Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind the Counter
Emily’s shift ended at ten.
Nathaniel was still at the booth when she removed her apron.
“Do you ever go home?” she asked.
“Occasionally.”
“You should practice.”
He smiled faintly, then noticed the envelope she tucked into her bag.
A red stamp crossed the front.
FINAL NOTICE.
Emily saw his glance.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to look helpful.”
He leaned back.
“Occupational hazard.”
She hesitated, then sat across from him.
“My mother needs a quieter apartment. Ours has three flights of stairs and a landlord who thinks heat is a seasonal suggestion.”
“Is she ill?”
“She has a heart condition. She’s stable. Stairs are the problem.”
Nathaniel nodded.
Emily watched him carefully.
“I’m telling you because you asked. Not because I want you calling somebody.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
He considered that.
“I’m trying to.”
She looked toward the kitchen.
“My father died when I was nineteen. After that, Mom cleaned offices until her doctor told her she couldn’t keep working nights.”
“What offices?”
“Downtown. Medical buildings. A hotel management company for a while.”
“Brooks Hospitality?”
Emily’s expression changed.
“How did you know?”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“Because that’s my company.”
She sat very still.
Then she laughed once, without humor.
“Of course it is.”
“Emily?”
“She lost that job when they switched contractors. No notice. Her supervisor told her she could reapply through the new agency at three dollars less an hour.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
He remembered the expense reduction.
A successful initiative.
Martin had presented it at the quarterly meeting.
Nathaniel had congratulated him.
The diner seemed to grow quieter.
“I didn’t know,” he said.
Emily reached for her bag.
“I believe you.”
He had heard those words from Sophia.
This time, they hurt differently.
“You didn’t have to know,” Emily continued. “That was probably the point.”
Nathaniel did not follow her outside.
He sat with what she had said.
The next morning, he requested every contract connected to the staffing transition.
Then he called the human resources director directly.
“Was there an assessment of displaced workers?”
There was a pause.
“The contractor assured us employees would have opportunities.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No,” she admitted. “There was no independent assessment.”
Nathaniel asked for one.
He also asked her to identify unpaid wages, benefits disputes, and any workers who had been discouraged from filing complaints.
“Please don’t start by drafting a press release,” he added.
By Thursday, the company’s board had noticed.
An emergency meeting appeared on his calendar.
Before attending, Nathaniel visited Maple & Main.
Emily was refilling sugar containers.
“I owe you an apology,” he said.
She kept working.
“For what happened to your mother. And for thinking not knowing made my part smaller.”
She looked up.
“What are you doing about it?”
He explained the review.
All affected workers.
Independent administrators.
No requirement that anyone sign away a complaint to receive money already owed.
Emily listened without smiling.
“Good.”
He nodded.
“I also found a housing assistance organization. I can give you the information.”
“An organization?”
“Yes.”
“Not an apartment you secretly bought?”
He winced.
“No.”
She held out her hand.
“Then I’ll take the number.”
At the board meeting, Martin sat beside the company’s lead independent director, Evelyn Shaw.
Evelyn had worked with Nathaniel for fifteen years and had never once laughed at a joke she did not find funny.
She opened a folder.
“We need to discuss your recent directives.”
Nathaniel folded his hands.
“Yes.”
Martin spoke first.
“Three major initiatives suspended. An expensive labor review. A property concession involving your daughter.”
Evelyn turned to Nathaniel.
“Is that characterization accurate?”
“Incomplete.”
“Then complete it.”
He did.
He described the school.
The staffing contracts.
The consulting payments.
At the mention of Mercer Advisory Group, Martin interrupted.
“Those fees were approved.”
“By whom?” Evelyn asked.
“Operations.”
“Meaning you.”
Martin’s jaw tightened.
Nathaniel placed the payment schedule on the table.
“I’m requesting an independent audit of the subsidiary and all related vendors.”
No one spoke.
Then Evelyn pulled the schedule toward her.
“I agree.”
For the first time that morning, Martin looked uncertain.
As the meeting ended, Nathaniel’s phone vibrated.
A message from Sophia.
Daniel asked if the man in the expensive coat is coming to help hang paintings Saturday.
Nathaniel looked at the screen for a long moment.
Then he answered:
If his teacher says it’s okay.
May you like
Her reply arrived a minute later.
Nine o’clock. Wear something washable.
