by Juniper Hart
“There you are,” Charlie said, handing her the plate. “I hope that lady chokes on it,” he joked.
“Now, be nice,” Lola said. She put the order on a tray and carefully carried it back out to the table. The woman barely looked up from her newspaper and only grunted at Lola when she asked if there was anything else she needed.
“Wow, tough crowd today,” Denise said as Lola finished ringing up a customer.
Denise was Lola’s best server, and after being hired, the two quickly became friends.
“Yeah,” Lola replied. “It’s Monday, though. It’s to be expected, I guess.”
“That’s it. Stay positive,” Denise told her as she grabbed an order and headed to a table with it.
God knows I’m trying, Lola thought.
A small line was beginning to form at the counter, which meant that the dinner rush was starting to die down a bit. The clock said it was a quarter till eight. Lola let out a deep sigh—there was only an hour and fifteen minutes left. She was going to make it… she hoped.
Lola finished ringing up her customers and thanking them for stopping by. She was actually starting to recognize a few of them as regulars. That was certainly promising.
“How was everything?” Lola asked the last customer in the line when he stepped up to the counter. It was then that she noticed the man was not holding a bill, and she did not remember serving him.
“Are you the proprietor of this establishment?” the man asked. His voice was heavy, with a thick accent Lola couldn’t quite place. He appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, with thinning graying hair slicked back against his head. A pencil-thin mustache adorned his upper lip. He was not a classically handsome man, but he was impeccably dressed in an expensive three-piece suit, and he wore a charming smile. His cologne was just the icing on the cake of a great package.
“Um, yes,” said Lola, “I am. Lola Waters, at your service. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. I was hoping I could have a moment of your time to speak with you about a pressing matter.”
“Yes, of course,” Lola replied. “Have a seat over here. Denise, keep an eye on the counter for me, will you?”
Denise nodded her head. Lola and the stranger sat down at an empty booth.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“Well, it’s really more of what I can do for you,” the man said, “if you look at this the right way.”
Lola frowned slightly. “I’m not following.”
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Roger Myers,” he said, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a gold business card holder. He pressed the bottom of it with his thumb and a sleek business card popped out of it, sliding between two of his thick fingers. He handed the card to Lola.
Roger Myers Real Estate
Sioux Falls, Dakota
605-555-2456
“Real Estate?” Lola asked.
“Yes,” said Mr. Myers. “I am the owner of the largest real estate development firm in the state.”
“Okay, well, I’m still a bit confused by the nature of your visit,” Lola said.
“I’ll cut to the chase, then.” Mr. Myers leaned his arms on the table and interlaced his hands together. “I’m buying up most of the buildings on this block. A lot of them are small places; several have recently gone out of business, and I’m planning to tear down these buildings to build a shopping mall. It’s going to be very lucrative, you know. The location here is perfect, since we are near the interstate, which is always full of travelers. I think this we could both benefit from this endeavor and I want to make you an offer to buy your building.”
Lola leaned back against her seat and crossed her arms. “I’m sorry, sir, but the building isn’t for sale. I just started my business, and it’s doing very well.”
“I understand that,” said Mr. Myers. “You are a businesswoman. I’m a businessman. So, I’m willing to pay you three times what your business and the building is currently worth.”
Lola’s jaw dropped. This man was talking about a lot of money—enough so that she wouldn’t have to work for years, and she could even pay for grad school.
Still… she didn’t want to sell. She groaned and complained about the responsibilities of running a diner, but that was really just par for the course. It was the nature of the business; a lot of it sucked. She loved being her own boss, though, and she was thriving on the challenge of making a business work. She’d just started this journey, and to call it quits now would be devastating. Besides, Lola wanted to keep the building to keep her grandmother’s legacy alive.
“That’s a very generous offer, Mr. Myers,” she told the man in front of her, “but I’m really not interested in selling. This building belonged to my grandmother, so it holds a great deal of sentimental value to me. I can’t sell.”
Mr. Myers smiled. “Well, I can see you want to play hardball. That is fine. That is my specialty, actually. I will up my offer to five times your investment. That is an insanely generous offer that no one in their right mind would refuse. I can tell you are in your right mind, no?”
He smiled widely, his eyes full of gleam.
Lola laughed softly as she shook her head. In a way, he was right—no one in their right mind would refuse such an offer.
“No, I’m sorry,” Lola replied, undeterred. “I won’t sell for any price.”
Mr. Myers looked as if she’d just spit in his eye. Gone was the wide smile, the charming demeanor, and the gleam in his eye. In their place was a cold, hard, possibly ruthless, expression that bordered on terrifying. A horrible feeling overcame her entire body.
“Fine,” he said. “You be that way, but I will get this building one way or another. I will give you twenty-four hours to come to your senses. I suggest you take the deal, Miss Waters. There could be… tragic consequences if one does not take advantage of certain opportunities when they arise.”
