He told her the private client from the previous night had requested that she be removed from regular floor rotation and made exclusively available for his future meetings.
Everly stared at him.
“I’m a waitress, not furniture.”
Her manager lowered his voice.
“He is paying for the room.”
“That does not mean he is paying for me.”
The distinction apparently surprised him.
Everly removed her apron, folded it on the desk, and walked out before he could turn the argument into a favor she was supposed to appreciate.
Outside, she stood on the sidewalk with less money than she needed and more pride than was practical.
The card in her pocket felt heavier than paper should.
She lasted three hours before calling.
Aaron answered on the second ring.
“You quit.”
Everly stopped walking.
“How do you know that?”
“Your employer called my office and complained.”
“Of course he did.”
“You sound irritated.”
“You tried to reserve me like a conference room.”
A pause.
“That was not my instruction.”
“It was the result.”
Another pause.
Then Aaron said, “Come back to The Marlowe.”
“No.”
“Not as a waitress.”
Everly looked at the traffic moving past her.
“For what?”
“To finish what you started.”
She should have hung up.
Instead she returned.
The private dining room looked different without plates and wine glasses.
The long table was buried under document boxes.
Marcus’s recovered briefcase sat open near the center.
Aaron stood beside it.
No gun was visible.
Everly noticed anyway.
“What was inside?”
“Copies of correspondence.
Notes.
Drafts.”
“Useful?”
“You tell me.”
He moved aside.
Everly stepped toward the table.
She spent the next four hours reading.
Marcus had indeed received multiple drafts of the agreement.
In early versions, the historical liabilities were expressly excluded.
In later versions, the exclusion disappeared.
Then the indemnity language changed.
Then the discovery waiver appeared.
Then the arbitration clause narrowed.
Each change was small enough to look technical.
Together, they formed a cage.
Everly lined the drafts across the table in chronological order.
Aaron watched her work.
