I smiled. I knew the exact Sunday brunch crowd he referenced.

“It doesn’t look like Thornton was itemizing out the costs of running the inn, at least not on paper. His ledgers list every expense, but they’re all jumbled together. Like the only numbers he paid attention to were the biggest ones. Money in. Money out.”

“But if there’s always enough money coming in, things have to be okay, right?”

“In the simplest sense, yes,” Simon said. “But that’s just it. It doesn’t look like there is enough money coming in. Like I said, I need to dig into the numbers to know for sure.”

“How is that even possible? The inn is still open and functional. We’re all still getting paid.”

“Unfortunately, if things continue like they are, I don’t think you’ll be getting paid much longer.”

My heart rate spiked. Gaspard. April. Me. Not to mention dozens of other employees. We all relied on the inn. But it was more than just a paycheck for Ida. It was everything she and Thornton had built together—his entire legacy. There had to be a way to fix things. I drummed my fingers against the desktop and forced out a frustrated breath. Simon was so calm, but there was a lot at stake, and thinking about it was stressing me out.

He reached across the desk and touched my forearm, his fingers light but somehow still steadying. “Lane. I don’t want you to worry. I’ll make this my top priority, okay? I’ll find you some answers. Soon.”

I took a deep breath.

“Okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “Okay.” I wanted to believe him, but it was hard not to feel like his measured diplomacy was a cover to keep from telling me the inn was two months shy of not making payroll. Or worse, shutting its doors altogether.

Simon moved to the door. “I assure you I’ll be as transparent as possible when I know how things stand.”

“Thanks, Simon. I appreciate it.”

He was out the door when I realized we’d never discussed his fee. He’d probably send us a bill, but I wanted to be sure he knew we were expecting it and not trying to freeload off a boyfriend/family connection. He was almost to his car when I caught him.

“Simon!”

He turned. “What’s up?”

“We never talked about your fee. I hope you’re planning to send us a bill for your time.”

He ran a hand across his jaw. “I’m going to do this one on the house.”

I put my hands on my hips. “No way. You can’t do that.”

“I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want.”

“But you shouldn’t do it, Simon. It’s not fair. I never expected you to help out as a favor. I wouldn’t ever ask that of you.”