Chương 5
“Do what?”
“Become taller.”
Sadie made a tired sound that might have been a laugh.
Janelle handed her a canvas bag. “Sweatshirt, pants, shoes, toothbrush, and the last protein bar from the cabinet. You owe me a protein bar.”
“Noted.”
“And your face is everywhere.”
Sadie stopped.
Janelle took out her phone. A twelve-second video had been posted from inside The Harrington. It began after Julian entered. The angle showed him walking through the dining room, Celeste stepping away, and Sadie kneeling over Rufus. The caption read: MAFIA BOSS SHUTS DOWN ENGAGEMENT PARTY AFTER WAITRESS ATTACKS FIANCÉE.
The comments multiplied as they watched.
Some people called Sadie brave. Others called her a plant, a mistress, an animal-rights extremist, a thief. Someone had already found the old article about her dismissal from Maplewood Animal Hospital. The headline described her as a “former veterinary employee accused of assaulting pet owner.”
Sadie read her own name three times before it felt real.
“Stop,” Janelle said, taking the phone back.
“It’s been two hours.”
“That is enough time for strangers to solve your personality.”
Julian looked at Mateo. “Find who posted it.”
Officer Brooks’s warning was still in the room.
Sadie said, “No.”
Both men looked at her.
“You’re not going to find them.”
“I can find them without speaking to them,” Julian said.
“And then what?”
“Ask for the original recording.”
“You don’t ask.”
A pause.
Mateo’s eyes moved away.
Sadie turned to Julian. “Do nothing unless I say yes.”
“You do not give me orders.”
“No. I give you consequences. If anybody gets threatened because of that video, I tell the police it came from you.”
Janelle looked from one to the other. “I have been here forty seconds and already hate this arrangement.”
Julian’s expression stayed controlled. “What arrangement?”
“The one where both of you think you’re in charge.”
Sadie changed clothes in the restroom. Her shoulder had turned purple where Celeste’s heel pressed into it. There was a smaller bruise near her collarbone and a long red scrape along her wrist.
When she returned, Julian was gone.
Mateo remained by the elevators.
“Where did he go?” she asked.
“To see Iris.”
“He listened?”
Mateo gave her a tired look. “Mr. Croft listens. He does not always obey.”
“Does anyone?”
“Not for long.”
He handed Sadie a business card with only a phone number printed on it.
“If the hospital needs anything.”
“They have his card.”
“I meant you.”
She nearly refused. Then she put it in her pocket.
“Did you know about Iris’s dog?”
“No.”
“Did you know people were pressuring her?”
“I knew the building was a holdout.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Mateo glanced toward Janelle, who was arguing with a vending machine.
“I knew relocation talks were unpleasant.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I used a phrase that allowed me not to ask.”
Sadie studied his face.
He looked older than he had in the dining room.
“The phrase worked,” she said.
“Yes.”
The separation agreement from The Harrington arrived by email at eight fourteen that morning. It offered Sadie six weeks of pay, continued health insurance through the end of the month, and a neutral reference in exchange for confidentiality, non-disparagement, and a broad release of claims against the restaurant, its owners, investors, guests, employees, contractors, and event hosts.
Janelle read it at their kitchen table while eating cereal from a mixing bowl.
“This includes Celeste.”
“I noticed.”
“It includes anyone Celeste has ever stood near.”
“I noticed.”
Their apartment occupied the third floor of a narrow building over a dry cleaner. The kitchen window faced a brick wall painted an uncertain shade of beige. Someone in the next building had installed a humming air conditioner that dripped onto a metal fire escape every seven seconds.
Sadie sat in borrowed sweatpants with a bag of frozen peas against her shoulder.
The rent envelope waited beside the toaster.
“What are you going to do?” Janelle asked.
“Sleep.”
“After that.”
“Find an attorney.”
“With what money?”
Sadie moved the peas higher. “My wealth of personality.”
Janelle ate another spoonful. “Don’t lead with that.”
Sadie slept for two hours and woke to sixty-three missed notifications.
The Harrington had issued a statement. It said staff members had violated health and safety protocols by bringing an injured stray into a private dining room. It expressed concern for all involved and promised full cooperation with authorities. It did not mention Celeste kicking anyone.
Celeste’s publicist released a separate statement claiming Celeste had suffered a sprained ankle while trying to prevent an uncontrolled animal from reaching guests. She wished the dog a speedy recovery and regretted that “a stressful misunderstanding” had overshadowed a private family celebration.
A photograph accompanied the statement. Celeste sat in the rear of a car with her ankle wrapped in white gauze.
Sadie enlarged the image.
The bandage was on the wrong foot.
She sent the photograph to Officer Brooks.
Then her younger sister called.
Maya Mercer was twenty-one, studied accounting at a state college, and possessed the family talent for sounding disapproving even when frightened.
“Mom would rise from the dead to slap you.”
“Which part?”
“The part where you confronted a billionaire in one shoe.”
“Celeste isn’t a billionaire.”
“Oh, good. Then this is fine.”
Sadie lowered her voice. “How did you hear?”
“Three people sent it to me before breakfast. Aunt Denise thinks you’re dating Julian Croft.”
“Aunt Denise thought the mailman was in witness protection.”
“She says he had cautious eyes.”
Sadie smiled despite herself.
Maya’s voice softened. “Are you hurt?”
“Bruised.”
“And the dog?”
“Alive.”
“Your job?”
“Not alive.”
A silence followed.
Maya knew what six missing weeks of tips meant. She also knew Sadie had been quietly sending two hundred dollars each month toward Maya’s books while pretending the money came from an old savings account.
“I can take more hours,” Maya said.
“No.”
“You don’t get to decide every—”
“Finish school.”
May you like
“I am finishing school. I can also work.”
“Not because of this.”
