Page 30 of Scar

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“Tally, I’m worried about you.”

“Join the club,” Tally murmured under her breath. Becauseshewas worried about herself too. Was she actuallysearchingfor her mystery man? He’d disappeared that morning after Gordon Tremont had visited her at her restaurant. He’d been gone all through the lunch shift. Now it was the lull before dinner and Tally still couldn’t sense him.

What if she’d been wrong? What if he’d gone with Gordon Tremont because heworkedfor the man? She was able to sense a lot about a person, but if Gordon Tremont made a silent signal to her mystery man, she would not be able to sense that.

Simone’s voice carried over the phone on Tally’s workstation. She was prepping her sauces for the dinner menu and had her phone on speaker. Her executive chef had the day off, meaning Tally was working with her sous chef today. He was on his hour break before the dinner rush. Since she didn’t have a saucier and Tally wanted to ensure all her signature sauces were madeherway, she was always on sauce duty this time of day. Her pastry chef wasn’t due in for another hour or so. One of her prep cooks was only working the lunch shift and had already gone home. The other was pulling a double and was on break.

They were used to Tally working while on speaker phone, though. Sometimes they even sent messages for her when she was in too much of a rush to go through the voice commands necessary to answer or it was too noisy for her phone to pick up specifics.

All of her chefs and cooks were amazing people. She’d handpicked them because they were willing to work under a blind chef. Her front staff was where she struggled. Servers came and went far too easily. Some were only hired on during their college semester while others were summer workers. Then there were the local servers who wanted a high paying job and mega tips for no work or effort on their part.

Her dining manager, Gretchen, was currently on maternity leave. Chelsea, her hostess, was trying to pick up the slack, but she didn’t have Gretchen’s spine of steel and caved far too easily at times.

This was the downfall of owning her own restaurant. There were days when Tally felt like she was wearing far too many hats to have actually accomplished anything.

Louder, Tally answered, “I’m just busy, Si. I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, Tally. I absolutely hate it when you do. I know you think you have to be this independent person who never asks for help, buteveryoneneeds help. Vision or no vision.Pleasetalk to me, Mark,anybody. You have been off this week, ever since we were at your apartment with the police.”

Tally let out a long sigh. Guilt settled low in her stomach, making her regret the caprese and Green Goddess sandwich she’d hastily eaten after the lunch rush. Unable to stop working, Tally started talking while still prepping. Her sauces for this evening were already simmering. She was making the sauces for tomorrow that would be transferred to the fridge overnight.

“The man that was in my apartment last week. I know you think I imagined him?—”

“No, I don’t?—”

“Simone,” Tally said in a warning tone. “You believed me out of loyalty to me as my friend. You don’tactuallybelieve there was a man inside my apartment.” Simone’s silence was confirmation enough. “I am not going to argue or discuss that night. Here’s the thing, though: I’ve sensed him since. He’s always around, here at work, following me to the store, in my apartment… He’s never far.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying this man isstalking you?”

Tally hesitated. “Do you remember how I told you that you can never ask me about my dad and what he does for a living?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“That rule still applies, but I think the man works for my dad. I think my dad sent him down here as, like, a bodyguard.”

Simone paused and Tally kept working. “Okay, I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start. You’re telling me that your dad does something that would require you to have a bodyguard but can’t tell me those specifics. Fine. But why would he just show up in your apartment? That makes no sense. The way you described him, he’s there but you’re not communicating with him. That sounds like a stalker, Tal, not a bodyguard.”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s more of a gut feeling than anything. He’s never spoken to me and I agree that there’s definitely a stalker-vibe, but he’s… I don’t think he’s a threat.”

Not to me, Tally added silently. She did not mention the ‘danger-vibe’ she got from him too.

“Have you asked your dad?”

“I talked to him this morning,” Tally said evasively.

“And he confirmed that the man works for him?”

Tally hesitated. “There’s something going on with my dad, something that involves his work. He didn’t come out and say anything specific, and I couldn’t tell you even if he did, but it was more like what hedidn’tsay in the conversation. He’s worried about something.”

“Does he do this sort of thing a lot? Send you bodyguards that invade your privacy? I don’t like that this man has been in your apartment, Tally.”

“Sending me bodyguards is not new. I grew up with them, but I haven’t had one in years.”

“Tally, I don’t think you’re thinking straight. You’re saying that youthinkthis man was sent by your father, but don’t have confirmation. This man has been inside your apartment. Why haven’t you called the police again?”

Tally snorted. “Like it would do any good.You’vebeen inside my apartment when he’s there, Si, and you still said you couldn’t see anyone else in the room.”

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