Marissa was walking to a temporary catering interview when Niko called.
“We’re about to lose half our produce,” he said.
“Did you contact Francine?”
“She’s on her way from the suburbs.”
“Did Calvin place the order?”
“Yes.”
“Is the vendor still owed money from last month?”
Niko went quiet.
“Apparently.”
Marissa stopped beneath an elevated train track.
“Don’t take the food unless the vendor agrees to leave it.”
“I know that.”
“Have Omar count the dishes you can sell from what you already have, and tell the front desk before the first guests arrive.”
“Would you call Priya?”
Marissa hesitated.
She did not want to become a shadow manager performing unpaid emergency work.
“I’ll make one call,” she said.
“After that, whoever owns this restaurant can earn their title.”
Priya answered from a conference room.
She listened and said she would phone Francine immediately.
Marissa kept walking toward her interview.
Five minutes later, Ethan called her.
“I heard about the delivery,” he said.
“Then you heard more than I should need to explain.”
“I can pay the vendor.”
“With your own money?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’ll expect you to pay the next one, and Calvin can keep placing orders he doesn’t intend to manage.”
Ethan was silent for a moment.
“What would you do?”
“Ask whether the order was approved and why the account is overdue. Then decide how much product you can responsibly accept.”
“The restaurant could lose today’s service.”
“It might. That’s what happens when problems have been hidden for months.”
“You sound very calm about that.”
“I’m standing on a sidewalk trying to get another job. I’m not calm at all.”
Ethan apologized.
Marissa continued toward the interview, angry that she had briefly imagined he might understand the difference.
At Harper’s Table, Francine arrived before the driver left.
She met him on the loading dock with her checkbook in hand.
The vendor explained that two earlier invoices remained unpaid despite repeated promises.
Francine looked at Calvin.
“You told me this account was current.”
“They made a bookkeeping error,” he said.
The driver shook his head.
“I spoke with you yesterday.”
Calvin stared at the pavement.
Francine did not write a check immediately.
She asked the driver to show her the invoices, then called the vendor’s office to confirm the balances.
She arranged payment for what was due and accepted a reduced delivery for that day’s menu.
The driver left without threatening to come back with a truckload of spoiled produce.
Niko went into the kitchen and rewrote the specials board himself.
For the first time in months, a significant decision had been made without Calvin shouting.
Francine asked Jules to gather employees after the lunch rush.
Calvin tried to attend the meeting.
Francine told him he was not invited.
“You can’t exclude a manager from operational discussions,” he said.
“I can exclude you from one discussion about how you’ve been managing.”
He stood in the hallway long enough for the kitchen team to notice.
Then he retreated to the office and slammed the door.
