Chapter 3 - The Back Room
The silence dragged on for five agonizing seconds.
Garrett lowered his hand. His face was a mask of terrifying neutrality. He looked at Madison, trembling against the wall, then at his mother, who was breathing steadily now, and finally at Elena.
“My office,” Garrett said softly.
He didn't yell. He didn't raise his voice. The softness of it was worse than a scream.
Elena nodded once. She didn't bother untying her apron. She walked straight past Table 1, past the stunned patrons, and headed toward the heavy oak door at the back of the hallway that led to Garrett’s private office.
She entered the room and stood in the center. The office smelled of expensive leather, old paper, and the sharp bite of bourbon. There were no windows. Just security monitors on the far wall, a massive mahogany desk, and the oppressive weight of impending consequences.
A minute later, the door clicked open. Garrett walked in.
He locked the door behind him with a heavy metallic slide. He walked to the desk, poured two fingers of bourbon into a crystal glass, and turned to face her. He didn't drink it. He just held it.
“You assaulted my fiancée in front of the heads of three different syndicates,” Garrett said. His voice was conversational, analytical.
“I protected your mother,” Elena replied. She kept her chin up. Her hands were shaking slightly, but she clasped them behind her back.
“From a fallen cane.”
“From a deliberate kick,” Elena corrected, her voice firm. “Madison kicked the cane out from under her.”
Garrett’s eyes narrowed by a fraction of a millimeter. “Madison claims her foot slipped. She claims you had a psychotic break.”
“Madison lies.”
Garrett set the glass down. He stepped closer to Elena, towering over her. The proximity was overwhelming. This was a man who ordered disappearances between sips of water.
“You have worked for me for two years and four months, Elena,” he said softly, using her name for the first time. The sound of it on his lips sent a strange jolt through her spine. “You are invisible. You are perfect. Why throw your life away tonight?”
“Because no one else was watching,” Elena said, refusing to break eye contact. “For five weeks, she has been moving her water glass to force her to overextend. She has been moving the bread basket out of reach. She talks over her to make her feel unheard. Tonight, she tried to drop her on the floor. I watched it happen. And I was tired of watching.”
Garrett stared at her. The ice in his eyes seemed to crack, revealing something turbulent and dark underneath. He searched her face for a lie, for exaggeration, for manipulation. He found only the steady, burning conviction of a woman who had drawn a line in the sand.
He turned his back to her and walked to the wall of security monitors.
“Sit down,” he ordered.
Elena remained standing.
Garrett glanced over his shoulder. “Sit, Elena. Because I am going to review the tapes. And if you are lying, you won't need to stand ever again.”
May you like
He typed a password into the console. The screens flickered, bringing up the archive of the restaurant's security system. Not just tonight. He pulled up the files from the last five Fridays.
At 2:00 in the morning, the restaurant empty and silent outside the office doors, Garrett Weston began to watch.
