What Goes Around Comes Around

by Leighann Dobbs

  TJ frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “She has it out for Sarah too, and you’re Sarah’s brother.”

  TJ wondered about that. He’d never mentioned he knew Marly or Sarah. It never occurred to him because he didn’t know Marly that well. He’d seen no indication from Veronica that she knew he was related to Sarah. “How would she know that? I don’t have the same last name, and besides, I know how she ended up here. Same way I did: Gertie.”

  Sarah scowled, but Marly’s face softened. “Gertie does have a soft spot for people who might have chosen the wrong path. And she’s a good judge of character. She’s been wonderful to my mother.” She touched Sarah’s arm. “Maybe we should listen to TJ. I mean, I did some mean things myself. Maybe Veronica had a reason.”

  TJ nodded. “Maybe she did some stupid things before, but that’s in the past. She’s totally committed to kicking ass in this job. She spent hours on the proposal. You need to give her a break. People do change. Look at me. What if Gertie hadn’t given me this job because she didn’t believe I’d changed and would go back to being a drug addict?”

  Sarah sighed. “I guess you’re right. At least about people making stupid mistakes. I lied to get into the chef contest. I mean, sure, I did it for a good reason, which was to send you to rehab. But it was still a lie. And Marly, you did the same. I mean, it was to save your mom, but it was still a lie.”

  Marly nodded silently as she stared down at the table. Sarah looked at TJ and shrugged.

  “Well, maybe there’s a reason Veronica did what she did in the past too,” TJ said, sensing that there was. “I really think you guys should let bygones be bygones and work with her. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to make sure whoever is trying to ruin things doesn’t succeed. Please.”

  The room was quiet for several minutes.

  “Fine.” Sarah and Marly both said in unison.

  “Great! So, now that that’s settled, I have a plan to flush out this mole we seem to have.”

  Veronica shoved the Peppermint Patty she’d grabbed from the break room into her drawer. For some reason, she wasn’t hungry. Everything was at stake with this wedding. Her job. Gertie’s business.

  She was in a mild state of panic over the fact that TJ was now alone with Marly and Sarah. Who knew what they were telling him about her? She had been so happy when he had defended her, but what if Marly and Sarah convinced him otherwise, making her out to be a terrible person?

  And why was he alone with them? It seemed weird that the finance guy would want to meet with them alone. Then again, he had as much at stake with this wedding as she did, and it was pretty obvious Veronica, Marly, and Sarah weren’t going to agree on anything. Yet, she’d gotten the vague impression that he knew them as more than just Gertie’s finance guy, but how?

  She pulled out her lip balm and smoothed it on her lips. There wasn’t much that she could do about what TJ thought of her, so there was no use dwelling on it.

  Besides, she needed to get Gertie the information on Tanner that she had asked for earlier. She’d already gathered some basic material on him and was writing down the names of his restaurants as Gertie wheeled in.

  “Hey kid, don’t worry about bridezilla and her sidekick,” Gertie said. “And we’ll figure out who is behind all these strange happenings and show them it’s not you.”

  “Thanks.” Veronica’s heart warmed at Gertie’s faith in her. She handed Gertie the paper. “I wrote down the restaurants that Tanner Durcotte owns.”

  “Humph. This one is right down the street. What a coincidence. I’m hungry.” With that she wheeled herself out of Veronica’s office.

  14

  Gertie hung up her phone and wrote a note to remind her to send flowers to her friend. She had contacts all over the city, and this person had been able to tell her exactly which of his restaurant’s Tanner Durcotte would be at for lunch today.

  She smoothed her long grey hair back, pulling it behind her ears. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out some lipstick and applied it, a warm pink tone that highlighted her full lips. She applied some blush to her cheeks, adding a pop of color. Next she added some mascara onto her bare lashes, her bright green eyes popping against the jet black. She backed up a bit and studied her reflection, happy with the results. She may be in a wheelchair and pushing sixty-five, but she looked damned good!

