Chapter 3: A Name in the Margin

Preston ordered me into his office while Samuel ate the last of his toast.

I followed him because I still needed the wages he owed me, even after being fired.

His office was no larger than a pantry and smelled of printer toner and stale cologne.

He shut the door and instructed me to sign a statement saying that I had admitted an unauthorized guest into the restaurant.

The statement described Samuel as disruptive, aggressive, and unwilling to pay.

I read the words twice before looking up.

“He was polite until you took his food,” I said.

Preston tapped the paper.

“Sign it and I’ll consider letting you return next week.”

He spoke as though I ought to be grateful for an opportunity to lie about a stranger.

I told him I wanted my final paycheck and a copy of the termination notice.

He said the company could deduct losses caused by my behavior.

I asked him which losses he meant.

He stared at me long enough to make clear that I was expected to stop asking.

Then someone knocked on the door.

A woman in a gray coat stood in the doorway holding a slim document case.

She introduced herself as attorney Naomi Brooks and said she represented Samuel Voss.

Preston tried to send her to the front desk.

Naomi placed a business card on his desk.

“My client asked that I be present for any discussion concerning his condition or behavior today.”

She glanced at the paper in front of me.

“Has Ms. Carter already signed anything?”

“No,” I said.

Naomi asked Preston to give me a copy of the document and reminded him that he could not require a false statement as a condition of receiving earned wages.

I took a photograph before he could take the paper away.

It was the first small decision I made that morning without asking permission.

Outside the office, Robert was speaking into his phone near the stairs.

He looked frightened rather than angry.

He ended the call and told Naomi that a lawyer from his investment firm was bringing the acquisition file.

Samuel had moved to a booth away from the other guests.

He asked me to sit for a minute because he needed to explain the folded napkin.

The three names were Tomás Alvarez, Esther Bell, and Miriam Carter.

The third name made my stomach contract.

“My mother’s name was Miriam,” I said.

Samuel’s eyes searched my face.