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“What happened?” I ask as all three men stare at me. “Everyone okay?”
“We’re good. Someone threw a brick into the window sometime in the middle of the night,” Tyler confirms.
“Gonna see if the business across the street caught anything on their security camera, but until then, I’ll get this vandalism report filed so you can get it fixed as soon as possible,” Sheriff Todd says.
Tyler thanks him, and we watch him drive off.
“I’ll start cleaning this up inside,” Smith says before walking off.
“Why would someone do this?” I ask. “Someone against you opening?” There aren’t any competitor gyms in town, so that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.
“No, actually…there was a note wrapped around the brick.” Tyler looks down, and it’s obvious he’s not telling me something.
“What’d it say?”
He inhales sharply before slowly exhaling. “Umm…”
“Tyler,” I press. “Just tell me.”
He finally meets my eyes, then frowns. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to me. When I open it, I read the wordMURDERERwritten across it.
Guilt immediately surfaces, and my shoulders drop. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
“No, it’s not.”
I wave the note in the air. “Clearly itis. Someone’s obviously not happy I’m working for you. I’ll cover the expenses.”
“Noah, stop. You’re not paying for it. That’s what I have insurance for.”
“I insist. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t work for you. I’m a risk to your business.”
“You’re not risking shit. I couldn’t have gotten this much done without you. Fuck whoever did this. Got it?” Tyler pats my shoulder.
I blow out a frustrated breath. He’s being much more reasonable than I deserve.
“At least let me help clean up.”
“Fine, but wear your work gloves. I’ll get the broom.”
I look around the area and am glad that no other businesses were vandalized.
“I’m gonna look for another job out of town,” I tell Tyler when he returns. “I can’t be the reason Club Blackwood suffers.”
“Absolutely not,” he retorts, handing me the broom. “We aren’t letting whoever did this ruin a good thing. You’re a hard worker, and I need you as much as you need this job.”
“You’re sure?”
“Fucking positive. We’ll get security cameras installed. We won’t let them win.”
“Thanks, Tyler. I appreciate you so much.”
“It’ll get easier, I promise.”
I nod, though I’m not sure I believe it.
“Once you’re done, we’ll get some plywood and cover the hole until I can get it fixed.”
“You got it, boss.”
