Chapter 2 - THE OWNER AT TABLE NINE
The silence spread table by table.
Mr. Pike hurried forward.
“Mr. Cross,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I can explain.”
Serena looked from the manager to Julian.
“Mr. Cross?”
Julian removed his wet jacket and folded it over the back of his chair.
“My full name is Julian Cross,” he said. “Founder and majority owner of Cross & Ember Hospitality.”
The restaurant was called Ember House.
Its name appeared on the menus, the wine glasses, and the gold plaque near the entrance.
Serena stared at him.
Then she gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“That isn’t funny.”
Noah approached with a clean towel.
“Sir.”
Julian accepted it.
“Thank you.”
The respect in Noah’s voice did what Julian’s words had not.
Serena’s face tightened.
“You told me you worked in restaurant consulting.”
“I do.”
“You let me think you were ordinary.”
“I wanted to know whether ordinary people received your respect.”
A woman at the next table quietly covered a smile.
Serena heard it.
Her embarrassment turned into anger.
“So this was a test?”
“No. Dinner was dinner until you built a stage.”
Julian slid the bill toward Mr. Pike.
“Why is this table charged for a 1996 Marceau Reserve when I removed that bottle from public inventory six months ago?”
Mr. Pike swallowed.
Serena looked at the manager too quickly.
Julian caught it.
Pike rubbed his hands together.
“There may have been an inventory error.”
“There wasn’t.”
Julian opened the leather bill folder.
Beneath the receipt was a handwritten note.
MAKE HIM REFUSE. MAKE IT LOUD.
He placed the note on the table.
Serena stopped breathing for a second.
Julian looked at her.
“You didn’t just order an expensive dinner,” he said. “You arranged the failure before I arrived.”
She stood so quickly her chair scraped the floor.
“This is insane.”
Julian did not move.
“Noah, take Ms. Vale’s phone to the office.”
“You can’t take my property.”
“I’m not asking him to.”
Noah pointed toward the phone still recording from inside Serena’s open purse.
May you like
The camera had been aimed at Julian the entire time.
And the red light was still blinking.
