Chapter 7: Marcus
Ava showed Jason the message without a word.
He read it twice.
Something moved across his face — not quite suspicion, not quite relief.
Something in between.
"He's never contacted me directly," Jason said.
"In eight months of negotiations, everything went through lawyers and reps." He set the phone down.
"He went around all of that to reach you."
"He doesn't have your number."
"No.
But Diane does." He looked up.
"She gave it to him."
"Why would she do that?"
"Because she's losing control of the situation and she knows it." He pushed back slightly from the table.
"Or because Marcus has decided to move without her."
Ava looked at the message again.
*Not about the deal.
About my sister.* "Those are two very different possibilities."
"Yes," Jason said.
"They are."
"I should call him."
"You don't have to."
"I know." She was already dialing.
Marcus picked up on the second ring.
His voice was lower than she expected, and tired in a way that didn't sound performed.
"Thank you for calling," he said.
"What do you want, Marcus?"
A short pause.
"I want to tell you that I didn't know.
About Diane's stake in the firm.
I found out forty minutes ago when my accountant called to flag a discrepancy." His voice tightened.
"She used a holding company.
I didn't know she was in it."
Ava kept her voice neutral.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I've been pushing to close a contract this week without understanding why I was pushing so hard.
Someone kept reminding me about the deadline.
Kept telling me Jason was getting cold feet, that we needed to lock it in before he walked." A pause.
"That someone was Diane."
"She manufactured the urgency."
"She manufactured everything." His exhale was audible.
"I've been her brother my whole life.
I know when she's working an angle.
I just didn't see it this time because I thought she was finally moving on."
Ava looked at Jason across the table.
He was watching her face, reading the call.
"What do you want from this conversation?" she asked Marcus.
"I want to talk to Jason directly.
No lawyers, no reps.
Just him and me." Another pause.
"I want to tell him what I just told you.
And I want to pull back the deadline.
Let the contract sit until both sides are satisfied."
"Why call me instead of him?"
"Because Diane said you were smart," Marcus said.
"She meant it as a warning.
I'm taking it as a recommendation."
Ava almost laughed.
"Hold on."
She lowered the phone and looked at Jason.
"He wants to talk to you.
Directly.
He says he didn't know about Diane's stake.
He wants to pull back the deadline."
Jason held her gaze for a moment.
Then he reached across the table, and she handed him the phone.
"Marcus." His voice was even, giving nothing away.
"Talk."
Ava watched him listen.
His expression stayed controlled, but she saw the moment something shifted — a slight release around his jaw, a breath he'd been holding.
"All right," Jason said finally.
"Tomorrow.
My lawyer will be present.
Yours can be too." A pause.
"No.
Not at the restaurant." He glanced at Ava.
"I'll send you the address in the morning."
He ended the call and handed her phone back.
"He's genuine?" Ava asked.
"I think so.
Either that or he's a better actor than his sister." He leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"He said Diane has been telling him for months that I owe her.
That I built the restaurant on her emotional support and then discarded her.
She framed the whole deal as a way of balancing the scales."
"She convinced him he was doing something righteous."
"And profitable." He shook his head slowly.
"She's been running two separate stories.
One for me — that she just wants closure.
One for Marcus — that the deal is justice."
"And neither story was the whole truth."
"Neither story was close to the truth."
The coffee shop had thinned out around them.
The man with the newspaper was gone.
The woman who'd been laughing at her phone had left without either of them noticing.
"What happens now?" Ava asked.
"Tomorrow, Marcus and I talk.
Grace will have the full picture on the holding company by morning.
If Marcus is willing to restructure the partnership — remove Diane's stake as a condition of moving forward — then the deal can still happen." He paused.
"If he's not willing, we walk away from the building and find another."
"And Diane?"
His expression settled into something quiet and final.
"Grace has enough.
The two phones, the investor calls, the holding company.
If Diane pushes further, she'll be the one with a problem."
Ava nodded.
"She won't like that."
"No," he said.
"She won't."
Outside, a light rain had started.
It tapped softly against the window, barely there.
"I should let you go," Ava said.
"You have a lot to deal with."
"I do." He didn't move.
"But I'd rather deal with it in twenty minutes than right now, if that's all right with you."
She settled back in her chair.
"It's all right with me."
The rain came down a little harder.
Neither of them reached for their coats.
Then Jason's phone buzzed on the table.
He glanced at the screen and his expression shifted — just slightly, just enough.
He turned the phone so Ava could see.
It was a photo.
Sent from Diane's number.
The photo was of the two of them.
Taken through the coffee shop window.
Ava leaning forward, Jason handing her phone back across the table.
May you like
The caption read: *Cozy.
I wonder what your investors would think about you spending the evening coaching a stranger through my personal business.*
