You better.Rain replied with five heart emojis.BTW? Mousesays hi.A picture of her curled up asleep appeared below the text, and she was so adorable that Tristan almost smiled.
Give her a kiss from me.Pocketing his phone, Tristan climbed the foyer stairs, heading to Owen’s office. There had been several meetings between Angelo and Owen, and he’d seen Marci in there too, but they’d been letting Tristan breathe, giving him the space to get his head straight.
While he’d never be ready for this, it was the beginning of his atonement, of making things right and clearing Jax’s name, and everyone deserved to know the truth.
As usual, Owen’s door was ajar, and Tristan pushed it open to find him and Angelo inside.
“Tristan!” Sitting behind his desk, Owen greeted him with a genuine smile. “Come in! Marci should be-” he let out a chuckle as she popped up behind Tristan. “Right there.”
The atmosphere had a tense friendliness as Angelo and Marci settled on the couch. Tristan sat in the chair across from Owen, who cleared his throat, looking like he was searching for the right words.
“I want to preface this by saying that I love Jax-”
“Wait.” Tristan’s shattered heart jammed itself in his throat and he swallowed hard. “You’re going tofirehim? It wasn’t-”
“No!” Eyebrows furrowing, Owen held up his hands, but Angelo took over.
“Listen,” Angelo sighed. “Jax is one of the most talented chefs I’ve ever worked with, and he runs the kitchen like it’s in his blood. But he’s been struggling with his health, and there’s the issue of the walk-in being left open, and the scramble for coverage the day after.”
“We’re not heartless. Mistakes happen, but it’s becoming clear that he might need to take more time off to recover, and we’re trying to navigate that,” Owen added.
Realistically, true recovery for Jax could take years, if he evencouldrecover. It must’ve shown on his face, because Angelo softened a little.
“I have zero problems with him coming in part-time. We want to keep him on board in whatever way possible.” He stopped. “But what we’re really here for is your side of the walk-in story.”
“Have you spoken to Jax?” When Owen and Angelo shook their heads,Tristan took a deep breath, readying himself.
“Someone is sabotaging him.” He’d actually rehearsed this, wanting to make sure that he presented everything in a way that made them want to listen and believe, despite the lack of proof. “Last month, things started to go missing from whatever station he was at, and then they’d just show up again in weird places or right where they were supposed to be. One of his knives vanished too, and he found it later on a shelf in the back of the kitchen.”
Owen’s eyebrows rose as Tristan spoke, and Angelo crossed his arms, but Marci didn’t seem surprised.
“You knew?” He tried not to sound accusatory, but if shedidknow, then why hadn’t she done anything?
“I’ve heard whispers but nothing solid. Whoever it is? They’re good at covering their tracks.” The tone of her voice told Tristan that she was almost as pissed off as he was about it.
“And you think this person left the walk-in open?” Owen leaned back in his chair, genuine concern on his face. “Why didn’t Jax come to us about this?”
“I wanted him to, but Jax said we needed proof.” Tristan let out a huff. “Once he mentioned it to me, I told him about the cameras and we adjusted them, waiting for another incident, but I guess that tipped him off. Everything stopped until last weekend. He must’ve been biding his time. Jax thinks that he broke in through the pantry door after we went home that night, opened the walk-in, and left. There were blind spots outside and inside that gave him a clear path.”
“Him?” Angelo tilted his head. “You know who it is?”
“We believe it’s Derrick.” Tristan steeled himself, waiting for their reaction.
“Derrick?” Marci’s brow wrinkled, but once again, she wasn’t surprised. “But why would he do that to Jax?”
“I don’t have an answer to that yet.” He looked Angelo in the eyes. “But, when Jax’s back went out and I had to carry him up here? Derrick seemed to find it amusing.”
“What was he doing?” Angelo frowned, taking Tristan so seriously that he regretted not saying anything sooner. He and Jax had been too traumatizedby their previous workplaces to speak up about something like this without proof, but The Pointe had shown time and time again that they were different.
“Grinning.” Tristan took a heartbeat to push down his anger. “Like he enjoyed it.”
“What?”Marci hissed. Owen’s face went stern, while Angelo frowned darkly in thought.
“I don’t like what I’m hearing.” Angelo stroked his own impressive beard, which he kept rolled up under a net whenever he cooked. “Derrick’s a little arrogant, but he’s never given us problems before. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but now that I know more, I’m going to do some sleuthing.”
“Thank you.” Tristan looked around at each of them. “I wouldn’t have made this accusation without feeling certain about it. And please, give Jax time? This is his dream, and he’s devastated that the weekend went sideways. However, hewasbeing targeted, and it compromised his chance to show you what he really can do.”
“He did show us.” The corners of Angelo’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled. “Say the walk-in had a mechanical failure. The result would’ve been the same - no inventory - and according to Marci, he worked it out. All the weddings ran smoothly, and I’m hearing that people raved about the food. I’m seriously impressed.”