  She had her driver drop her around the corner from Tanner’s restaurant and wheeled herself along the sidewalk, something she usually avoided. People could be so rude in the city, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone to tell her that she was in the way or that she needed to move faster or slower or to the right or the left. Damned idiots!

  She maneuvered her way down to the restaurant as fast as she could without running someone over. She always knew about any new restaurants in the city. This one had opened right before she had left for the cooking contest, and she’d heard very good things about it. The chef had actually been a runner-up in the cooking show she had produced, just barely missing out on making it onto the show.

  The inside was impressive. It was bright and airy, the ceilings extremely high, which was rare for this city. A large bar ran down the center of the room with tables and booths scattered throughout the rest of the space. The front and rear had floor-to-ceiling windows offering great views and abundant light. The wood, all mahogany, shined beautifully, as did the black leather used for all of the seating.

  She wheeled herself to the hostess stand, a scowl on her face.

  “How am I supposed to be able to get over there?” she asked, pointing at a section toward the back of the restaurant. “The tables are all so damn close that someone in a wheelchair could never get through to that area.”

  The hostess, a young girl who looked no older than twenty-two, fumbled around with menus, stuttering a lame answer. “Well, I… I guess we could move—”

  “Was this place ever inspected?” Gertie asked, interrupting her. “I mean, I guess I can call the city to find out. It’s easy to get that info these days.”

  An older man wearing a suit with a shiny tag that said “Maitre’d” walked briskly across the room from the bar area, approaching Gertie.

  “Is there a problem?” His eyes flicked from the hostess to Gertie. “What can I help you with today?”

  Gertie threw her arms in the air. “I’m asking about how anyone in a wheelchair is expected to get down to that area over there. Or does the owner just not want disabled people eating here? I mean, we do eat out on occasion, you know.” Gertie spoke loudly, causing nearby patrons to turn and stare.

  “Of course we welcome disabled people! Why don’t we find you a table, and I will see if the owner is available.” He motioned to the hostess for a menu and grabbed it, then walked around behind Gertie and started to push her wheelchair toward a nice table next to a window.

  Gertie bit her tongue to keep from laughing out loud. What a bunch of idiots! She had played them like a piano. The seating was fine. And she had scored a great table!

  “I hope this will do?” The man asked, quickly removing the chair and pushing her up to the table. He took her napkin from the table and handed it to her.

  “I guess this is okay.” Gertie said, sounding terse.

  “Excellent. I will see if the owner can come speak to you.”

  Gertie nodded her head and opened the menu. She wasn’t really that hungry, but the menu was impressive and contained varied dishes. This Tanner guy might be a jerk, but he sure seemed to know how to run a restaurant.

  Tanner Durcotte stopped in his tracks as he approached Gertie’s table, almost causing a waiter that was behind him to drop a tray of food. He apologized to the waiter and walked slowly toward the table, eying Gertie cautiously.

  She looked almost exactly like his late wife. The long grey hair pulled back from her face. Tan complexion. Bright eyes. And, based on what his employees had said, she was apparently feisty as hell, just as his wife had been.

  �
�Good afternoon Mrs. … er…”

  “O’Rourke. And it’s Miss. Call me Gertie. Who are you?” Gertie asked as she eyed him critically.

  “Miss… er, Gertie, I’m Tanner Durcotte. I own this restaurant, and I understand there was an issue?”

  A waiter appeared and placed several appetizers on the table in front of Gertie. Tanner nodded to him. He had arranged for the best appetizers he had to be sent to the table as soon as he had heard that there was an issue.

  “I arranged for some of our award-winning appetizers to be sent over. I do hope that’s okay?” he asked, hoping it didn’t upset her or that she had a food allergy.

  She nodded and then motioned for him to sit down across from her. He pulled the chair back and sat, noticing that her ring finger was bare.

  “There’s not enough room,” Gertie said as she reached for a grilled jumbo shrimp. “Between the tables, I mean. Someone like me can’t get through.”

