Livia looked at the lonely figure at table four. Viktor Molnar was not just angry. He looked exhausted. He was rubbing his temples, staring at his phone, waiting for a call that seemed more important than the food. “Preston,” Livia said, stepping out of the shadows. “Let me try.” Preston spun around, his eyes bulging. “You? You’re a terrace waitress, Young. You serve salads to tourists. That is a shark out there. Go back outside.” “You have no one left,” Livia pointed out calmly. “Gregory is hiding in the walk-in fridge. Timothy is crying in the alley. If you don’t send someone over in thirty seconds, Molnar walks.” Preston looked at the table, then at Livia. He looked like he was swallowing broken glass. “Fine. Go. But if you embarrass me, don’t bother clocking out. Just leave.”
Livia smoothed her apron. She took a deep breath, grabbed a fresh menu, and walked into the lion’s den.
The walk to table four felt like walking the plank. The silence in the restaurant was oppressive. Every eye was on her. The other guests. The terrified staff peeking from the kitchen. And Preston, who was practically praying for a miracle. As Livia approached, she observed him. Viktor Molnar was staring at his phone screen. He looked older up close. There were deep lines etched around his eyes, signs of chronic insomnia. He was tapping his finger rhythmically on the tablecloth, a nervous tic. She stopped three feet from the table. She did not speak immediately. She waited.
Viktor did not look up. “If you are here to tell me about the soup du jour,” he muttered, “save your breath. I want a vodka, neat, and I want everyone to stop staring at me.” Livia did not move. She noticed something the others had not. The phone on the table was not just sitting there. It was on a call, on speaker, but muted. A tiny light was blinking. And on the screen, a document was open. It was not in English. It was not in Russian. It was written in Magyar. Hungarian. But not the standard Hungarian taught in language schools. It was a specific, dense legal dialect used in the old contracts of the Carpathian Basin.