Chapter Fifteen R: The Call Nobody Wanted
Nolan called Priya at eight in the evening, when the exhibition hall was almost empty.
He said he wanted to discuss a peaceful compromise before the market opened.
Priya asked him to put his proposal in writing.
Nolan said written messages had already caused enough confusion.
He suggested they meet privately in the parking lot without vendors or reporters.
Priya refused.
She offered to speak with him in the hall while the superintendent and another organizer were present.
Nolan accused her of turning a routine scheduling issue into a public spectacle.
Priya reminded him that the additional booth spaces did not exist.
He said the extra sellers could be moved to an outdoor area beside the building.
Priya asked whether he had secured permission for that area.
Nolan changed the subject.
He told her that several vendors were already angry and that she would be blamed if they arrived to find their reservations canceled.
Priya said the vendors had been contacted and offered refunds or alternative dates.
Nolan laughed and asked whether she thought a refund would restore their confidence.
Priya said a truthful explanation was better than an impossible promise.
Nolan grew quiet.
Then he asked whether Claire was with her.
Priya said Claire was not part of the call.
Nolan told her that his daughter had been unstable since the first festival.
Priya replied that she would not discuss Claire’s health or character with him.
Nolan said Priya would regret trusting strangers.
She ended the call and wrote down the time and the substance of the conversation.
A few minutes later, the superintendent knocked on the office door.
He had received a message from someone claiming to represent Nolan’s company.
The message instructed him to unlock the east wing before dawn so the extra vendors could be accommodated.
Priya asked him not to change any building access arrangements without written approval from the venue owner.
The superintendent said he had already refused.
He had managed the building for eighteen years and had no intention of opening a room with an unsafe roof for a disputed market layout.
Priya thanked him.
He said she could thank him by making sure the loading doors were not blocked by tables in the morning.
They walked the building together one last time.
The main hall smelled of fresh paint and cardboard.
The booth numbers had been taped to the floor in straight rows.
Priya checked each number against the revised vendor list.
When she reached the end, she counted sixty-four spaces.
There was no mystery in the number.
It was simply the amount of room the building actually had.
Chapter Fifteen S: The First Vendor at the Gate
