Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO LIED ABOUT A NOTEBOOK
Arthur Bell had managed the Onyx Room for eleven years.
He knew the regulars.
Their preferences.
Their secrets.
Their weaknesses.
He knew which executives drank too much.
Which politicians arrived with women who weren't their wives.
Which businessmen paid in cash.
And which guests preferred not to be remembered.
Paige had always considered him unpleasant but predictable.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Roman's attorney contacted Arthur through the restaurant's legal representative.
Arthur denied receiving any notebook.
He also denied threatening Paige.
Then, two days later, Paige arrived for her shift and discovered her schedule had been erased.
Arthur stood behind the host station.
"You're off the floor until your wrist heals."
Paige stared.
"That's not what we discussed."
"Things change."
"I have a doctor's note asking for modified duties."
Arthur smiled thinly.
"We don't have modified duties."
Paige looked at the empty schedule.
"You can't just remove all my hours."
Arthur leaned closer.
"Watch me."
Paige felt anger rise.
For years, she'd swallowed insults because she needed the money.
Now she was tired.
Tired of being treated like a disposable object.
She took out her phone.
"Then put that in writing."
Arthur's smile faded.
"What?"
"Tell me in writing that you're removing my hours because I got hurt at work."
He stared.
"Don't be difficult."
Paige looked directly at him.
"I'm done making it easy."
She walked out.
That afternoon, she contacted a workers' rights organization.
She filed a complaint.
And she began looking for another job.
Roman offered to help.
She refused his money.
But she accepted one thing.
Information.
May you like
She wanted to know what had happened to Elias Mercer.
And why Arthur Bell had lied.
