Maine lobster ran four hundred dollars a pound. One serving each, and that was four hundred a head right there.

A5 Wagyu was three hundred a piece, Gillardeau oysters fifty apiece, snow crab legs four hundred a pound.

And they wanted to wash it all down with an '82 Bordeaux. A single bottle topped forty grand.

This wasn't freeloading. This was a deliberate run to eat my family's restaurant into the ground.

And those mouths kept opening and closing, naming those dishes as easily as if they were ordering fried rice.

I looked at all those excited, greedy faces, and something in me sank all the way down.

I spoke, cold: "Mr. Whitney, the restaurant belongs to my mother. I have no authority to host anyone. And like I already said, the place is fully booked tonight."

Oliver's expression shifted. "Tell whoever booked it to pick another time. Our celebration is more important."

"Not possible. The deposit's already been paid. It can't be changed."

"It can and it will. Are you the director, or am I?"

The breath caught in my chest. I stared at him, cold.

"Fine. The penalty for breaking the reservation is two hundred grand, and you'll cover it. The hundred-grand booking deposit—wire it now."

The second the words left my mouth, the noise stopped dead.

Every coworker turned to look at me, baffled, stunned, like I was some kind of freak.

Oliver's face changed in an instant.

"Cecily Joyner, have I been too good to you? Do you even hear yourself? You're telling me to pay? Don't forget, I'm your director. Think about who signs your paycheck."

I almost laughed from sheer anger.

Five thousand dollars a month in salary, and one meal would eat up five, six hundred thousand of mine.

Ten years of working for free, and still letting them treat my family's restaurant like their own cafeteria.

I met his eyes without flinching.

"Not for much longer."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I said, I quit."

I pulled off my badge and threw it on the table.

"I'm done!"

The air froze. Oliver's face went a livid gray.

A few seconds of silence, then Aileen was the first to leap up, shrieking.

"Cecily, are you out of your mind? Is that any way to talk to the director? It's just one meal at your family's place. You're really going to quit over that?"

Zane Smith piled on right behind her.

"Right, your family's loaded. What's wrong with treating everyone to one meal? Besides, the restaurant's yours—you'd only be out the cost of the ingredients, how much could that be? You're being so cheap."

"Cecily, we're all coworkers here. Talking like this is just disrespectful. A celebration's a good thing. You're being a real killjoy."

"Exactly. I already called and told my mom—she's never had fine dining in her life. My whole family knows now. Cecily, you can't make me look bad."

I stared, wide-eyed, sure my ears had to be malfunctioning.

Every single word of it spelled out one thing: they were broke leeches with the nerve to act entitled about it.

I drew a deep breath and spoke, cold.

"Who eats a five-hundred-thousand-dollar meal? Is having money a crime in my family? Does that mean we deserve to be mooched off, squeezed dry, played for fools?"

"That restaurant is my parents' blood and sweat. It didn't fall out of the sky. We owe none of you a free dinner!"

Oliver slammed the table so hard my brand-new mug jumped off and shattered on the floor.

"Cecily Joyner, you've gone too far! No team spirit at all. We gave you this chance because the company values you, because we wanted to give you a better future. Don't make us do this the hard way!"

"Take it back, and I'll pretend I never heard it. Call your mother, set up the celebration properly tonight. I will not approve your resignation."

My eyes went hot and red with anger.

"On what grounds? This is my choice—"

"On the grounds that I'm your direct supervisor! You quit, and I'll have finance audit you, have HR pull your time records. I don't believe for a second you've never padded an expense report or clocked in late."

"Leave this company, and don't bother applying anywhere else. Your background check report? I write whatever I want on it."

A naked threat.

Open bullying.

A humiliation meant to cut a person down to nothing.

I was shaking all over, biting down hard enough to taste blood without even noticing.

I shot to my feet, ready to fight back, and Jordan Lambert grabbed my arm from behind and held on tight.

I turned. Jordan shook his head at me.

The fury that had climbed into my throat got swallowed back down.

Oliver thought I'd caved. He let out a cold, arrogant little laugh.

"That's more like it. Let Jordan teach you what it means to read the room and play smart."

"You handle tonight's celebration dinner to my satisfaction, and what happened just now never happened. From here on, there's still a place for you in this department."

"Don't be so petty, kid. Every resource you put in now is a stepping stone to your promotion. Relax. With me looking out for you, you won't lose out."

It was his usual trick.

A slap, then a sweet little reward, then a pie in the sky that would never come true, just to keep me playing the fool.

He didn't wait for me to answer. Oliver turned on his heel and strode off, arrogant as ever.

The coworkers shot me looks of disgust and contempt, then happily went off to plan tonight's celebration dinner.

Jordan was the only employee who hadn't reeled off a list of dishes, and the only one who hadn't joined in the sneering.

He pulled me into the stairwell and let out a helpless sigh.

"Cece, Oliver's a lowlife, plain and simple. My wife scrapes by running a little diner, and every time we work late he has me make boxed lunches for everyone, never pays a cent. He gets the credit, I cover the food. The minute I bring up money, he makes my life hell. All these years he's dangled raises and promotions, and I'm still a junior clerk who hasn't seen a dime more."