Roger Myers slid out of the booth and quickly left the establishment. Lola sat there in stunned silence for several minutes.
That man had just threatened her. And she could tell from the look in his eyes that he had not been bluffing.
“Who was that?” Denise asked, coming over to the booth after Lola still hadn’t moved from her place.
“I don’t know exactly,” Lola answered. “And honestly? I’m not sure I want to find out.”
2
You should totally go to the cops.”
Lola rolled her eyes and took a swig of her beer. She tried to tap her feet to the music blasting from the speakers of the club, but she just wasn’t into it that night. The scene with Roger Myers had really stuck in her mind. She’d just finished telling Kelly and Lisa, her two best friends from college, about it. They were visiting to see Lola’s new diner, and to make sure she was getting settled into her new home.
“And tell them what?” Lola asked. “He didn’t threaten me right out. He just said something kind of creepy. Besides, I looked him up, and he is a legitimate business guy. He is so filthy rich, it’s not even funny,” she said.
“Well, when he comes back, you just have to be firm with him,” Lisa said.
“That’s what I plan to do,” Lola replied. “The whole thing just gave me the creeps.”
“Don’t get the creeps. Have some fun!” Kelly yelled.
Lola laughed. Her friends were crazy. “Are you blind? This place is dead.”
The Club Mantra, which was the best place in the city, was unusually dead, even for a Monday. The three girls had only decided to go there that night because drinks and appetizers were half off until ten.
“So what? You can still unwind a little bit,” Lisa added. “But I would advise you to drink faster!”
“Do you forget that some of us have businesses to run?” Lola reminded her with a chuckle.
“Well, you wouldn’t have to if you’d just taken that deal. You could move back to California! Five times what your business is worth? That’s potentia
lly a lot of money, right?” Kelly asked.
“Yes,” Lola said, “but some things in life are more important than money.”
“That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Lisa cracked.
“Let’s get some refills in us, then!” Kelly cried. She picked the beer bucket off the table and held it out to Lola. “It is your turn to buy, Miss Businesswoman!”
Lola laughed and took the now empty bucket back to the bar. She handed it to the bartender and asked her to fill it up. Lola doubted she would have more than one beer out of the bunch. Her friends were both on vacation visiting her, and she did not want to deal with the harsh reality of running a diner while hungover.
Just then, a loud voice from her right rose above the roar of the music.
“Leave me alone!”
At the end of the bar, Lola noticed a young woman being pawed at by a big guy who looked like a biker. The woman was small, but athletic looking. She was very pretty, but her fighting stance said she could probably give as well as she got. This biker might be better off leaving her alone.
“Come on, honey,” the guy teased. His words were slightly slurred, indicating he’d had too much to drink. “I know you want to go for a ride. Why must you play these games with me?”
At a nearby table, his friends were laughing and pointing at the entertaining antics of their friend. Lola glanced around, but she did not see the bouncer anywhere in sight. He’d picked a hell of a time for a bathroom break. She motioned for the bartender to take a look, but the woman was busy filling up the bucket with bottles of beer and not looking in Lola’s direction.
“I’m giving you one last chance,” the young woman shouted. “And then I’m going to get angry!”
The biker laughed. “Oh, baby. I bet you look beautiful angry—”
Lola wouldn’t have believed what happened next if she hadn’t been right there, watching this disgusting display of misogyny and piggish behavior with her own eyes. The girl spun around and grabbed the biker by his neck. He began to choke and gasp as she slammed his face into the bar with a sickening smack. The biker was no longer amused. He looked genuinely terrified, and Lola immediately saw why.
The girl was different. She did not look… fully human anymore. Her eyes were bright red, her mouth was open in a twisted grimace, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs, and her fingers had morphed into knife-like claws.
Lola instantly recognized what the girl was: a shifter.
“Hey!”
The girl immediately changed back to her human form as the bouncer rushed over to the bar. He separated the two and pulled the biker away, escorting him towards the door.
“That’s it! You’re out of here!” the bouncer yelled while the biker protested, still utterly confused and terrified about what had just happened.
Lola could not take her eyes off the woman. It had been so long since she’d seen anyone shift like that. Even though she’d seen it before, it still blew her mind.
The woman downed her drink, slapped some money onto the counter, and stormed out of the bar.
The bartender finally handed Lola the bucket of beers. “Here you go,” she said.
As Lola walked back to her table, she realized that no one else in the mostly empty bar had noticed or seen anything. She supposed it was for the best. Shifters were starting to become more of a common occurrence, but most people still refused to believe in their existence, and those who did wanted them all rounded up and exterminated, as if they were monsters.
Lola’s best friend in high school, Robin, was a werewolf. That was the first time she’d seen someone shift up close. She’d never told anyone, not even her own family, who didn’t believe in shifters. Robin explained that most shifters lived peacefully, and her pack was the same. Her family was very upset to discover that Robin had told Lola about them, but when they’d realized they could trust her, they’d soon warmed up to her.
