Page 17 of Heat & Deceit
“I know you withdrew the money, Tabitha. The bookkeeper has all of the documentation. Signatures. Dates. Carmine wasn’t here when the money was taken, so your lie doesn’t hold up.” I cross my arms. “Don’t waste my time with lies,” I growl.
Carmine goes unnaturally still.
“Javier.” Tabitha steps toward me, but I hold a hand up.
“Don’t bother, Tabitha. You’ve been with us for years.” I shake my head. “Why’d you do it?” We pay her well; the manager’s salary at Tranquility is better than our competitors. We’re not assholes. At least, I don’t think we are.
“I don’t know, okay!” Tabitha snaps, then sucks in a sharp breath. “It was just easy.”
I rear back. “Stealing from us was easy? Tabitha, you’re one of our best employees.”
Carmine’s lip curls in disgust, but she doesn’t say anything. Her facial expressions so vividly project what she’s thinking. Perhaps she doesn’t realize she’s an open book.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like we’re dating or anything. Don’t act so offended.” Tabitha crosses her arms over her chest and pops her hip out, getting an attitude.
“Of course, we’re not dating. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m trying to figure out how the beta who has been so loyal could turn around and steal from us, because it doesn’t make sense. You’ve always been a good employee.”
Her lip wobbles, but she scowls. “And that’s all I’ve ever been.”
“Oh,” Carmine whispers, eyes widening.
I glance at her. “Oh?”
Carmine presses her lips together and shakes her head. Not understanding what she’s thinking, I turn back to Tabitha. Her face is bright red and tears shine in her eyes. Clenching her jaw, she holds my gaze.
“Tabitha, you lied to me. I hate liars and I hate thieves. You’re fired.”
She staggers, like I’ve stabbed her. I don’t sympathize. I can’t trust her. The guys give me a hard time about how easily I can cut someone off after they lie, especially considering we have secrets of our own, but they all agree with me on this one. Tabitha doesn’t deserve a second chance.
“I think you’ll understand that your final paycheck won’t be coming.” After balancing what she took against her earnings, we’re still eight thousand short.
“You’re not going to pay me?”
“We’re auditing the books. I don’t want you to think this is all that will come of your stealing. If we find out you’ve taken a lot of money from us, we will take legal action.” Really, we won’t. If we find she’s stolen a lot from us, we’ll find other ways to make her pay. Ways that don’t involve the police. But that’s not something we’re hoping for. Unless Tabitha’s taken hundreds of thousands from us, we all agreed to let her go and be done with it.
“Since you’re firing me, can I at least get a good recommendation for my next job?”
Carmine arches her eyebrows, mirroring my own movements.
“You can’t be serious.” I search Tabitha’s face. She is serious. “No. You can’t get a recommendation.”
“This is bullshit.” Tabitha tears off her apron and throws it at Carmine. “Have fun with your new boss.”
Carmine catches the material, but the metal loop at the top of the apron hits her cheek, and she releases a tiny growl of frustration. What the fuck is wrong with Tabitha? My eyes stay on that angry red mark on Carmine’s cheek for another second, and a familiar protectiveness unfurls inside of me. I don’t like when people hurt others who have done nothing wrong.
Tabitha grabs her things from the desk and stomps toward the door, but I swoop in front of her. “Apologize.”
“Fuck you,” Tabitha snaps.
I lean closer and press into her space, growling. Tabitha cringes away from me.
“Apologize to Carmine.” I don’t command her to do it, because I want her to realize it’s the right thing to do.
Tabitha sneers at me and turns toward Carmine. “I’m sorry I hit you in your ugly face.”
Carmine doesn’t respond, but her eyes flash with violence.
“What? You have nothing to say now?” Tabitha vibrates with anger. She didn’t really apologize, but she needs to leave before she does something stupid, or worse, before I do.
