Chapter 23
A couple of months have passed and it is now winter. Maylene is doing well at the bar, and Zoey and Barry like her. Kenny and Dawn are still skeptical of her. Maylene has also found a small place nearby. Due to Paul's injury, he was let go at his construction job for the rest of fall but told he can come back after winter. His shoulder is still bandaged and he wears a sling.
Dawn and Paul haven't talked to each other since the day Maylene came. He doesn't trust her, and she doesn't bother him anymore. Despite wanting to move out, Maylene convinced him to resign the lease. Since Paul pays on time and is quiet, Dawn just let him resign it. She didn't want to spend any more time with him than necessary, even if that meant getting rid of him from her life. However, a part of her doesn't want that to happen.
Because it is the time where most college students have left for the break, the cafe has limited hours, so the staff gets a breather. Dawn also closes the bar at night except for Fridays and Saturdays.
On one weekday evening, Paul makes his way downstairs as he plans to take a walk. He hates being stuck indoors all day. Once he is down the stairs, he hears voices in the cafe. No one should be here right now, though, since it is a weekday. Paul peeks through the small window and sees Dawn talking to someone. He instantly freezes. He recognizes that spiky head of blue hair.
"I knew it!" Paul angrily thinks to himself. He has to tell Maylene. He turns around to walk out the door, but once he is outside, someone grabs him. He is brought inside and then roughly shoved into the cafe. Paul groans as his shoulder aches.
"Well, well, well. Just who I was looking for." Smiles Cyrus. Paul straightens up and glares at the man. Cyrus's bodyguard stands closely behind Paul.
"Paul…" Dawn looks at him apologetically.
"Why is this girl looking at me like that?" He thinks to himself.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Cyrus asks as he sees the sling on Paul.
"What do you want?" The purple haired man glares at Cyrus.
Cyrus chuckles and puts his hands up in defense. "Just checking in on you. When I found out you were released from prison, I wanted to see you. You know. Let bygones be bygones." he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. "I found your workplace and they had your address. I also wanted to check out this cafe Miss Berlitz has made very successful. My company wants to buy it."
Paul clenches his fists. His shoulder aches, but he doesn't care. Dawn speaks up, "Mr. Akagi, like I've told you, The Piplup is not for sale. Please leave."
Cyrus smirks and now looks at Dawn. "If you sell the building, I'll also forget about the whole casino thing." he winks at her.
"Please leave." Dawn glares at him while crossing her arms.
Cyrus chuckles and stands up while leaving the papers on the table. "Keep the contract. In case you change your mind." He gives a creepy smile and then pats Paul's back by his sling as he walks past him. "Good seeing you again, Paul." He says and leaves with his bodyguards.
A couple of minutes after Cyrus is gone, Paul lets out a breath and glares at Dawn. "Why was he here?" He ignores the intense pain in his shoulder from the strain he put on it and Cyrus's contact near it.
Dawn grabs the papers and heads to the trash can as she rips them up. "I don't know. He called me and wanted to meet about buying the cafe."
"Why? I thought you weren't going to sell it?" Paul questions her suspiciously. Why couldn't she have just taken him to a public place? Why did she even respond to him?
The girl glares at him. "Why do you care, Paul?" She exclaims. She then grabs her purse and jacket from the chair, but Paul grabs her wrist. He searches her pained blue eyes, looking for any indication that he's wrong about her. That she's actually innocent and not a spy. "Let me go, Paul." She sternly tells him, and he let's her go.
Dawn leaves while Paul heads up to his apartment. He watches the bluenette drive off through the window like he always does and then lays on his bed. Eventually, he calls Saturn and Maylene to let them know the plan is in trouble.
Dawn's Flashback
"Dawn! Phone!" Zoey yells to the bluenette.
Dawn hurries over to the work phone and thanks Zoey before answering. "Hello! The Piplup! This is Dawn speaking."
"Hello, Dawn." The voice sends chills down her back. She gets ready to hang up when he speaks again. "If you hang up, Paul dies."
Dawn closes her eyes in fear and frustration. "What do you want, Cyrus?"
"You're a very smart girl," he says. "Let's meet. At the cafe. Come alone. Next week Wednesday 7PM."
"How do I know you won't kill me? Or kidnap me? I want to meet somewhere public." Dawn tries to sound strong, but she feels her legs getting wobbly.
Cyrus chuckles. "Sweetie, I would've already done that if I wanted to. See you next week, or Paul dies." And the call ends.
Flashback Over
"Stupid Paul!" Dawn exclaims as she hits her steering wheel. She doesn't know why Paul won't talk to her, but now Cyrus is creeping around. Just when her business was starting to do well, now she has all these personal problems.