To this day, Lola had never told a soul that she knew about the presence of shifters. It was important to stay out of it and let them live in peace, and that was what she wanted to do now. Lola tried to forget about the scene as the night went on, but she couldn’t help wondering who that young woman was, and if there were others of her kind nearby.
Of course, she didn’t know that she would find her answer the following evening.
3
So, how’s the carrot cake?”
It was the diner’s busiest day since Lola had opened up the place two weeks ago. She wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. She was even considering counting the receipts in the morning, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she got them done. She groaned at the thought. It was already eight-thirty. It wouldn’t be much longer until she could go home.
Lola went over to the table where a young woman had just sat down to take her order.
“Welcome to the Crazy Bear Diner, my name is Lola and I’ll be your server today,” she greeted. “What can I get you?”
At first, she didn’t notice anything peculiar about the young woman—her mind was too busy. However, when she took a closer look at the customer, the events of the previous night came rushing back to her.
The young woman sitting at the table in front of her was the same young woman from the bar.
Lola was now staring into the eyes of a shifter.
“How’s your carrot cake?” the girl asked again, glancing at her.
“Um… it’s pretty good,” Lola replied, slightly shaking her head to herself. She had to focus on doing her job. “We make all of our pies and cakes daily, so it’s fresh. We actually have just one slice left.”
“Well, then, I’m convinced,” said the young woman. “I’ll take that and a coffee, please.”
“Okay. Will that be all?” Lola asked.
“Yeah, thanks. I had a big lunch.”
Lola walked behind the counter and grabbed the last slice of carrot cake from the case. She slid it onto a plate and filled a mug with fresh coffee. After serving the order to the young woman, Lola tried to busy herself with other closing tasks. The diner had started to empty out about an hour before, so she decided to take the time to sweep up a bit.
She was just getting into it when the door opened, and in walked Roger Myers. This time, he wasn’t alone. On either side of him were two large, very threatening-looking men. Myers was all smiles, just like he’d been the previous day.
“Miss Waters,” he said, “it’s so nice to see you again.”.
Lola acted fast. She knew she had to stay strong and not allow herself to be intimidated.
“Mr. Myers, I told you before—I’m not selling. My mind is made up. Nothing you can do will change that.”
Myers laughed. “Well, there are actually many things I can do to change that. And you aren’t going to like any one of them.”
“You can take your threats and get out of my diner. Or should I call the cops?” Lola asked.
“Oh, you don’t want to do that. I mean you could, but it would be a waste of both your time and theirs,” Myers said. He took a seat at an empty table while both of his henchmen stood behind him. “You see, Miss Waters, I have a very strong relationship with the police force. They stay out of my business and I stay out of theirs.”
Lola tightened her hands into fists and glared at the man. She knew Myers was filthy rich, but she could’ve never imagined how powerful he was. “Whatever,” she replied. “Why don’t you get out of here? I’m not going to sell to you.”
“Oh, I know that,” Myers replied. “Because the offer is now off the table. You see, I love a good bargain. And nothing is a better bargain than free.”
“What?” Lola asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, I’m just going to take the building,” he answered. “Being a businessman, I usually try to do things the right way, so I was going to cut you a deal. But you’ve left me no choice, dear, so I’ll just have to take the place.”
“Over my dead b
ody!” Lola shouted, rage coursing through her body. If this man thought he was just going to take what wasn’t his, he was sorely mistaken.
Myers laughed. “That can be arranged.”
He motioned to the two men accompanying her. They smirked and began to walk towards Lola.
Lola took a step back. Then another one. Denise had already left, and Charlie was in the back, cleaning and shutting down the kitchen equipment.
Through the entire ordeal, the young woman from the bar had remained quiet. It was only when she spoke that Lola remembered her, realizing that she’d been silently watching the exchange.
“Leave her alone,” she said—the words sounded like an order.
“Ma’am, this doesn’t concern you,” Myers said. “So I will politely ask you to shut the hell up.”
The two men continued walking towards Lola. She felt herself backing up slowly. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. What were these guys going to do to her?
The young woman spoke again. “Well, I warned you.”
A split second later, she leapt between Lola and the two burly men. A vicious roar escaped her throat as she picked up the larger of the two men and slammed him onto the counter. His head hit the floor hard and his body collapsed beneath him. The other man paused for a moment, and Lola could see the fear sweeping through his mind. He didn’t understand what was happening, though he didn’t seem too keen to figure out anything other than the fact that the girl standing before him was obviously not human. He started to turn away, but the girl was on him instantly, flipping him over her back and slamming him hard onto the ground. She followed it up with a vicious kick to the face. Both men were now out cold.
Sirens began to wail off in the distance and were getting closer by the second.
Roger Myers looked as if he’d seen a ghost, but he did not appear totally phased by what had just happened. Perhaps, just like Lola, he’d seen it before.