Chapter Eight: The Morning List
At seven the next morning, Lily woke to seventeen messages.
Some were from coworkers asking if the firing had really happened.
Some were from regular guests who had obtained her number through mutual friends.
One was from Olivia, confirming her paid hours and inviting her to a staff meeting at nine.
Another was from a number she did not recognize.
It read: You need to know the boxes left the depot before dawn.
Lily sat upright in bed.
She called the number, but nobody answered.
She forwarded the message to Olivia and called Simone rather than investigating the source herself.
Simone sounded as though she had been awake all night.
“The distributor says every order is on hold,” she said.
“A text says otherwise.”
“Send me the number and the wording.
”
Lily complied.
Simone promised to report the information to the authorities already handling the complaint.
She warned Lily not to confront anyone over a rumor.
At nine, Lily returned to the Bellwether as an invited employee witness, not as a reinstated server.
Amina stood near the kitchen doors with Ben and six other workers.
Thomas had arranged chairs in the private dining room.
Olivia distributed the previous night’s wage confirmations and copies of the temporary ingredient hold notice.
Grant’s chair remained empty.
Thomas began with an apology for how Lily had been treated.
He did not mention Walter until after he acknowledged complaints employees had previously filed.
Several staff members exchanged surprised looks.
Then he asked them to describe how the restaurant actually operated.
Ben raised his hand first.
“Deliveries sometimes come through after the receiving clerk goes home.
”
“Who checks them?” Thomas asked.
“Usually whoever Grant tells.”
Priya spoke next.
“The complaint form routes every message to Grant’s inbox.”
“Even complaints about him?”
“Especially those.”
Amina described a practice of rushing staff through breaks whenever VIP tables were running behind.
Another server said Grant discouraged them from reporting damaged serving equipment because replacement costs affected his monthly bonus.
Olivia took notes while Thomas listened.
Nobody believed one meeting would fix all of it, but the details were finally entering the room where decisions were made.
Lily spoke last.
“I don’t want my job back as a favor,” she said.
“I want to know whether the rules apply to the managers as well as the staff.”
Thomas nodded.
“They should.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Amina looked down to hide a smile.
Thomas took a moment.
“We’ll establish an independent channel for staff complaints and publish the process for discipline and appeals.”
“Who will review complaints from this week?” Lily asked.
“Olivia and an external employment adviser,” Thomas replied.
“Then put the names and deadlines in writing.”
“I will.”
After the meeting, Walter arrived wearing an ordinary dry jacket and carrying a notebook.
He greeted the staff without asking them to thank him.
Simone brought him into the kitchen to review the inventory hold.
That was when a senior purchasing clerk approached Thomas with an unexpected discovery.
North Quay had booked a separate event for that afternoon at a waterfront exhibition hall.
The advertised menu included the same first harvest mushroom assortment, and its promotional materials described Walter as the verifying expert.
The event was due to begin at four.
Lily checked the time.
They had less than seven hours to reach the organizers before guests sat down.
