“Are you fucking stupid, Tessa!” I roar at her. “We have security cameras that film the bar from every angle. I sat here and watched you do it. It’s recorded in black and white. You opened the cash register and took out a fistful of hundred-dollar bills. You shoved them down the front of your pants. So, either you pull the money out and put it on my desk or I’ll call the police and they can do it for you.” I hope she doesn’t call my bluff about the police because I don’t want to have to do that. “So I suggest you just do the right thing and hand the money back, and then we’ll work out how we’re going to get past this.”
The threat of what I said must’ve been enough for her to give up trying to deny she did it.
Tessa’s tears start pouring out of her as she reaches down the front of her pants and pulls out two of the hundred-dollar bills, holding them out for me to take.
“And the rest, including the tip you stole from Charlene and shoved down your bra,” I order at her.
“No, there isn’t any more… I promise, I only took two, that’s all I needed. And I would never take any tips from my friends.” Tessa is laying it on thick, pretending to be so upset, when I know she’s still hiding more from me. Her use of the word “friends” pushes my blood pressure even higher. She’s been stealing from them for days. “I’m sorry, I’m just broke and I needed to pay my rent.”
Sob, sob, sob.
Tessa’s now gasping in between her sobs and hangs her head, looking down at the floor as though she’s too ashamed to face me. My gut instinct tells me it’s not that at all. I think it’s the opposite, in that she doesn’t want me to work out that this is all an act.
“Please… don’t… tell… Poppy,” she whimpers through her tears.
I don’t know what to do with her right now. I feel like she’s playing me, and I’m too angry to think rationally. Maybe she is desperate for money, but this isn’t the answer. Stealing from me and continuing to lie about it even when she’s been caught. I need time to cool off before I say something I shouldn’t.
“You need to go home and forget the rest of your shift tonight. I’m too upset with you right now. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Don’t contact Poppy in any way tonight. Then tomorrow, I’ll give you the chance to come clean, but if you don’t tell her the truth, then I will. I suggest it would be better coming from you, because I think you’ve just screwed this up for yourself, and I doubt Poppy will be too happy about it. But just so I’m clear, you will not be asking Poppy or Mrs. B for money. You will be getting another job, just not here. Understood?” I tell her gruffly, knowing she will no longer be working here if we can’t trust her around money. It wasn’t just the cash registergrab, but the tips as well. Tessa’s not a team player. She stole from me and then lied to my face. She’s going to think she got off lightly and be happy with herself that she walked out of here with money she thinks I don’t know about. But it will be a temporary reprieve, because come tomorrow, I’ll be bursting that safe bubble she thinks she’s in, that’s guaranteed. She’s stolen from the bar twice now and then lied to my face. Three strikes and you’re out, as far as I’m concerned.
“I’m sorry, Landon, it’ll never happen again. Please, just give me another chance.” The palms of her hands are pushed together, and she places them under her chin as she lifts her head up just a little, like she’s praying for me to give her another chance.
“Go home, Tessa. We’ll talk tomorrow.” I turn and take a tissue from the box on my desk, handing it to her. “Stop crying, clean yourself up and then head out. I’ll tell the rest of the staff you’ve gone home sick.” Moving toward the door of my office, I open it so she knows it’s time to leave, dismissing her because this conversation is over.
“Thank you,” she murmurs as she walks past me, head down and her shoulders slumped forward, but I don’t buy her performance. I close the door louder than I should’ve behind her just to make sure she understands how irate I am at what she’s done.
Striding back to my desk, I sit and start typing. Going straight into the security software, I extract the film I need and send it to myself by email, wanting to make sure I have an extra record of what happened.
As I lean back in my chair, hands on my head and closing my eyes, I take a moment, breathing deeply to try and calm down the rage that’s still vibrating through my body.
The door of the office flings open with force. “What the fuck happened with Tessa? She just ran out crying and said you told her to go home.” Adrian is glaring at me.
“Close the door,” I bark at him.
Adrian does as I ask, but as soon as it’s closed, he asks me again. “I told you she’s your problem, and I meant it. But what the hell happened that you had her that upset? Charlene tried to ask her what was going on, but she said she wasn’t allowed to talk about it, went and grabbed her bag, and then disappeared.”
Seriously, she couldn’t go out there and compose herself as I asked, which was more for her protection than anything else. Instead, it sounds like she has continued her teary performance in front of everyone, trying to make me look bad.
“I was about to call you in here so I could tell you. Tessa was supposed to compose herself and leave, but obviously she couldn’t even get that right either. For fuck’s sake.” Running my hand through my hair in frustration, I sigh and tell Adrian what happened, pulling up the security footage. I watch the angry look rise on his face too.
“I’ll check the sales records and count the cash drawer and see how much is missing,” he grunts. “But I’ve got to tell you, it’s just money. That’s not what I’m so fucking pissed about. It’s what this is going to do to Poppy. Your girlfriend has been to hell and back and is finally getting her life on track. That smile on her face when she was in here earlier with Autumn lit up the whole bar.” He shakes his head, looking as disappointed as I am.
“Do you think it was just an opportunistic moment for Tessa, that she saw the money and just made a dumb decision?” I ask Adrian. “Because that’s what I want to hope it is, but you know I’ve had a bad feeling about Tessa from the beginning, and I could never put my finger on why. I hope this isn’t a pattern with her. I mean, we have nothing to prove that all the stories she told us about her life are true. We had no reason to doubt her, exceptmy gut feeling. But what if she’s a con artist who ran out of money, decided to find Poppy and see what she could get out of her. I mean, there’s no denying she’s her mother, but is she even here for the right reasons?” I look up at Adrian who’s standing on the other side of the desk from me, hands leaning on the back of a chair and contemplating what I just said.
“Who knows. Is Tessa even her real name? It’s not like we did anything to check her out. I mean, why would we? She did the DNA test, and we took all the rest at face value.” He pushes off the chair, standing up straight, and looks at his watch. “We better get back behind the bar. The staff will be run off their feet with us both back here, and now short a staff member. A useless one at that, but still, without Tessa cleaning the tables, it just means it takes one of the others off their job,” Adrian says, and I jump up out of my seat.
“Shit, yep, let’s go.” I follow Adrian out to the bar, and as I’m about to pour my next beer order for the two guys standing at the end of the bar, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I finish pouring the beers, placing them on the bar and sorting out the payment, then pull out my phone.
And with all that’s happened tonight, just seeing Poppy’s message on my screen is enough to make me smile. It’s not a big one, but it’s a start.
Poppy: Dinner was yummy. I’m so full. We’re getting ready to pay and then we’ll walk back to the bar. We don’t need you to order the car for a few blocks, and it’ll help walk off this food coma.
A photo follows the text showing me the size of the serving of pasta she ordered and then the almost empty plate after she’deaten. My girl has an appetite. But there’s not a chance of her and Autumn walking back to Lucinda’s on their own.
Tonight has already been fucked up, I don’t need anything else to go wrong. And there is no way in hell I’m putting Poppy in danger with Dean still in the city.
Landon: Not a chance, beautiful. I’m ordering the car now. Don’t leave the restaurant until it gets there. Non-negotiable!
Poppy: Okay, Mr. Bossy, or is it Mr. Grumpy tonight?
