Chapter 4 - THE VIDEO CURTIS FORGOT EXISTED
Three days later, Curtis received an email from corporate headquarters.
An independent investigator wanted to interview the staff.
Curtis laughed when he read it.
Then stopped laughing when he saw the investigator's name.
Rebecca Sloan.
A former employment attorney known for exposing wage theft and workplace retaliation.
The review began with payroll records.
Then scheduling records.
Then complaints.
Then security footage.
Curtis had forgotten about the service camera outside Matteo's private dining room.
It showed him assigning Isla the table.
Renee laughing.
Perry watching.
And all three gathering outside the door.
The footage had no audio.
But it clearly showed their conduct.
The investigator also discovered that Curtis had repeatedly altered employee tip allocations.
Several servers had lost hundreds of dollars.
Some had lost thousands.
The money had been redirected through questionable adjustments.
Perry finally confessed.
He told Rebecca that Curtis had ordered him to watch Isla's reaction.
That Renee had suggested filming her humiliation.
And that Curtis had promised them preferred shifts if the prank succeeded.
When the report reached corporate leadership, Curtis was placed on administrative leave.
Renee received disciplinary action.
The company began correcting payroll discrepancies.
Isla's suspension was rescinded.
But when the restaurant offered her reinstatement, she hesitated.
She had spent four years believing she needed that job.
Now she wasn't sure she wanted to return.
That evening, she met Matteo at a quiet café.
She signed:
They offered my job back.
Matteo nodded.
Will you take it?
I don't know.
He waited.
She looked at her hands.
I'm good at serving tables.
I know.
But I don't want to spend my life apologizing for existing.
Matteo studied her.
Then signed:
Then don't.
She looked up.
It's not that simple.
No.
He paused.
But difficult doesn't mean impossible.
Isla smiled faintly.
Then asked something she had been wondering for weeks.
Why do you always eat alone?
Matteo's expression changed.
He looked toward the window.
Then signed:
Because most people only sit with me when they want something.
Isla's chest tightened.
And what do you think I want?
He looked back.
For a long moment, his hands remained still.
Then he signed:
I haven't figured that out.
Isla smiled.
Maybe dinner.
May you like
Matteo laughed silently.
And for the first time, she saw the man beneath the reputation.
