As he was heading toward his office, Tara exited the salon off the main dining room and broke into a grin. “Yay, you made it.”
“Tara, I’m sorry,” Teddy said. “I should have been here over the holiday weekend.”
“It’s all good.”
“I’ve got time to talk before the restaurant gets busy. Come meet Sierra first.”
“Who?”
“A friend of mine,” he said.
He brought her to his booth. “Sierra, my floor manager, Tara.”
“I’ve heard good things about you, Tara,” Sydney said.
Tara glanced at Teddy, then back to Sydney. “Thanks. Can I get you something to drink?”
Sydney pushed out of the booth. “Let me grab us sparkling water. Tank said you wanted to talk. I can make myself scarce.”
“No, you can stay.” Tara waved down a server and ordered the beverage.
The three sat in the booth with Sydney in the middle, Teddy with his back to the wall, and Tara with her back to the dining room.
“How was your holiday?” Teddy asked.
“Super busy,” Tara replied. “When the last customer left, we locked up, had our own Thanksgiving dinner. I loved it.”
“I’ll make sure everyone gets paid time and a half for the holiday,” Teddy said.
Tara’s face lit up. “That would be great. I could use the extra money for holiday gifts. My mom and dad are flying out to visit me. I’m super excited for them to see the restaurant.”
Teddy loved the pride she took in her work.
“Tara, I wanted to circle back about taking time off for your Hawaiian vacation,” Teddy said.
The server delivered the bottled water and got busy filling three glasses.
“About that,” Tara said, “The event got moved up from Christmas week.” She glanced nervously at him. “Iknowit’s our busy season, but I earned this trip—it’s all-inclusive for top performers—and I’m going.” She squirmed in the booth. “I hope that didn’t just get me fired.”
“Fired? I thought you were quitting.”
Her cute giggle made Sydney smile. “If I could deal with Willie Boy and histotalinability to run this restaurant, then work for your sick-handsome brother, Gabriel—there’sno wayI’m quitting on you.”
Sydney laughed. “So, of all the handsome Santini’s, Gabriel did it for you.”
“Holy hell.” Tara tucked her hair behind an ear. “I melted every time he looked at me. But, he was my employer and waytoo difficult to work for. He ran the restaurant like a mafioso.” She shrugged. “I’ve said too much. Now, you probablywilllet me go.”
“You’ve earned your vacay,” Teddy said.
She grinned. “Yay! I can’t wait!”
“The trip is with your side hustle, right?” he asked, trying to keep his tone lowkey.
“Sure is.” She drank down half the sparkling mineral water. “The Sovereign Method.”
“I’m interested…” Teddy began.
Normallynotat a loss for words, he didn’t know how to ask her for information on TSM without sounding like he was stepping over a line. “I’ve never been to Hawaii. I’m curious, where are you staying?”