  Tanner was confused, unsure of what she meant by “someone like me.” What did she mean? “Someone like you?”

  He watched as Gertie pushed herself back a bit from the table and saw that she was in a wheelchair. He hadn’t even noticed it when he had seen her from afar; he had been too mesmerized by her face.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”

  “Realize what? That I was on four wheels?” Gertie asked, wheeling herself close to the table and reaching for one of the sauces that had been set out with the food.

  “I’ll have the issue resolved immediately. We did have the inspectors here, and they ensured us that we were ADA compliant, but I trust your judgment. I hope you’ll accept my sincere apology. Of course your meal will be on the house.” Tanner felt himself babbling like an idiot. Why was he over-apologizing for this? Besides, he knew that there was enough room between those tables and chairs for a wheelchair to pass. He’d measured them himself. There was the slight chance someone had moved them around without him knowing. He looked at Gertie again. There was something about her he just couldn’t put his finger on, and it flustered him.

  He stood, and Gertie waved her hand at him. “No, no. Sit down. Please. I can’t eat all of this by myself, and I hate to waste food.”

  “No, that’s okay. I really should be…”

  “Sit,” Gertie said sternly, staring him right in the eyes.

  He sat down, not knowing why he was doing so. He had plenty of other things he should be attending to other than having lunch with someone who had caused a ruckus in his restaurant.

  “So, how long have you been in business?” Gertie reached for her second shrimp. “And who runs your kitchen? This shrimp is excellent. Fresh. Cooked to perfection.”

  Tanner gave her the rundown on how he’d started the business with a single restaurant and expanded it to five within the city. Of course he left out the part about the failed fashion design business. They chatted for more than an hour, with Gertie showing genuine interest in the restaurant, just as his wife had. In fact, no one else had really shown this much interest in him since his wife had died. It felt good.

  “What does your wife think of this? The long hours, I mean. Or does she work here too?” Gertie asked.

  Tanner hesitated. “My wife passed away a few years ago. Cancer. We had no children.” He couldn’t say anything else, the words wouldn’t come out. He still was unable to talk about it without choking up.

  Gertie nodded. “It still hurts, doesn’t it? Deep wounds take a long time to heal. But you can’t heal them by lashing out at others.”

  Tanner was taken aback. What did she mean by that? His mind raced to his plan to ruin Marly’s wedding and how he had tried to rig the show that Sarah had been on. This woman couldn’t possibly know about that, though.

  As he stared at her, he suddenly realized he knew who she was. Gertie O’Rourke. The old bat who owned the new event venue where Marly was having her wedding. The same place where Tanner had pulled strings to get Harper employed. But Gertie had used an employment agency for that position. Tanner had a contact there, and they owed him a favor. There was no way Gertie could have known he’d planted Harper there for a reason. Harper would never have told her. Maybe she was just a nutjob.

  “I’m not lashing out at anyone, at least not these days.” Tanner smiled at her, hoping she couldn’t see through him.

  “Well, maybe you aren’t. But if you were, it wouldn’t be right. Especially if it were to ruin someone else’s special day. I’m sure you know that karma always finds a way to pay people back. What goes around comes around.” With that she placed her napkin on her plate and wheeled herself away, leaving a confused Tanner at the table.

  His heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. Emily would have said the same thing if she were alive. She, too, would have reminded him about karma. Then again, if all that karma mumbo jumbo was right Emily wouldn’t be dead, would she? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an incoming text.

  Operation Cake Topper is a success. Awaiting further instructions.

  15

  Veronica’s new leather pumps made a soft pattering as she tapped her foot on the floor. Her nerves were at an all-time high over what had been said after she had left Gertie’s office. She was going to find out any second, because TJ was standing in her office. She was positive that at any minute he would call her out on all the mean things she’d done to Marly, and that Sarah had told him about her in their meeting. She reached for the lip balm on her desk.

