16. Chapter 16
TRISTAN
Ollie said that Jax is walking a little today. Are you going to tell me what happened between you guys???
Tristan stared at his phone, relieved that Jax was recovering even if he had to get the news second-hand from Rain.
While he’d seen Finn and Ollie in passing, they’d been awkwardly kind but revealed nothing, and he’d lacked the energy to push.
He’d been slogging through the last few days like a zombie, sideswiped by the heartache, and he had no one to blame but himself.
Jax was angry for the right reasons. Tristan had lied to him, not in so many words but through omission.
All his life, Tristan had tried not to react in anger, to be kind, to be understanding, but his parents had programmed him to be a doormat.
While flying off the handle regularly wasn’t good, neither was its opposite.
In lacking a metaphorical spine, Tristan had hurt himself and the ones he loved, especially Jax.
Thanks for the update, kid. I’ll come over and explain things this weekend.
Tristan sent back, because his plans hadn’t changed; in fact, his resolve had only gotten stronger.
He was going to come clean to Rain and Mason, and maybe they’d have some advice, any advice, about what to do next.
Eve needed to leave their lives for good, and rage simmered in Tristan’s blood whenever he thought of her.
Sure, he’d made some bad decisions, but if she’d been a better person, then he’d still be together with Jax. And Jax wouldn’t have been crying in pain alone on Tristan’s bathroom floor.
You better. Rain replied with five heart emojis. BTW? Mouse says hi. A picture of her curled up asleep appeared below the text, and she was so adorable that Tristan almost smiled.
Give her a kiss from me. Pocketing his phone, Tristan climbed the foyer stairs, heading to Owen’s office. There had been several meetings between Angelo and Owen, and he’d seen Marci in there too, but they’d been letting Tristan breathe, giving him the space to get his head straight.
While he’d never be ready for this, it was the beginning of his atonement, of making things right and clearing Jax’s name, and everyone deserved to know the truth.
As usual, Owen’s door was ajar, and Tristan pushed it open to find him and Angelo inside.
“Tristan!” Sitting behind his desk, Owen greeted him with a genuine smile. “Come in! Marci should be-” he let out a chuckle as she popped up behind Tristan. “Right there.”
The atmosphere had a tense friendliness as Angelo and Marci settled on the couch. Tristan sat in the chair across from Owen, who cleared his throat, looking like he was searching for the right words.
“I want to preface this by saying that I love Jax-”
“Wait.” Tristan’s shattered heart jammed itself in his throat and he swallowed hard. “You’re going to fire him? It wasn’t-”
“No!” Eyebrows furrowing, Owen held up his hands, but Angelo took over.
“Listen,” Angelo sighed. “Jax is one of the most talented chefs I’ve ever worked with, and he runs the kitchen like it’s in his blood. But he’s been struggling with his health, and there’s the issue of the walk-in being left open, and the scramble for coverage the day after.”
“We’re not heartless. Mistakes happen, but it’s becoming clear that he might need to take more time off to recover, and we’re trying to navigate that,” Owen added.
Realistically, true recovery for Jax could take years, if he even could recover. It must’ve shown on his face, because Angelo softened a little.
“I have zero problems with him coming in part-time. We want to keep him on board in whatever way possible.” He stopped. “But what we’re really here for is your side of the walk-in story.”
“Have you spoken to Jax?” When Owen and Angelo shook their heads, Tristan took a deep breath, readying himself.
“Someone is sabotaging him.” He’d actually rehearsed this, wanting to make sure that he presented everything in a way that made them want to listen and believe, despite the lack of proof.
“Last month, things started to go missing from whatever station he was at, and then they’d just show up again in weird places or right where they were supposed to be.
One of his knives vanished too, and he found it later on a shelf in the back of the kitchen. ”
Owen’s eyebrows rose as Tristan spoke, and Angelo crossed his arms, but Marci didn’t seem surprised.
“You knew?” He tried not to sound accusatory, but if she did know, then why hadn’t she done anything?
“I’ve heard whispers but nothing solid. Whoever it is? They’re good at covering their tracks.” The tone of her voice told Tristan that she was almost as pissed off as he was about it.
“And you think this person left the walk-in open?” Owen leaned back in his chair, genuine concern on his face. “Why didn’t Jax come to us about this?”
