The Inside Edge: Chapter Four
The next morning, easing gently into her office chair, Brianne barely bit back a groan as she stared across the cramped office. Marketing advertisements from bygone years graced the badly chipped walls—the posters portraying a broad and enticing array of foods and drinks: families huddled around a table buffeted with pizzas, a baseball team grinning up at the camera with hamburgers and milkshakes held beside a large first-place trophy, women drinking from champagne glasses, their lipsticked mouths creased with laughter….
Hardly offering them more than an absent glance, Brianne woke up her tablet computer. Stifling back a yawn, she pulled up the liquor inventory list.
“Hard at it, already, I see.”
Shifting slightly in her chair, Brianne’s eyes glanced up to catch sight of her assistant manager, Shana, entering the small room. Tall and leggy, with impossibly curly hair, Shana was uniquely loved by the staff for both her beauty and her kindness.
Though they’d only known one another for a couple of weeks, Brianne had quickly learned to trust and respect the younger woman. It had been a point of concern for Brianne when she’d first transferred to the Idaho branch of The Fitz Avery restaurant. Shana had also applied for the general manager position but Brianne, with her experience, had been given the job instead. Usurped by an interloper.
When she’d first met Shana, she’d hoped that the younger woman would be able to curb any potential resentment or disappointment at being denied the promotion. She’d prayed they’d be able to work together, forge a united team as the front of house management.
What she’d encountered that first meeting had effectively ended her worries. Shana had been generously welcoming, taking the time to introduce Brianne to the staff, to give her insight into the culture workings of the group, and offer her help in any capacity that Brianne saw fit. There had been no machinations for destruction, no sour, surly glares. Brianne had been more than just impressed. She’d been relieved. Here was a woman of substance, of loyalty—of professionalism.
As the thoughts rolled through Brianne’s head, she smiled at her second in command. “How was the weekend?”
Shana rolled her eyes eloquently, one beautifully manicured hand flapping dismissively at the air. “Oh, you know. The usual.”
“Crazy chaos?” Brianne pursed her lips amusedly as she grabbed her tablet.
“Yeah—and Charlie was late. Again.”
Charlie was their highest-ranking bartender. Rakishly handsome, with full lips and large sea-green eyes, Charlie brought in a lot of business by appearance alone. But his finely-muscled physique, the byproduct of hours spent at the gym each afternoon, was only surpassed by his quick wit and chivalrous attitude. He was the clear fan favorite.
Still, rules were rules.
“I thought you talked to him.”
Shana nodded. “I did.”
Brianne sighed. “Okay, I’ll have another word with him this afternoon.” Moving automatically, Brianne bounded to her feet. Thankfully, the tablet she held in her hand didn’t hit the floor. Gasping at the jarring pull of her screaming muscles, Brianne stilled. Her free hand pressed against her back, soothing the muscles. “Christ,” she sighed.
Shana’s eyebrows lifted. “You okay?”
Brianne nodded. “Yeah.”
“You look beat.”
Brianne slowly straightened. “Yeah, it’s kind of a long story.” Bringing the tablet up to her chest, she glared at the younger woman standing beside her. “And stop looking like that, would you?”
“Me? Looking like what?”
Brianne glowered. “Like a twenty-two-year old with boundless energy.”
Shana laughed. “Here, why don’t you let me do that,” she said, holding out her hand for the tablet.
Brianne’s lips puckered stubbornly.
Shana made a face. “You barely got out of that chair. You really want to bend down and dig through the bar counters counting liquor bottles?”
Sighing, Brianne gave her the tablet. “I could do it.”
“Well, of course.”
“What are you working on,” Brianne offered, bringing herself slowly back to her seat. “We’ll trade-off.”
“Fair enough.” Moving beside her, Shana reached for the mouse beside the desktop computer. A couple of clicks later, she pulled up an invoice.
“What’s this for?” Brianne asked as her eyes read down the order sheet.
“It’s for some new pizza pans and stands,” Shana informed her, stepping back now.
Brianne’s eyebrows furrowed. “Stands? For the tables, you mean?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Oh.”
At the hesitation in her boss’s voice, Shana frowned. “Didn’t you guys use those in—what, where did you transfer in from?”
“Chisago. Minnesota.”
Shana nodded. “Right. From there.”
“No, actually we didn’t use those,” Brianne confessed. “I mean, obviously we used pizza pans but instead of stands, we’d set them on top the large cans of tomato sauce.” Working in the restaurant, the cans were of an industrial size. The customers had always found it hilarious when their servers had plopped the enormous metal tins, picturing sundried tomatoes, down on the table before setting the pizzas on top.
“Really?”
Brianne shrugged. “We thought
it was kind of…”
“Kitschy?”
“We were going more for eclectic.”
“I thought The Fitz Avery was supposed to be totally corporate—everything across the board, exactly the same, from store to store.”
Brianne shrugged. Looking over her shoulder, she offered Shana a wink. “Yeah, well…sometimes I can be a rebel.”
Shana smiled. Shifting from one foot to the next, she seemed on the verge of saying something. Her mouth moved to open and then closed again.
“What’s up?” Brianne asked when the silence only seemed to stretch between them.
“Well, I mean, it’s none of my business.”
“Okay?” Swiveling in her chair, Brianne gave Shana the weight of her full attention. In the weeks she’d come to know the other woman, Brianne couldn’t remember Shana ever being so mealy-mouthed.
“What, what made you decide to come here? To this store?”
Brianne leaned back in her chair. She should have been expecting this question. It was only fair that Shana showed some curiosity. Taking a moment, Brianne sorted out her thoughts.
“I mean, I’m not saying…” Shana shook her head as twin spots of color took shape over her high cheekbones. “What I mean is, I’m glad that you did. I mean that. Really—”
“I knew what you meant.”
“I don’t want you to think that I—”
“Shana.” Brianne held up one hand. “It’s a fair question.”
Swallowing, Shana nodded.
“I guess, without sounding too cavalier about the whole thing, I came here because it was the only store in the corporation hiring for a GM.”
Shana waited a beat before nodding. Slowly. “Oh.”
“I mean,” feeling the need to defend that weak reason, Brianne searched for the right words, “I’d also visited here once. Years ago. I’d remembered how much I loved it.”
“I see.”
“And my memory was right. It’s beautiful.”
“But you didn’t—no family or friends?”
Brianne smiled sadly. “Here, you mean?”
Shana nodded, her eyes steady, intent on Brianne’s expressions.
“I moved here alone.”
“Oh.”
“There’s no great story behind that,” Brianne rushed to assure her. “In case you were thinking that.”
Shana nodded again. “Yeah, no. I wasn’t.” Her eyes flickered down to the tablet still in her grasp, her legs shifting from side-to-side again. “Right. Well…” taking a step backward, Shana nodded toward the door. “I better get going on this, huh?”
Brianne smiled. “Probably.”
Only, at the last second, her hand on the doorknob, Shana stilled. She didn’t turn back around when she said, “I’m glad. Really. That you’re here. I think, I think I’ll learn a lot from you.”
“And I’ll learn just as much from you, I’m sure.”
