A Touch of the Grape: A Hemlock Falls Mystery (Hemlock Falls Mystery series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it must be on you, and I feel so guilty." She sat down next to him. He moved slightly away from her, taking his warmth with him.
    "I've made some calls about the new policy. And Prudential will cover any property casualty losses until tomorrow. When they cancel a policy for nonpayment of premium, they don't cancel it boom, like that. You have thirty to sixty days to find a new insurer. And I've found one; there's a guy coming in with the broker's banquet tonight who'll have a binder policy for you. I want you to sign it."
    "Why won't you sign it? You're not leaving now, are you?"
    "No. I've got a meeting in Syracuse tonight. I'll be back late. But insurance is one thing you don't want to screw around with, Quill."
    "What am I going to do? What are all of us going to do?"
    "We've been over this before, as well. We've cut back on everyone's hours. You and Meg are going to have to go without paychecks for a while, and it'd be best if you two do as much as you can yourselves. I've talked to Myles …"
    "He's in Germany on that E.C.U. thing. When did you talk to him?"
    "He hasn't dropped out of sight. I called him last night. Grounds maintenance is going to be a problem. He can help with the larger items, but he's gone so much and there's so much to do, it's a stopgap measure. He's willing to keep paying Mike's salary for a while, but that's only a temporary solution—"
    "You asked Myles for money?"
    "I asked Myles to help out a bit."
    "Why don't we ask the bank for money?"
    "The line of credit's gone, Quill. They won't give us any more. I told you that. I also told you I'm not going to be responsible for borrowing more. You owe enough already. Now, I've left a list of the customers we want to book this summer. You keep up the phone calls to them—just once a week, and don't let them talk you into any more discounts, okay? And there's enough in the account to keep things going through the summer. You have any questions, call on either Howie or Myles—"
    "For God's sake, John. I told you not to involve anyone else. It's our business. It's my responsibility. Our responsibility. I can't believe you've gone behind my back."
    "I've never once gone behind your back. But when you won't pay attention to the financial, Quill, this is the sort of thing that happens." He touched her arm, then withdrew his hand with an abrupt, almost angry gesture.
    Quill blinked back tears. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
    "Me, too. About my shares in the business …"
    "I'll pay you out," she said tightly.
    "There isn't anything to pay out, Quill. What we have is debt. I'll take care of my portion of the debt."
    "You will not."
    "You should have a C.P.A. handling the paperwork from here on in. There's a small business on Main called PayFor. Do you know it?"
    Quill nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak.
    "They have a computerized service that will handle the General Ledger and the payroll until Labor Day. You do what they tell you to."
    "Then what?"
    "Then the money runs out. If something doesn't happen this summer. But that's still not going to solve the long-term problem. You know what the solution there is, don't you?"
    "I am not going to sell. You heard that. I'm not going to sell."
     
    "You're kidding, right?" Meg's eyes, gray, nar rowed, and suspicious, stared at Quill over a pile of petit choux pastry. "More layoffs?"
    Quill, delaying the really bad news, made a stab at humor. "It's a good thing I took that seminar in 'Ter mination.' The first rule—did I tell you?—is empathize. Tell the employee how much she or he has contributed to the job."
    "How the heck are we going to operate this place with no people?"
    "We'll just have to handle as much as we can by ourselves."
    "Quill, I can't handle three meals a day by myself. I just can't." She ran her hands through her short, dark hair. She was half a head shorter than Quill, brunette, where Quill was red-haired, gray-eyed to Quill's hazel. Quill wondered sometimes if they were truly blood