Close my doors.
Even one day without trading makes an impact on my earnings.
He can’t be fucking serious.
“What sort of cases are we talking about here, because I haven’t heard of a single one. Nobody has come in and nobody has made contact with me. I eat the same food, and I’m not sick. Are you sure this isn’t some sort of prank? I have people who don’t particularly like me right now and would likely do something like this.”
“Even if it is, it’s required by law that we investigate all reports made to us, and because there have been so many, we are unable to let it slide.”
“You can’t be serious,” I say, frustrated. “This is my business. How long are you closing it?”
“It can take anywhere from two to four days for us to go through everything and trace customers to see what they’ve eaten and when. We will need all your records and all the food you currently have in stock must be thrown out in the case that something has contaminated the rest.”
“Two to four days!” I shriek. “This is my lively hood! How the hell do you think I can go for that long without opening my doors? You can’t do this to me. Surely there is a legal requirement that you have to give me warning ...”
He hands me a piece of paper. “This outlines everything and is a legal document. I’m very sorry, but in cases that are this extreme we have no other choice.”
This can’t be happening.
I’ll kill him.
I’ll rip his god damned eyes out.
I look to Dom, and he reaches out, squeezing my shoulder. “We’ll work it out.”
I have no option here, none at all. I have to give up my café for as long as it takes for this man and his team to make sure I’m following correct practices. I’ll suffer for this, but not only that, my employees will suffer too.
Riggs will pay for this.
If he wants to mess with my business, then by god, I’ll mess with his. I’ll mess with it so bad that he’ll wish he never came after the one thing I love the most.
“Do what you have to do,” I tell the inspector. “Make it as fast and as quick as you can. I don’t have all the money in the world to close my doors for more than a few days.”
He nods and goes back to his van to get whatever the hell he needs out. I make up a sign, explaining that the café is close due to an emergency and then I look over at the garage, that is full of cars and motorbikes, ready for a full day’s work.
He’s not going to get away with this.
No.
He’s going to regret it.
I’ll make sure of it.
5
I SKID INTO THE DRIVEWAY leading up to Riggs’ garage, a garage that is only next door but I drove around the block before rolling in. With the help of Dom, I made sure I knew exactly what I was talking about when I came in here today. I’ll make the mother of all scenes, I’ll make sure it spreads far and wide that Riggs is doing dirty work in here, and nobody should come to his garage.
If he wants to have my business shut down, I’ll do the same kind of damage to his.
The lot is full, there are people waiting for their cars, enough that the scene I’m about to make won’t go unnoticed. They’ll tell their friends and the word will spread. Gossip in a town like this is an evil thing, and it’s something that I know for a fact will travel by the time I’ve even left the parking lot.
I squeal up to the entrance of an empty parking bay and slam my brakes on before getting out of the car and bellowing at the top of my lungs. “I want to speak to the manager! Immediately!”
All the heads of the people waiting turn toward me.
Hugh and Adan come out of the garage, covered in grease and oil, and they look at me with confused expressions. Hugh is the one to speak. “What are you doin’ here, Evelina? Can we help you with something?”
“You can help me alright,” I shout. “My car, the one you all fixed here, was flagged yesterday for having stolen parts. Stolen parts! I cannot believe you’d fix people’s cars with parts that don’t belong to you, how dare you. I could have been fined! Fined! What sort of business are you running here? I’m a woman, a single woman, I gave you my money and this is what you give me in return? How dare you.”
The two of them look confused.
Riggs walks out, clearly hearing the commotion, and when he sees me his eyes flash with rage. He storms over and stops in front of me, grabbing my arm. “What the fuck are you doin’?”
“Do not touch me! How dare you manhandle me,” I scream, jerking my arm out of his. “Is this how you treat your customers?”
His eyes flare and he leans in closer, hissing in my ear, “You fuckin’ stop, or so help me god ...”
“Are you threatening me?” I gasp, stepping back. “A customer you’ve done wrong by, and you’re threatening me ...”
His eyes widen, almost in shock. I press my hands over my face and begin sobbing. I learned when I was just a child how to sob on cue. You could say I have quite the flair for dramatics. I was born this way. I can’t help it.
A woman who is waiting for her car comes over and puts her arm around me, and I continue to sob and ramble about the poor service and how unfair it is
