I sigh. “So what is it then?”
“So she was going to lose everything,” he says. “But instead of declaring bankruptcy and taking the hit, she got herself in deeper. She borrowed money from… some not so good people.”
“Like…？” I whisper.
“Like people who will break your kneecaps or shoot you in the face if you don’t pay them back.”
Oh my God. That is bad.
“A hot girl like that… they probably won’t ice her—at least, not right away,” he says. “But they’re definitely putting the squeeze on her. God knows what they’re making her do to buy some time.”
I try not to picture what he means by that.
“The bigger worry,” he continues, “is that the people she cares about could be in danger.”
I sink down onto the bed before my legs give out. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Nick says, “if you care about your ex, you might want to warn him. He needs to watch his back.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I mumble.
I feel numb as I end the call. A few minutes ago, Joel was the last thing on my mind. I was finally ready to move on, for God’s sake. I had the best date ever last night. I should never have opened up this can of worms—Nonna was absolutely right.
But now that I know Olive’s secret, I can’t un-know it. Joel’s life could be in danger. I have to warn him. I’m just not sure he’ll believe me.
Chapter 40: The New Girl
Cassie puts down the phone, her heart pounding. I am making a horrible mistake. Things have gone from bad to worse. How did she let herself get in this situation? It was so stupid. And now it just keeps getting worse and worse.
All she wants to day is lay her head down on the desk and sob. Or throw herself off the Brooklyn Bridge. The former wouldn’t solve her problem, but the latter would.
Maybe she should level with Zoe. Confide in her how bad things have gotten. But what can Zoe do? She’s in worse financial shape than Cassie is.
Well, no. That’s not true. Zoe is poor, but she’s not in debt.
The door jingles again, and this time, an elderly woman with a puff of white hair and glasses makes her way to the counter. Cassie squares her shoulders—this feels like a sale. At the very least, this woman isn’t buying medical textbooks. If she is, Cassie will definitely burst into tears.
“Hello, young lady,” the woman says. “I was just wondering… do you buy used books?”
Cassie hesitates. Usually the answer is yes. But she has no expendable cash right now. So unless these books are very cheap, the answer will be no.
“I’ve got two boxes in my car,” the woman says. “I don’t want much for them. Really, I just want them to have a good home.”
“Okay,” Cassie says. She has a hard time saying no to people. “Let me take a look.”
She likes the idea of books having a good home too. That’s why she wonders what will happen to the books in the store if Bookland were to close. The bookcases might get sold, but the books probably wouldn’t—that’s the whole problem. So what would happen to them? Would they end up in a dumpster somewhere?
She cringles at the thought.
Cassie pushes those terrible thoughts aside as she follows the woman outside to where the old white Chevy is parked at the corner. The car looks almost as old as the woman. She waits patiently as the woman pops open the trunk and reveals two boxes stuffed with books.
“Please have a look,” the woman tells her.