Chapter 2 - THE LANGUAGE NOLAN NEVER EXPECTED
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Adrian signed one word.
Explain.
Emma swallowed.
Her hands trembled, but she forced them steady.
My employer told me I would serve dinner for four thousand dollars. I did not agree to anything else.
Adrian watched every movement.
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for Nolan to understand.
But Emma saw it.
Something cold entered his eyes.
Nolan stepped forward.
"Mr. Voss, perhaps I should clarify—"
Adrian raised one finger.
Nolan stopped.
Adrian signed directly to Emma.
You know ASL.
Yes.
How?
My sister was deaf.
Adrian's gaze softened for an instant.
Then he signed:
What did Nolan tell you?
Emma hesitated.
Nolan was watching.
She glanced toward the armed guards beyond the glass.
Adrian noticed.
He reached for his phone.
Typed a message.
A moment later, one of the guards entered.
Adrian showed him the screen.
The guard nodded and stepped beside the door.
Nolan's smile returned.
"Boss, there's no need to make this uncomfortable."
Adrian didn't look at him.
He signed to Emma.
Tell me everything.
She took a breath.
He told me you invited me here. He said you wanted a discreet woman. When I told him I was hired to serve dinner, he told you I understood an arrangement.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
What arrangement?
Emma looked down.
I don't know.
A long silence followed.
Then Adrian signed:
Did anyone touch you?
No.
Threaten you?
Not directly.
Are you free to leave?
Emma glanced toward the locked doors.
I don't know.
Adrian stood.
Nolan immediately reached toward him.
Adrian stepped away.
Then he signed something so sharply that Emma almost flinched.
You will not interpret for me again.
Nolan's face drained.
Adrian turned toward the guard.
He typed another message.
The guard opened the dining room doors.
Adrian looked at Emma.
You may leave whenever you wish.
Emma stared.
Really?
He nodded.
Then signed:
I'm sorry.
The apology surprised her more than anything else.
She had expected anger.
Threats.
Perhaps disbelief.
Instead, the most feared man in Chicago was apologizing to a waitress.
Nolan recovered enough to speak.
"Adrian, you're overreacting. This is a misunderstanding."
Adrian looked at him.
Then signed slowly:
You brought a woman into my home under false pretenses.
Nolan's mouth tightened.
"I was trying to help."
Adrian continued signing.
You used my deafness to lie to both of us.
Nolan went silent.
Emma felt the room change.
The guards weren't looking at her anymore.
They were looking at Nolan.
And suddenly she understood something.
Nolan Pierce wasn't simply an employee who had made a terrible mistake.
He was a man who had been relying on Adrian Voss not knowing what people were really saying around him.
For years.
Perhaps longer.
Adrian signed one final question.
Who paid Frank Moran?
Emma hesitated.
I don't know.
Adrian nodded.
Then typed a message to his security chief.
Within minutes, Nolan Pierce was escorted from the dining room.
He wasn't arrested.
Not yet.
But he was no longer smiling.
Emma remained standing beside the table.
Her legs felt weak.
Adrian approached slowly.
He stopped several feet away.
Then signed:
You are safe here.
Emma looked at him.
How can I know that?
He accepted the question without offense.
Then answered:
You cannot. Not yet.
For the first time that night, Emma believed him.
May you like
Because he hadn't asked her to trust him.
He had admitted she had no reason to.