  TJ wasn’t acting angry, though. He was relaxed, smiling even. Whatever he had talked to Marly and Sarah about, it must have gone well.

  “You don’t need to worry about Sarah and Marly giving you a hard time anymore,” he said.

  “Easier said than done. I mean, I still don’t trust them. Or maybe they don’t trust me. Not yet, anyway.” She paused to take a swig of her coffee. “I figured I can research the people who work here. You know, to see if any of them have a connection to Tanner. It should be easy to research everyone. There aren’t that many people working here, right?”

  “There’s sixty, maybe a few more.”

  “Sixty people? What do they all do? I’ve only seen a handful of them around.”

  TJ shrugged. “You know Gertie. She collects lost souls.”

  “True. That’s a lot of people to go through, though. Why are you so positive that it’s not Marly? I mean, do you know her or something?” She knew that it wasn’t Marly, but she was dying to know more about TJ’s connection to her and hoped that he would spill the beans.

  Looking up at him, she reeled herself in. He now sat on the edge of her desk, grinning at her in a way that made her heart flutter.

  “It’s not Marly. I don’t know her that well, but it makes absolutely no sense for her to sabotage her own wedding. She has no reason to. It sounds like this Tanner guy might have a reason, though, right? I mean, it sounds like you know how this guy operates from experience.”

  Veronica squirmed in her chair. She’d known this would eventually come up. How could she explain to TJ without losing his respect? Then again, did she even deserve his respect?

  “Yes, I did something for Tanner. And just like Marly, I had a reason, and—”

  TJ held up his hand, cutting her off. “I don’t need the details. That’s all in the past. It doesn’t matter. It’s what you do now—in the present—that matters. Let it go.”

  His soothing voice calmed Veronica. He was right. She needed to focus on what’s happening now. “Okay, so how should I start finding out about the employees?”

  “We need to get Gertie’s approval first. There’s no Human Resources Department, and I’m handling all of the payroll and have all of the new-hire paperwork everyone filled out. Everyone signed a release for reference checks, so I guess we could do that. Most of the files would have the information on their past employers. That’s probably the best place to start. Maybe we’ll find a link to this guy’s fashion company or one of his restaurants,” TJ said as he slid closer to Veron
ica and tapped the computer screen.

  His arm brushed against hers, and Veronica tried to ignore the spark that flared inside her. Did he feel it too? No, he was studying the computer screen. She thought back to the hand squeeze and the way he’d acted when they’d gone out after work. She had kind of gotten a vibe. Maybe she should suggest going out for a drink again. But before she could, Gertie’s squeaking wheels broke the silence.

  “I just had a delightful lunch with your friend Tanner. Not a bad guy, really. I think he just needed to hear a few things to set him straight. I don’t think he will be bothering us again.”

  Veronica couldn’t believe that someone as savvy as Gertie could be snowed by Tanner. The fact that she had had lunch with him blew her away.

  “Gertie, you have no idea how ruthless he is. I don’t know what the two of you said to each other, but trust me, he’s not giving up. He must have someone doing his dirty work from inside, because he always has someone else do his dirty work. If you approve, I can run a background check on all the employees and see if I can find a connection.”

  “Absolutely not!” Gertie shot her a stern look. “I will not allow my employees to be checked up on as if they are criminals. Are you off your rocker? That’s an invasion of privacy! How would you two like it if I did that to you?”

  Veronica glanced at TJ. She wouldn’t like that very much at all and judging by the look on his face, neither would he.

  “I didn’t think so,” Gertie said. “Now, I told you that Tanner won’t be pulling any more shenanigans. That’s that. Now stop playing detective, and get back to work. We have a wedding to pull off in five days!”

  Gertie wheeled out and Veronica turned to TJ. “Well, this isn’t good. I know Tanner, and I know if he’s out to ruin someone, he won’t stop. How the hell are we going to find out who the mole is before they do more damage?”

  “Don’t worry,” TJ said. “I’ve got a plan.”