Chương 5 - THE FINAL PAYCHECK
"Take off the coat, Walker," David commanded, his voice cold and flat.
Naen hesitated, her trembling fingers slowly slipping the wet buttons of her coat free. As the coat fell open, the full extent of the mess was revealed: her white blouse was stained dark red across the stomach, her black skirt smeared with alley mud, her apron torn away.
David took a step back, holding his hand up to his nose as if she smelled like garbage.
"You're done," David said simply.
The word hit Naen like a physical blow to the chest.
"What?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "David, please! No! It was an emergency! I saved a man's life!"
"You ruined your uniform, you showed up forty-five minutes late, and you look like a street vagrant in a five-star dining establishment," David said, his voice completely devoid of empathy. "I have a reputation to maintain. L'Étoile Royale does not employ trash."
He reached into the inner breast pocket of his tailored jacket, pulling out a white paper envelope. Inside was her final prorated paycheck, calculated to the penny.
Without a shred of hesitation, David flicked his wrist.
The white envelope sailed through the air, dropping onto the wet, dirty floorboards right at Naen’s muddy sneakers.
"Take it and leave through the back," David spat, turning his back on her to adjust his cuffs in the wall mirror. "If you aren't off the property in two minutes, I'm calling security to have you removed for trespassing."
Naen stood frozen, the harsh fluorescent lights of the service corridor glaring down on her. Tears gathered in her dark eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of him. She thought of Toby sitting at home, breathing heavily through his inhaler, waiting for the medicine she now couldn't buy.
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Slowly, painfully, swallowing every ounce of her pride, Naen bent her knees and reached down to pick the wet paper envelope off the floor.
And then, every sound in the kitchen stopped.