“I wanted him to, but Jax said we needed proof.” Tristan let out a huff.
“Once he mentioned it to me, I told him about the cameras and we adjusted them, waiting for another incident, but I guess that tipped him off. Everything stopped until last weekend. He must’ve been biding his time.
Jax thinks that he broke in through the pantry door after we went home that night, opened the walk-in, and left.
There were blind spots outside and inside that gave him a clear path. ”
“Him?” Angelo tilted his head. “You know who it is?”
“We believe it’s Derrick.” Tristan steeled himself, waiting for their reaction.
“Derrick?” Marci’s brow wrinkled, but once again, she wasn’t surprised. “But why would he do that to Jax?”
“I don’t have an answer to that yet.” He looked Angelo in the eyes. “But, when Jax’s back went out and I had to carry him up here? Derrick seemed to find it amusing.”
“What was he doing?” Angelo frowned, taking Tristan so seriously that he regretted not saying anything sooner. He and Jax had been too traumatized by their previous workplaces to speak up about something like this without proof, but The Pointe had shown time and time again that they were different.
“Grinning.” Tristan took a heartbeat to push down his anger. “Like he enjoyed it.”
“What?” Marci hissed. Owen’s face went stern, while Angelo frowned darkly in thought.
“I don’t like what I’m hearing.” Angelo stroked his own impressive beard, which he kept rolled up under a net whenever he cooked. “Derrick’s a little arrogant, but he’s never given us problems before. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but now that I know more, I’m going to do some sleuthing.”
“Thank you.” Tristan looked around at each of them.
“I wouldn’t have made this accusation without feeling certain about it.
And please, give Jax time? This is his dream, and he’s devastated that the weekend went sideways.
However, he was being targeted, and it compromised his chance to show you what he really can do. ”
“He did show us.” The corners of Angelo’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled.
“Say the walk-in had a mechanical failure. The result would’ve been the same - no inventory - and according to Marci, he worked it out.
All the weddings ran smoothly, and I’m hearing that people raved about the food. I’m seriously impressed.”
“Please tell him that the next time you see him?” Tristan wished he could call Jax right now, but he still had more work to do.
“I will,” Angelo nodded. “Why don’t we revisit this in a few days, once I’ve done my detective work?”
“Now that you’ve confirmed the whispers, I’ll do a little digging too.” The gleam in Marci’s eye had Tristan feeling glad that she was on his side.
Despite the meeting ending in his favor, Tristan couldn’t help but slog through the day, his thoughts consistently on Jax. How did he feel? How bad was his pain? Did he miss Tristan? Was he better off without Tristan?
As The Pointe’s week rolled to a close, Tristan decided to clear his head with a twelve-mile hike in the state forest, but Jax continued to stay in the forefront of his mind, and he almost got turned around on his way back to the parking lot .
Mentally and physically exhausted, Tristan saw a sign for pizza on the way home and perked up, taking the next exit.
After placing an order for pickup, he wandered through the town and into a bakery.
As he stared into the display case, he tried not to look at the tiramisu because it would only make him sad, and he settled on a piece of chocolate cake.
Once outside, Tristan took a deep breath of the balmy night air.
Dusk had fallen, and the streetlights were flickering on, along with the signs on the stores around him.
Tristan’s eyes were drawn to the multicolored Drink Here that flickered above the picture window of a bar across the street, but they didn’t need to advertise because there were already tons of people inside.
Tristan’s subconscious seemed to notice before he did, because his nervous system went haywire, telling him that he needed to look more closely, and that’s when he dropped the cake.
No…it couldn’t be.
Someone passed Tristan on the street, snapping him out of his shock. Picking up the dessert, he darted into the alley next to the bakery, his hands shaking as he took out his phone and zoomed in on the window, taking several photos of Eve and Derrick kissing.
Suddenly, Tristan had the answer to all of his whys.
Derrick had been targeting Jax because Eve had told him to, and she’d seemed sly, as if she had the upper hand, because she did. She must’ve met Derrick on Valentine’s Day, when she had shown up at The Pointe, and she’d probably used him to keep tabs on Tristan.
And once Eve had learned about Jax, she’d decided to take things a step further.