Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~72~

"Happy second weekiversary!" Mina, the head bartender at Ford's, said to Taryn when she arrived at work that afternoon. For the time being, they were opening at four o'clock, though eventually they'd add a lunch shift.

"Thanks! It's flown by. Tomorrow morning I'm going to analyze the data and then I'll send the report out to the entire staff. I'm hoping that the steady crowd means we've been making a profit, though obviously that might be slow-going at first."

"The customers seem happy, so I know those numbers will keep going up. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising!"

"The good reviews we got after the opening help, too. I'm going to go down to the kitchen to see how the supplies are and then I'll be in my office for a bit. Text me if you need me," Taryn said cheerfully.

When she'd designed the layout of the brewpub, she'd added two small offices at the back of the main floor. One belonged to her brewery manager, and the other was hers. It was a square shape without any windows, and it housed a desk with a computer, a couple chairs, and a file cabinet. A few weeks before opening, she went to the city records department and found some old photos of her building back when it was a warehouse, which she framed and hung on the wall next to a photo of her and Ford.

After checking with the chef, she went to her office and sat down at her computer. She went to her produce supplier's website and ordered what was needed and then did the same with the other suppliers. She called Mina to see if she needed anything for the bar and added the few requested items before submitting the final order. Then she looked over the schedule for the following week and made a small change since one of her servers swapped with another. When the busywork was done, she went to the lobby and greeted patrons with the host. She liked to chat with people as they entered and often recommended a drink or menu item.

Throughout the night she moved around the brewpub, working the bar, assisting in the kitchen, or delivering food to tables when the servers were especially busy. Her new job as bar owner was exhausting and stressful, but it was also far more rewarding than she'd ever imagined. When a customer gave her a compliment, it meant everything to her, and when there was a criticism, she took it seriously and implemented changes as needed.

By closing time, she was tired and hungry. She went to check on the kitchen, and one of the cooks handed her a plate with a burger and fries. "You gotta eat, boss," she said before leaving.

Eventually everyone on the staff started to leave, and Taryn went to secure all the cash in the safe which was built into the wall of her office. She liked to count it before putting it in the deposit envelope, and she was just finishing up when she heard her door open. Looking up, she expected to see one of her employees, so when she was confronted with Richie's nasty grin, she almost fainted.

"Look at you," he sneered as he closed the door behind him. "Imagine my surprise when I got to town yesterday and saw an article about your new business on the Toronto Sun website while looking for a place to eat. This is quite the fancy establishment for a girl like you."

"You need to leave right now," Taryn said firmly, sounding more confident than she felt. She was trembling with terror, which she hoped he didn't notice.

"Naw. I just got here. I want to hear all about how you went from working at Patty's shithole bar to owning a place like this," he said as he took a seat across from her.

It was disturbing to hear that he'd been keeping tabs on her. She glanced down at her phone on the desk and in an instant, he grabbed it and put it in his front pocket. A million different scenarios flashed through her mind. Did he want to act out all the sick fantasies he had when she was a teen? Maybe he was just there to taunt her. He had a job and a wife, so surely he wouldn't throw all that away. That's when it occurred to her that he might want to kill her so that she could never tell anyone about what he'd done. She had to do something to get out of the tiny office, but that meant that she needed to be clever.