but I don’t have the slightest idea what to do or how to do it. I am so not ready to go online and be a personality.”
Amanda smiled at that and shook her head.
“Not to worry. You won’t be going online for a bit. Its actually best to build up your library first.”
“My library?”
“Sure, produce a handful of videos before you even post one, that way you’re ahead of yourself and can take your time down the road. You’ll have to learn about lighting, and editing, and all the good stuff before we even get to that step.”
Avalynn blew out a breath on that. All these extra steps were making her feel overwhelmed and anxious so quickly, so she was glad Amanda was going to be helping her with each step.
“Thank God. Honestly I was petrified that you’d force me to go online today.”
Amanda laughed aloud.
“No, hardly. I’m not going to shove you out there until you’re good and ready and you give me a thumbs up.”
“That’s such a relief, thank you.”
“No worries. First I’ll send you a handful of links to check out, they’ll be videos for you to study, ones that will show you how to film, how to set up your space, how to deal with editing. All of that. I’ll give you a couple of weeks to work through it and then we can get together again when you’re done. And we’ll go from there. You can also check around locally. A lot of colleges and high schools offer free courses on videography and similar topics. You can check at your library too, they may be able to help.”
“That’s wonderful. Again, thanks so much for all this. I know you’re really busy and I appreciate you taking time out to help me.”
“My pleasure. Happy to help a friend of Parker’s. I have to get going but keep an eye out for my email and if you have any questions feel free to text me.”
“Thanks again, Amanda.”
Amanda waved and gave her a smile and the video chat ended.
Avalynn let out a long breath and sat back on the couch with a giddy laugh.
“I just chatted with Amanda Rudnick!” she said with a squeal.
Sawyer sat behind his desk reading and rereading the information that was currently displayed on his monitor. For the life of him, he had to continue rereading it because he couldn’t believe what he was reading. One of the reasons he had come back to the office that day instead of staying with Avalynn to comfort her was that his assistant had texted him about the information he’d found based on data Sawyer had given him a few nights before.
He’d had a hunch about the restaurant. It had burned in his gut for a few weeks when he’d heard that Isaac had been having issues with his investor, and his landlord. Avalynn had no idea who either of them were and she’d never seen Isaac speaking to anyone she didn’t recognize. The information he was now reading clarified why.
The investor was a Mr. Stephen Brunswick. The name in and of itself meant nothing to Sawyer. He didn’t recognize the name, but that wasn’t uncommon. What was uncommon was that this investor didn’t live in Pennsylvania. He didn’t even live in the country. He lived in Germany. And again, foreign investors weren’t uncommon, but it made no sense. Most foreign investors dumped their money into huge commercial properties like shopping centers or corporate plazas, not old, failing local restaurants and its not like the Meeting House was a franchise. There was nothing to gain in this investment. Nothing at all. It wasn’t until Kevin uncovered the gem on his monitor that it all started to make sense.
The sale of the property was currently pending with Skyway Development.
Of course.
The establishment hadn’t been closed for more than an hour, but Skyway had already made an offer, as if they knew it would be available. Or perhaps because they forced the sale. A sale that was made inevitable when the investor refused to fund improvements to keep it afloat.
“Mother fucker,” Sawyer ground out. Of course Cartwright would be behind it.
Sawyer checked the dates, and it all began to make sense. This had been going on for the last several weeks. If he dug further, he knew he could almost guarantee the investor was paid off by Skyway to back out on the investments. This was way beyond petty on Cartwright’s behalf.
