Chương 2 - The Bill Comes Due
The silence at our table was so profound that I could hear the faint fizz of carbonation in my untouched glass of sparkling water.
Daniel raised two fingers without turning around.
Within two seconds, the floor manager appeared, bowing his head with practiced deference.
"Yes, Mr. Brooks?"
"Bring the four individuals currently occupying table four over here," Daniel instructed without raising his voice.
The manager didn’t hesitate for a fraction of a second.
"Right away, sir."
I watched in stunned silence as the manager walked briskly toward the bar.
Olivia looked around desperately, as if searching for an emergency exit that didn't exist.
Marcus, a man who always puffed out his chest in his designer suits, looked like all the blood had drained into his socks.
They tried to offer an excuse, but the manager’s expression was unyielding.
Two burly security personnel in understated black suits suddenly materialized behind them.
The laughter was completely gone now.
Olivia walked across the dining floor like a prisoner marching toward a firing squad.
When they reached our table, Daniel did not stand up.
He did not offer chairs.
He simply leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other, his fingers laced over his knee.
"Good evening," Daniel said, the calmness of his tone far more terrifying than a shout.
"Mr. Brooks," Marcus stammered, clearing his throat and trying to force a charming smile.
"I think there’s been a slight misunderstanding."
"Has there?" Daniel asked, his gray eyes fixing Marcus in place like an insect pinned to a corkboard.
"You see," Marcus continued, his hand trembling slightly, "we were just having a bit of harmless fun."
"Harmless?" Daniel tilted his head.
"Emily has been going through a rough patch since Jason left her, and we wanted to push her out of her comfort zone."
Olivia nodded quickly, her voice high and breathless.
"We thought it would be an exciting story for her to tell."
"You set up a public spectacle at my expense," Daniel said, his voice dropping to a near whisper that cut through Marcus's excuses.
"And more importantly, at the expense of a woman who believed you were her friends."
Olivia flinched.
"We didn't mean any disrespect to you, sir."
"Disrespect to me is dangerous, Olivia," Daniel remarked, using her first name as though he already knew everything about her.
"Disrespect to an innocent guest at my table is intolerable."
Marcus shifted uncomfortably, sweat visibly beading along his receding hairline.
"Look, Mr. Brooks, my firm handles the logistics for three of your secondary warehouses in Charlestown."
"Correction," Daniel said smoothly, picking up the silver fountain pen he had placed on the table earlier.
"Your firm *handled* those logistics until forty seconds ago."
Marcus’s face turned an ashen shade of gray.
"You can't do that over a practical joke."
"I can do whatever I deem appropriate with my private capital," Daniel replied, rolling the heavy pen between his long fingers.
"Your family's freight contract represents roughly forty-five percent of your annual firm revenue, if I recall the quarterly audits correctly."
Marcus looked ready to drop to his knees right there on the parquet flooring.
"Please, Mr. Brooks."
"Take your coats," Daniel said, not even looking at him anymore.
"Leave this establishment."
"And if I hear that any of you has spoken a single disparaging word about Emily Carter, your freight contract will be the smallest of your worries."
Olivia looked at me, her eyes wide with a mixture of terror and sudden, bitter hatred.
She wanted to say something, but the sheer presence of the two security guards hovering behind her cut the words from her throat.
Without another word, the four of them turned and practically ran toward the cloakroom.
The dining room returned to its hushed, reverent murmur, though every eye remained discreetly trained on our table.
Daniel turned his gaze back to me, the sharpness in his features softening by a fraction.
"Now," he said, picking up the leather-bound menu, "shall we see what they have for dinner?"
My heart was beating like a trapped bird against my ribs.
"Why did you do that?" I whispered.
Daniel met my gaze with steady, unapologetic certainty.
May you like
"Because people who mistake cruelty for humor deserve to be reminded of what true power looks like."
***
