I'd barely pushed open the door to our private dining room before Sandra was right behind me.

She walked in, and the second she saw the room full of people, her whole face lit up.

A bright smile spread across her lips in an instant.

“Hi there! You must be Amanda's parents. I'm her coworker. I brought my family here for dinner tonight too, and when I realized she was here, I just had to come say hello.”

My mom had always been friendly by nature. Hearing Sandra's greeting, she stood up right away to welcome her.

“A coworker! Come, come, sit down! We're here because Amanda told us this place was wonderful!”

Sandra glanced at the dishes on the table. The corner of her mouth twitched.

She stared at the Australian lobster and turned to my mom.

“Wow, ma'am, I bet you've never seen lobster this big back in your little country town, huh?”

“That's an Australian lobster. Three hundred dollars a piece. This must be your first time trying one, right?”

Then she pointed at the grouper.

“Oh my, you even ordered the coral grouper! That's what, eighty dollars a plate?”

“And Buddha Jumps Over the Wall too.”

“Wow, wow, wow. Ma'am, this trip was really worth it for you all, wasn't it? Everything you've never seen or tasted before, all in one sitting!”

My mom could take a lot, but even she could hear the mockery dripping from every word.

Her face hardened. She didn't say another word.

“Sandra, what the hell is that supposed to mean?” My fists clenched at my sides.

Sandra laughed. “Oh, relax, Amanda. I'm just making conversation with your mom!”

“I mean, your parents have spent their whole lives out in the country. They've never had access to food like this. It's only natural they'd get a little overexcited the first time. No one's blaming them!”

“It's just, you guys ordered so much. If someone didn't know better, they'd think you'd never had a full meal back home!”

I slammed my palm on the table and pointed at the door.

“Sandra, you're not welcome here. Get out.”

Sandra stood up, muttering under her breath.

She rolled her eyes at me on her way up.

“Whatever. I was just telling the truth. If you don't want to hear it, fine.”

At the doorway, she turned back one last time and called out to the room.

“Just some friendly advice, sir, ma'am. Havenport isn't like your little country town. There are standards here for how people eat and act. Order that much food in one go, and people will talk.”

Then she bolted.

My dad's face was ashen. My mom sat rigid, jaw tight, saying nothing.

My niece, sitting next to my sister, tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “Mommy, did we really order too much?”

I jumped in before anyone else could answer. “No, sweetie. We didn't order too much at all. Don't listen to a word she said.”

I never imagined that just because I'd spent all the money on my own card,

Sandra would use it as an excuse to humiliate my parents like that.

We sat in the room a while longer before finally leaving.

But the moment we reached the front entrance,

the floor manager came jogging after us.

“Excuse me, ma'am. You still have an unpaid tab.”

My parents both turned to look at me.

“Amanda, didn't you already pay?”

I was just as confused. “I did pay. I swiped my card.”

I pointed at the cashier from earlier. “Ask her.”

The manager handed me a bill. “Your own table has been settled, yes. But there's another table that hasn't been paid for.”

I looked down at the bill. It was Sandra's table.

The manager said, “The woman told us to put it on your tab when she left.”

I held that bill in my hand, shaking with rage.

Sandra hadn't gotten her free meal off my card, so she'd gone straight to shameless fraud instead.

She'd dumped a thirteen-hundred-dollar bill on me without saying a single word.

I handed the bill right back to the manager.

“She and I are just coworkers. I never agreed to pay her bill. Whoever ate the food, take it up with them!”

I turned to leave, but two security guards stepped into my path.

The manager's voice carried a note of apology. “I'm sorry, but I don't care whether you're coworkers or friends. When she left, she made it very clear: you'd be covering the tab.”

“Our waitstaff saw the two of you talking at the register. You obviously know each other. Since she's gone, the bill falls to you.”

I was shaking with anger.

“She says I'll pay and you just take her word for it? Nobody thought to check with me first?”

“By that logic, any random stranger could walk in and stick their tab on someone else, and you'd all just go along with it?”

The manager turned and looked at the young waitress standing behind him.

She kept her head down, her voice barely audible. “I... I forgot to confirm.”

The manager gave me a weary look. “That was an oversight on our employee's part, I'll admit. But from what I can see, you and your coworker are on good terms. She even gave us your phone number when she checked out.”

“On top of that, after dinner she followed you into your private room. You two must be close.”

“Tell you what, I'll knock five percent off the total. Just settle it for your coworker, and let's not make things difficult for my staff.”

I laughed.

He said I was making things difficult for him.

They hadn't bothered to verify a single thing before shoving a bill in my face that had nothing to do with me.

And now I was the one making things difficult.

Right then, my phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message.

I opened it. Sandra.

【Don't think that just because you maxed out the card, you've got one over on me!】

【Consider this dinner a little lesson~】

Followed by a smirking emoji.

Fine. Fine. Fine.

She was banking on the fact that my parents were here, that I wouldn't cause a scene, that I'd just swallow the loss and shut up.

Not a chance.

I picked up my phone and dialed 911.

【Hi, yes. Someone dined and dashed at a restaurant and stuck the bill on me.】