The Single Dad stared.
“So Emily isn’t your name.”
“No.”
“Claire?”
“One of them.”
“What does that mean?”
She took a breath.
“Come sit.”
“No.”
He remained standing.
“Tell me here.”
Several customers were nearby.
The Woman lowered her voice.
“I can’t.”
He laughed once.
“Of course.”
He started turning away.
She caught his wrist.
The same wrist she had touched after the confrontation.
He stopped.
The Woman released him immediately.
“Please.”
He looked at her.
She pointed toward the back office.
He followed reluctantly.
The owner closed the door behind them.
The office barely fit three chairs and a desk.
The Woman remained standing.
The Single Dad folded his arms.
“Who are you?”
She answered.
The name meant nothing to him at first.
Then she added:
“I’m Chief Executive Officer of Halcyon Hospitality Group.”
The Single Dad stared.
Nothing moved in his face.
Then he laughed.
Not because he believed her.
The Woman waited.
He stopped laughing.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“You’re the CEO.”
“Yes.”
“Of Halcyon.”
“Yes.”
“The company whose lawyer called me.”
“Yes.”
He stepped backward.
The office suddenly felt too small.
“You’ve been pretending to be a waitress.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Undercover investigation.”
“Of him?”
“Initially.”
He looked toward the dining room.
“The guy from last night.”
“He runs Central Operations.”
“He works for you.”
“Yes.”
The Single Dad stared.
Then his expression hardened.
“And you let me stand there like an idiot.”
The Woman flinched.
“I didn’t know you.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“You knew who he was.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he had power.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the diner owner was afraid.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me walk into it.”
“I didn’t ask you to intervene.”
The sentence was factual.
Also terrible.
The Single Dad’s jaw tightened.
The Woman realized immediately.
“That came out wrong.”
“No.”
“It came out exactly how executives talk.”
She stepped closer.
“I’m sorry.”
“I mean that.”
He looked toward the door.
“How much of last night was a test?”
“None of your part.”
“You were testing him.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know he’d retaliate?”
“No.”
“You had some idea he might.”
The Woman hesitated.
That was enough.
The Single Dad laughed bitterly.
“My daughter was there.”
“I know.”
“You were collecting evidence while my daughter was sitting ten feet away.”
The Woman’s expression changed.
Pain.
Real.
“I did not expect the confrontation to escalate.”
“But it did.”
“Yes.”
“And now half my company is gone.”
“We can restore—”
He held up one hand.
“No.”
The Woman stopped.
“There.”
he said.
“That’s exactly what I knew would happen.”
“What?”
“The second you became who you actually are, you started fixing me.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’m trying to correct damage my executive caused.”
“My clients were people.”