But she knew she was in the right here, that she hadn’t violated any laws. She’d be vindicated. Just maybe not with this Newton guy standing here.
The inspector looked up. “You’re not using that kitchen in back?”
“No,” said Lauren.
“If you decide to, we’ll need to inspect again.”
“Noted,” said Diane.
“There’s no violation here, is there?” asked Caleb. “I’d be willing to vouch for—”
“That’s not necessary,” said the inspector. “I don’t see any violations here. Know that we can inspect again at any time, but I’m signing off on keeping your A rating from the health department and keeping this place open.”
“Thank you,” said Lauren.
“I’ll send a copy of this to the email on file,” said the inspector. “I think I’m done here. Have a nice day, everyone.”
“Are you serious?” said Newton. “There’s no way this is a safe situation. If a cat gets out and gets in the pastry case—”
“That won’t happen if the café staff keeps the case closed.” The inspector leveled his gaze at Monique.
“We always do,” she said.
“You may not like it, Mr. Newton,” the inspector said, “but the lawyer on the phone is right. They’re adhering to the letter of the law here.” He slid his table into his bag. “I’ve got other inspections today, so if you’ll excuse me. Have a good day, everyone.”
The inspector left the café. Newton looked furious. “If you think this is over—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Caleb said calmly. Lauren looked at him, still astonished he was here.
“We all see what your game is here,” Caleb went on. “You want to shut down the café so Diane has a financial incentive to sell. I think what you just learned is no one here is interested in selling and you can’t shut down the café as easily as you think. So go back to your boss and tell him nice try, but this building is not for sale.”
Diane laughed, sounding delighted. “What he said. Please leave, Mr. Newton. You are no longer welcome here.”
Newton fumed for a moment, and then stormed out of the café.
Once he was gone, everyone cheered. Lauren pressed a hand over her chest, still not relaxed but feeling a bit relieved. “Thanks, everyone. I’m glad we got through that. For the record, we reserve the right to refuse service to Mr. Newton, should he come here again.”
She took a step to go back toward her office so she could collect herself, but Caleb hooked his hand around her elbow. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She looked him over. Given how foolish he thought the café was, it was strange for him to defend it. He was probably defending his own livelihood; he’d mentioned that, if Randolph bought the building, he could very well level it and put the vet clinic out of business.
Except the singular thought in Lauren’s head was, What the hell is he doing here?
“I’m fine,” she said. “A little shaken up. If he had been able to shut us down just temporarily, the losses would be very hard to recover from.” She realized his hand was still on her arm, and she looked at it, not sure how to process what was happening.
He pulled his hand away. “Diane and I were checking on Giant when you called. I overheard that the inspector was here so I thought I’d try to help.”
“And I appreciate that, but Caleb, we’re not—”
“No, I know.” He smiled ruefully. “We’re not even friends right now. That doesn’t mean I can’t worry about what’s happening to you.”
It wasn’t that Lauren wanted Caleb to leave. She found his presence somewhat comforting and she was touched that he’d defended her. But now that the dust was settling, she felt awkward, and if Caleb didn’t want a relationship, they had nothing to talk about.
Softly, she said, “Nothing has changed, has it?”
Caleb pressed his lips together. “I don’t—”
“Right. You probably have patients.”
“Yeah. Diane, should I put Giant in that carrier you brought down?”
Diane was on the phone, but she said, “Many thanks, Stuart,” and hung up. “Yes, get Giant ready to go, but let him play for a few more minutes. I want to chat with the café staff. Then I’ll be right over.”
“All right.”
Caleb left. Monique went back behind the counter and busied herself with wiping down everything. The customers had cleared out when the health inspector came in, so the only other people in the café were Paige and Diane. With a sigh, Lauren dropped into the nearest chair and put her head in her hands.
Diane reached over and pet her head, then sat in the chair across from her. “You did great, Lauren. And I told you guys I’m not selling. I meant it.”
Lauren sat up. “Thanks. I know. Just… I worried that inspector would shut us down. I knew intellectually we’ve done nothing wrong, but all it would take is that one inspector who is allergic to cats and having a bad day. You know?”
“I do.” Diane smiled. “That man cares about you a lot.”
“Who, Caleb?”
“Really?” said Paige.
“Think about it. As soon as he heard you might be in trouble, he came right over. He defended you against the people who want to shut this place down. And he checked to make sure you were okay. He cares. A lot.”
“What the hell is happening, then?” asked Lauren. He had defended her, even though he thought the café itself was silly. “Last week, he told me he didn’t want a relationship. If he cares about me so much, why doesn’t he want to be with me?” And then Lauren put a hand over her mouth because she couldn’t believe she was saying all this to her boss.
But Diane was no ordinary boss. “Honey, I’ve been through this before. My relationship with Winnie got off to a rocky start. Why doesn’t he want a relationship? A lot of reasons. He just got divorced, for one.”
“So he keeps saying.”
“Maybe he doesn’t feel ready to commit. He’s
