Phil looked around with a sigh, the dusty boxes would have to go and somehow the empty damp smell in the air would need to be tackled, opening a window probably wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't sure that the window would actually open without falling apart so he didn't try.
He was pretty sure he could get the lavatory and sink working again, he was less than certain that he actually wanted to. But he was out of options, this was what it had come too, he couldn't afford to rent his flat and the restaurant as well, not now, one would have to go and it was never going to be the restaurant.
The rooms that ran above the restaurant, well he was pretty sure it was an apartment once in its life, but the landlord didn't want the hassle or the financial commitment to get it into a liveable condition again so he had rented out the whole building to Phil as part of his business. Phil had done nothing with it either, so it had just collected dust and mould. It was best described as horrible, small, dirty and Phil hated it with a passion but it's necessary. He would have to grin and bear it. If he were smart nobody need know he even lived in this hell hole. He was always the first one in and last one out so he could work around that.
The apartment he had rented up until now was fully furnished from the start so he didn't have loads of stuff to move, a few boxes of personal stuff, some of it not even unpacked from his last move from Nick's. It's clothes, mostly suits would take up the bulk of the items. He had a few boxes already sitting in his car right now. Once the restaurant shut for the night he intended to spend a few hours cleaning up here and hopefully over the next week he could get it good enough to lay his head down at least (not that he had a bed to do so, a visit to the local camping shop should sort that, because costs needed to be kept to a minimal).
Over the last week the true extent of the financial hole that Nick had left Phil in was hitting hard, like a sled hammer around the face. The last of any savings and inheritance he had had been used up taking care of some of the most pressing debts. The restaurant was doing well, thankfully, but it would likely to be a long time until it started to run in profit again. Suppliers were reluctant to give him credit anymore even after he had paid off any money owing to them, but he had a serious black line under his name now. That meant everything had to be paid up front, including the rent. There were still chunks of debt mostly surrounding the bank, who Phil had sat down with and thrashed out a recovery plan. He had agreed to most of the demands, but they had suggested letting go of some of the staff. That Phil just couldn't do, one because it would impact badly on the way the restaurant ran (and it ran really well), and two, this was his fuck up and he would sleep on the streets before it came to that, he wasn't going to let his stupidity ruin anyone else's life.
What he really didn't understand was where all the money had gone. Nick wasn't an extravagant man, well he hadn't been when they had lived together. Sure, he liked the finer things, but money wasn't spent on frivolous things, which is why they had amassed a pretty healthy bank account! Or so he'd thought, Nick had really been the one to run that side of things, of late he had been using cash from the till rather than credit cards, and Phil seldom brought anything that wasn't restaurant related anyway.
But the time for dwelling on past mistakes was gone, and Phil brushed the dust from his hands on his pants and then brushed his pants with a frown when it left a mark. Tonight when the restaurant closed he would put in a few hours of work and see what he could do with the area. The restaurant didn't really close till gone midnight by the time the place was cleared out and May would be last to leave, before him, so he couldn't realistically put in more than a couple of hours, but he would rather do it at night than get caught by one of the team coming into work.
He headed down just in time, opening the restaurant door and heading towards the back, Melinda walked through the door just at that moment, "Hello, sorry, I've only just got in," he lied as he turned back and stretched out his arm indicating the fact that all the chairs were still stacked on the tables, a job he had usually got done by now.
Melinda just nodded and headed off to the kitchen, she wasn't much of a talker early in the day, well she wasn't much of a talker later in the day either but she was a great source of comfort to Phil. She had stood with him even going to the bank manager with him, and he was terribly grateful for it. She would frown on his idea to move upstairs, probably even offer her place to stay at, but Phil didn't want that, he wasn't sure she was seeing anyone right now but the idea of cramping her style by sitting eating popcorn while she had a date over wasn't appealing and it wasn't like he was eighteen anymore! That was partially why he had no intention of telling her about the move plus there might be a little tad of embarrassment even after she knew just about all his financial secrets by now, there was still that little bit of pride in Phil that he didn't want to share what he had been reduced too.
The evening went well, they were nearly three quarters full on tables, which was, for a weekday exceptional good. May's style of cooking was dead on trend, not fancy, good honest home cooked style fodder, well presented and tasting fabulous. Phil should know because in a quiet period after serving her last cover Melinda had sat him down at the pass and presented him with a plate of it, she did it from time to time when she wanted him to test a new recipe for her, this wasn't a new recipe though, he had given her a hard look and she'd shrugged and told him he was looking a little thin. He had eaten it, of course, because no way was he going to waste food, or that's what he told himself. It shouldn't have worried him as much as it did, it wasn't exactly a freebie, after all he owned the place. Well, the part that the bank wasn't clinging too, waiting in the wings for Phil to fuck up again. With them hanging over his head it felt just like when they had first started up, him and Nick, well him and Melinda really with Nick supervising from above, but even as a silent partner Nick still provided the comfort that not being the sole owner gave, that's what he missed more than anything, well that and being able to go home and bitch about people. May was great, but he didn't want to burden her with all his crap. She had come on board with him from the very start. She had her own life and at the end of the day she was still a paid member of staff, a great friend, but Phil was the one that put the money in her pocket. Not that she couldn't go out and get a better pay packet elsewhere, Coulson had a feeling that Melinda had been offered better jobs many times, most recently he had thought she had the opportunity to go in the same direction as Ward. It would have been a better job, better hours, more pay, more prestige, but she had stuck by him. It was another reason he was so determined to get them out of the hole they were presently in.
He was brooding again, he was becoming far too good at brooding. The only other thing he was good at it seemed at the moment was action so he grabbed the broom and started sweeping. All the staff had left about an hour ago. Phil now had his sleeves rolled up covered in dust and actually enjoying himself in an odd sort of satisfying way. Despite that the tiredness was nagged at him and was starting to slow him down.
A couple of hours later he was slumped in his car, a car that was now full of junk to be disposed of tomorrow, heading home and longing for his bed. All ideas of him enjoying the challenge now gone with half a night's sleep. Nevertheless he had achieved a lot, the room was empty and free from dust, mostly. He would really have liked to put a splash of paint on the walls to take some of the grimness off the room but there was no way the smell wouldn't be noticed in the restaurant so that was out for the time being. Tomorrow night he intended to tackle the bathroom, that wouldn't be pleasant he was sure. The damp problem was still a problem, there was mould climbing up the wall, best he could hope for was to sight the camp bed as far as possible from it but that meant being near the daft from the decaying windows . For now, as he started up his car, he was going to enjoy the rest of the night in his warm dry flat because he wouldn't have it much longer!