A Murder In Milburn Book 2 Death Of A Deputy REVAMPED June 2016 SCRIVENER by Nancy McGovern Page A

eyebrows shot up. “But… but you refused to, I mean…” she kept her hands folded on the table, and concentrated on them.
    “Say it, Tina.”
    “The entire town knows Harvey broke up with you because you refused to let him invest in your diner,” Tina said.
    “Why is everyone so fascinated with me and Harvey anyway?” Nora asked testily.
    “Because you’re the town’s version of Ross and Rachel,” Tina laughed. “We’re all making bets on who it’ll be.”
    Nora glared at her. Tina was friendly and sweet, but there were times when Nora really had to resist the urge to smack her.
    “I should probably quit talking now,” Tina said.
    “If you have a rewinding mechanism, five minutes ago would be ideal for a restart point,” Nora said coolly.
    “I’m sorry,” Tina sighed. “My brain needs a filter installed between it and my mouth.”
    “Never mind,” Nora said, a little more kindly. “What’s new with you, anyways?”
    “Well, nothing much till I met you,” Tina said. “But now, I’m getting a few ideas.”
    “What do you mean?” Nora asked.
    “I mean… look, being a graphic designer and marketing manager at Sam’s Spurs is all okay,” Tina said. “But the truth is, the main work in that joint is designing and manufacturing the spurs, which is all Sam’s job. He’s nice to me and I contribute, but I need something more challenging.”
    “Thinking of quitting the family business?” Nora asked.
    “Only if a certain friend lets me buy my way into her operation,” Tina said.
    Nora stiffened. “What are you saying?”
    “I want to give you money for the diner,” Tina said. “I know that you’ve got everything set up. You just need a few hundred thousand dollars more--”
    “A few hundred thousand dollars more,” Nora laughed. “Tina, did you even hear the casualness with which you said that? It’s an insane amount of money.”
    “Well I have an insane amount of money,” Tina said. “I’ve been thinking about it for three months now, Nora. I turned 35 and inherited all that money from my trust fund opening up. I got to invest it all some place. I would have asked you before, but I thought that if you refused Harvey, I had no chance at all.”
    “I can’t take your money,” Nora said, stiffening.  
    “Why not?” Tina asked. “You’re fine with taking it from Anna.”
    “Because you’re giving it to me from the same reason Harvey did,” Nora said. “Pity.”
    Tina’s jaw seemed to come unhinged. “Wh-”
    “Tina, the kind of people who can throw around money like this on a whim…” Nora shook her head. “I’m sorry but they’re the kind of people I’m scared of. You haven’t looked over my business plan, you haven’t seen any of my past work, and you’re ready to invest a few hundred thousand into my business? That’s just scary. No, I’d rather work a few more years and have the bank give me a loan, or get a loan from Anna and buy back the equity eventually.”
    Tina scoffed. “You’re being closed minded, Nora. I’ve eaten what you’ve cooked. That’s the only thing I need to want to invest in you. Well, that and the fact that I know how hard you work. You don’t need a genius to know that the diner will succeed.”
    “Success isn’t always just about how good your product is or how hard you work,” Nora said. “It’s a combination of luck, timing and opportunity.”
    “Well said,” Tina said. “But here’s the thing, Nora. You’ve got the opportunity, right in front of you. I’m willing to invest but you’re saying no. What’s up with that?”
    “I don’t want to talk about it,” Nora said, angrily.
    “I think you should,” Tina said. “I think you should have a talk with yourself about why you really refused Harvey’s money. Why you’re refusing mine.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “Do you really want to achieve your dream?” Tina asked. “Or do you want to be a caterer doing odd jobs all your life?”
    Nora shoved