Chapter 4 - What She Told Them By The Columns
I kept his jacket pulled tight around me and tried not to cry again because the marble made every sound too loud. My apron was bunched under the gray wool and the sleeves hung past my hands, so I folded them back once and then stopped when my fingers shook too much to do it clean.
The corridor had filled while I stood there. Two older couples near the flag were pretending not to look, and a server I knew from the kitchen, Danny, kept his tray low and stared at the floor. The chandelier threw warm light down the columns and I could hear the band inside the ballroom still playing, like nothing had happened.
She was already fixed. The woman in the dark green gown ran one hand down her slit to straighten it and lifted her chin. Her red hair was still perfect over one shoulder. She didn't look at me at first. She looked at the phones.
"Everyone saw what happened," she said, her voice clear enough to carry to the ballroom doors. "That girl took my glass off my table and lied about it when I asked her for it back."
I felt my stomach drop. I hadn't lied. I hadn't even gotten to explain.
An event planner in a black headset pushed in fast from the entrance, clipboard against her chest. "Ma'am, please, let's step inside the suite and handle this privately," she said.
"No," the red-haired woman said. "I want witnesses. She saw my fiance talking to me and got jealous. That's what this is. Jealous staff."
My face burned. I looked down at the marble. The gray jacket smelled like his cologne and like cold air, and I held the front closed with both hands.
"That's enough," he said.
He was still in just the black shirt, sleeves pushed up once at the cuffs. He stepped half in front of me without touching me, blocking her view of me.
The planner glanced between them. "Sir, the board members are inside. If we can just pause service for a minute—"
He didn't look away from her. "You're not putting this on her to save face."
She laughed once, short. "I'm saving face? You took her side in front of everyone. You gave her your jacket." She pointed at the leather strap, which was no longer in anyone's hand. A security guard had set it on the edge of a marble bench by the columns. "And that? That's mine. I brought it for the charity auction display. Ask the planner. It was listed as a prop for the equestrian lot."
The planner flipped a page, nervous. "We did have... yes, there was a donated riding set for the live auction."
I stared at the strap lying there. In his hand it had looked like something to pull. On the bench it just looked dark and ordinary.
"You pulled it across the service path," he said quietly. "You told her to look at her place."
"Because she stole from me," she said louder, for the couples by the flag. "She took my glass and dumped it. Then she played victim."
"I didn't—" I started, and my voice cracked.
She turned on me then. Her eyes moved over the jacket, over my bun coming loose, over my uniform. "If you talk to anyone about me, about tonight, I will make sure your name is on the incident report. I'll name you to the agency too. Try getting another hotel job after that."
The corridor went quiet except for the music leaking out when someone opened the ballroom doors. I felt Danny shift behind me, not saying anything.
"Leave her alone," he said. His voice stayed level, but his jaw tightened. "The engagement is over. I'm not letting you use her to clean this up."
She stared at him, mouth open for a second. Then she smoothed her gown again with both hands. "Fine. Then when they ask why, I'll tell them exactly what kind of man picks a thief over his fiancee."
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The planner lifted her hands. "Please. Both of you. Cameras—"
I didn't move. The jacket was too big and too warm and I was still shaking inside it, hearing her words on loop about naming me if I talked, while he stood between us in his black shirt and wouldn't step back.