"I've tried to quit too. Same threats, same speech. You think anybody in sales has expense reports without a single error? At my age, if I leave with a stain on my record, I'll never find another job. I just have to take it."

It surged through me like a tide, and my voice came out wrong.

"Jordan, but my meal isn't some small amount…"

"I know. Go talk to Mr. Whitney, plead poverty, get them to cut down on the expensive dishes. Just bear it. You're still young. The last thing you want is a stain on your résumé."

My nails dug into my palm. My voice came out steady.

"Jordan, I have to quit this job."

Jordan shook his head, resigned, and turned to go.

"Jordan." I called him back.

He turned.

"Don't go to the dinner tonight."

He blinked, then nodded, and pushed the door open and left.

I called my mom.

"Mom, Oliver's planning to book out our restaurant tonight. No matter what he says, don't agree to it."

She paused. "Tonight's already booked by someone else. Didn't you tell him that?"

"I did…"

I told her the whole thing, and by the end her voice was trembling with anger.

"Cecily, you did the right thing. You can't coddle people like that. Don't you worry, even if the good Lord himself walks in today, it won't work."

"And it's my fault too. I figured he was your boss, so let him eat free, treat it like a gift, make things a little easier for you under him. And he just keeps pushing for more."

"Don't be scared, sweetheart. Just quit and come home. If you can't find work, your mom will take care of you. We're not swallowing that kind of humiliation."

A warm rush went through me, and my nose stung.

"Mom, I'm going to quit. He wants to corner me, and I'm not going to let him off easy."

"Mom, check the cameras. Put security cameras everywhere the blind spots can't reach. Hire twenty strong guards from Five Guards Security, and one more thing…"

A hard little edge curled at the corner of my mouth.

"Live stream the whole thing."

I hung up and went straight to HR to hand in my resignation.

Daphne Vance, the HR director, glanced at the form, then waved me into a chair.

She gave me that look, the one that said she'd been around and was only telling me this for my own good.

"Cecily, sweetie, this is nothing. Resigning over it? Word gets out that you fell out with a director over one dinner, and you'll never work anywhere again."

"An opportunity like this doesn't come to just anyone. You should be grateful. Do tonight's celebration banquet right. Don't embarrass your department, and don't drag your family's restaurant's name through the mud either."

My breath caught, and a dull ache pressed against my chest.

I looked at her, and the warmth drained out of my face.

"Ms. Vance, resigning is my right. If you insist on blocking it, I won't hesitate to file with the labor arbitration board."

Daphne's expression darkened, and she switched into strictly-by-the-book mode.

"Resignations require one month's advance notice, and you can't leave until your handover is complete and cleared."

"And during that time, you'll be subject to a financial audit and an attendance review. If anything turns up, it'll be handled strictly per company policy, and all of it goes into your background check. So think it through carefully!"

I slid my employment contract across to her.

"The contract doesn't say anything about one month's notice."

Her face went stiff for a second.

"You still have to go through the audit and review."

"How long?"

"A week, at the fastest."

"Fine." I nodded. "I'll wait."

I turned and walked out. As I reached the office door, I heard Aileen saying, "He's invited the HR and finance directors tonight. From now on nobody's tracking our attendance, and expense approvals will go faster too."

"Mr. Whitney really knows how to set things up. Stick with him and you eat well. Get a few more suckers like Cecily Joyner and think how much he saves on meals in a year."

I stood at the door and gave a cold laugh.

No wonder Daphne went to bat for Oliver like that. She'd been bought off.

Good. Then I could net them all in one sweep.

Back at my desk, I tidied my files as if nothing were wrong.

Aileen sat with a little compact, touching up her makeup while sniping at me in that snide tone.

"Honestly, some people just won't take the easy way and have to learn the hard way. So? Scared now, aren't you? One dinner buys you peace of mind. Cecily Joyner, you're not losing anything."

"Right. Mr. Whitney went to all that trouble to promote her family's place, and this is how she repays him. Real ingrate."

"A little money and she thinks she's somebody, doesn't even respect a director. People like that don't last anywhere. When the background-check people come asking, send them to me, and I'll show them exactly what she's worth!"

I pretended not to hear and kept my head down, working.

Oliver posted a menu in the group chat, everything the colleagues had just ordered.

Then he tagged me.

【@Cecily Joyner, I've put together everyone's order. Send it to your mom so she can prep ahead. Also, set up the venue. Ten flower baskets will do, and have them make a seven-tier cake. It's a celebration banquet, after all, so it should look lively.】

I didn't reply.

The colleagues piled on with their likes.

【Mr. Whitney's got real style】

【Brilliant as always, Mr. Whitney】

Every one of them was beaming, like they couldn't wait for six o'clock.

I watched them, cold-eyed.

Laugh all you want. I just hope you can still laugh tonight.

At six that evening, Oliver led over a hundred people in a grand procession to the door of the Skyline Revolving Restaurant.

A server politely blocked the entrance.

"I'm sorry, sir. The restaurant is booked privately tonight and closed to the public."

Oliver shot the server an arrogant look.

"You don't know who I am? And you still dare to stop me?"

"I'm the one who booked the place. Now get out of the way!"

The server didn't move.

"I'm sorry, sir. Tonight's private booking is for a proposal, and it isn't yours. Please cooperate and leave."