Chapter 10 - Ninety Thousand Dollars.
By midnight, the dining room upstairs had emptied.
The final guests left without knowing why their dessert service had been shortened or why two city vehicles were parked beside the loading entrance.
Downstairs, nobody cared about the dining room anymore.
Renee had created a temporary interview schedule for the employees willing to speak that night.
Seven people put their names down.
Three others said they would speak the next morning.
Vivian sat beside Olivia in a quiet corner of the staff room while they reconstructed the ninety-thousand-dollar figure line by line.
The first charge was labeled ADVANCED CULINARY PLACEMENT.
$7,500.
Olivia had been told during hiring that the training was included in her employment.
The second was STAFF HOUSING RESERVATION.
$12,000.
Olivia had never lived in staff housing.
The third was EQUIPMENT LOSS.
$6,800.
The item named was a copper stockpot.
Daniel laughed when he saw it.
"That pot is still in the kitchen."
The fourth charge was BRAND RECOVERY.
$18,400.
No explanation appeared beside it.
The fifth was MENU DEVELOPMENT ACCESS.
$9,600.
Olivia had never attended a menu development meeting.
The remaining charges were a maze of uniform fees, meal charges, scheduling penalties, sanitation fees, late notices, legal processing costs, and something called PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION PROTECTION.
That final line alone was $14,500.
Vivian placed the statement on the table.
"They charged you for protecting their own reputation."
Olivia gave a tired, bitter smile.
"Marcus said leaving without his approval would hurt the restaurant's image."
Renee sat across from them.
"Were these deductions taken directly from your wages?"
"Some."
"And the rest?"
"They were added to the debt."
"Did you ever receive the full amount listed on your pay stubs?"
Olivia shook her head.
"Not once after the first month."
Vivian felt anger rise again, but she forced herself to listen instead of interrupting.
Olivia had been living on small transfers, cash tips shared by sympathetic servers, and whatever remained after deductions.
She had sold jewelry.
She had stopped using her car because she could not afford the parking permit near the restaurant.
She had told Vivian that she enjoyed walking.
She had declined family dinners because she was supposedly busy mastering pastry work.
In truth, she had been working double shifts.
Vivian remembered every time she had said, "I'm proud of how committed you are."
Now those words felt unbearable.
Olivia reached across the table.
"Mom, you couldn't know."
Vivian looked at her.
"You should never have had to make me guess."
"I thought I could fix it."
"How?"
Olivia glanced at Nora.
Nora gave a small nod.
Olivia took a breath.
"I was collecting proof."
Vivian stared at her.
"Since when?"
"Six weeks."
"You stayed here on purpose?"
"Not at first."
Olivia's voice became firmer.
"At first I was scared."
She looked down at her hands.
"Then Nora contacted me and showed me what happened to her."
She looked at Mason and Daniel across the room.
"I realized it wasn't just me."
Vivian struggled with two emotions at once.
Pride was one.
Fury was the other.
"You could have been hurt worse."
"I know."
"You could have called me."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you?"
Olivia's eyes filled.
"Because Marcus knew who you were."
The room seemed to quiet around them.
Vivian remembered Marcus using her last name before she introduced herself.
"How?"
Olivia wiped at her cheek.
"He asked about my family during hiring."
"And you told him?"
"I said my mother managed family investments."
Vivian looked toward Marcus, who was speaking with his attorney across the hall.
"What else?"
Olivia hesitated.
"He asked whether you still controlled the Mercer property trust."
Vivian's expression changed.
Renee noticed.
"What property trust?"
Vivian did not answer immediately.
She opened her handbag and removed a cream-colored folder.
She had been carrying it when she entered the kitchen.
She placed it on the table.
The cover read WESTBRIDGE PROPERTY TRUST.
Theodore, standing nearby, saw the name.
His face went still.
Vivian looked at him.
"I didn't come to Petit Mont tonight because I knew Olivia worked here."
Olivia frowned.
"Then why were you here?"
Vivian opened the folder.
Inside was a commercial lease renewal.
"I came to meet Theodore at ten o'clock."
Theodore lowered his eyes.
Vivian continued.
"The Mercer trust owns this building."
Marcus stopped speaking to his attorney.
Every person in the room looked at Vivian.
She turned one page and placed her finger beside the unsigned renewal line.
"Petit Mont's lease expires in thirty days."
May you like
Marcus stared at the document.
For the first time all night, his arrogance vanished completely.
