Gavin walked up beside me.
“Should I call security, Camilla?”
“Just to keep the peace, Gavin. Nobody is going to be harmed, but if anyone refuses to pay their portion or attempts to leave without providing full identification, please dial the police immediately.”
When Beatrice realized that I was not going to back down, she began desperately begging me.
“Just write it off as advertising, Camilla! This restaurant makes so much money, so twenty thousand dollars is not going to ruin you!”
Her desperate plea proved everything I had ever thought about how she viewed me. My endless hours of hard work meant nothing to her. The fresh ingredients, my staff’s hard-earned wages, and my skill were worthless in her eyes simply because she believed I could just work harder to make the money back for her convenience.
“No,” I said coldly.
Beatrice buried her face in her hands. Within minutes, her friends began arguing aggressively among themselves, demanding that she resolve the tab or insisting on paying only for what they individually consumed. The admiration that had surrounded her all afternoon completely dissolved into bitter resentment.