Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I went back downstairs before dialing the owner of Morning, Joe.
“This is Rick,” he answered after the first ring.
“Hey, Rick,” I said, glancing at Kara who was grinning maliciously. “This is Charlie Butler, I own—”
“Coffee Now, right?” he asked. “Mal told me she’d given you my number in case you needed anything. How’s she doing? Enjoying that retirement?”
“I think so,” I said, relaxing a little. The guy seemed really nice and I was crossing my fingers he’d be willing to help me. “Listen, Rick, I am calling to ask you for help.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Well,” I said, pausing for a moment. “Do you have anyone named Mary Jones or Tabitha Gates working for you?”
“Both of them, actually,” Rick replied, his tone a bit more cautious.
“Well, I’ve heard from—” Kara held up five fingers. “Numerous people that one or both of them have been telling customers at Morning, Joe that Coffee Now has a bunch of health code violations. We don’t. We have an A rating and always have.”
“Well, now,” he mumbled. “I haven’t heard—”
“People are posting about it on the community app,” I said, not letting him hem and haw. “If you sign on and search our name, you’ll see them.”
“I can’t control what an employee does on their off time,” Rick said with a sigh.
“I know,” I replied. “I’m just asking that you tell them to stop telling customers that when they’re working. I mean, I understand that there is a bit of competition—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Rick said kindly. “I don’t consider you competition at all, darlin.’ There’s room enough for all of us as far as I’m concerned and I’d never tell an employee it was okay to badmouth another business.”
“Thanks, Rick,” I replied.
“I’ll make sure it’s known that any further talk about your shop—or any other for that matter—won’t be tolerated, how’s that?”
“That’s all I’m asking,” I confirmed.
“I’m real sorry about this,” Rick said with a sigh. “What a mess.”
When I hung up the phone, Kara was looking at me expectantly. “Well?”
“He says they both work for him now,” I said, pacing.
“Then it could be either of them,” Kara replied in exasperation.
“Or both.”
“Probably both,” she grumbled. “So, what do we do now?”
“Drive over there and put the fear of God into them?” I asked jokingly.
“Seriously tempting,” she replied. “We need to think of a way to get the word out that the cart isn’t a fucking health hazard.”
“I don’t even know how to do that without looking like we’re on the defensive,” I said, defeat making my shoulders slump.
I dropped down on the couch and pulled my knees to my chest. I’d been wracking my brain trying to figure out where all of my customers had gone, making tweaks here and there to try and save my business, working unending hours to save money—and I finally knew. Someone was sabotaging us and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“I’m going to get a snack, you want anything?” Kara asked, getting to her feet.
“No, thanks,” I replied, laying my head on the back of the couch. Even the idea of food made me want to hurl. My guts were churning with anxiety.
I wanted to confront them. I wanted to tell them they were horrible and disgusting and mean—but I knew that wouldn’t change anything. Mary and Tabitha were adults. They already knew what they were doing was shady as fuck—they just didn’t care. They resented that I’d bought the business from Mal and they hated me for firing them—even though they didn’t do their fucking jobs and deserved it.
What had Tabitha said to me when I’d fired her? Something about how I hadn’t paid my dues yet—that I had no idea what running a shop actually entailed. I guess when I’d actually done okay, she’d needed to make sure that it didn’t last.
It was too much. Finding out that my old employees were badmouthing me and I’d been too stupid to see it, that I’d been posting on social media non-stop but hadn’t even thought of using the community app—it was the shit cherry on top of the diarrhea sundae.
“Kara,” I called as I slowly got to my feet. “I’m gonna go lay down.”
“What?” Kara asked in confusion, coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream. “No, stay, so we can figure this out.”
“I’m exhausted, dude,” I replied, waving her off. “Let’s make a game plan tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” she said slowly, unconvinced. I could feel her eyes on me until I’d rounded the stairs.
The cart would be open for a couple more hours, and I’d normally make sure that I was available in case something came up—but I didn’t have it in me. I silenced my phone and set it on my nightstand before crawling into my bed fully clothed. For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep almost instantly.