Chapter 37

I sniffed and ignored him to sip my very large, steaming coffee—black. “Their behavior was infantile, and it doesn’t improve our ratings on Yelp or wherever if customers start talking about fights and broken furniture.”

And then I realized what Rio had said, and plunked the ceramic mug on the wooden table. “Sales? What’s wrong with the numbers?”

His grin faded. “You’re holding steady, it’s true, but a bigger corporation is looking to buy us out, and if we don’t get better numbers at many of our locations, including this one…if the merger goes through, some will have to close as consolidation moves forward.”

I sat back in my chair, stunned. “Did I miss a memo or something?”

“Nope.” He rubbed his eyes and I thought he might be a little tired. I’d never seen him look tired. This was serious. “You’re not even supposed to know about this. I’m telling you as a friend.”

“But…this place is always busy…full. How can—?” I didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.