Part III: Entering the Lion’s Den
The kitchen buzzed with a frenzy of activity. Yet everything seemed to orbit around the pantry door, where Michael continued to rage. He was red-faced, shouting at the small window in the door.
“The money’s gone! And you’re going to jail!” he shouted. “Your life is over! Your scholarship, your future—gone!”
He turned sharply as I approached, his fury shifting to a dangerous edge. “You! This is a staff-only area! Who do you think you are?”
I stopped directly in front of him, close enough to see the sweat on his upper lip. I met his blazing eyes with an unblinking, cold calm that seemed to freeze him in place.
“Who am I?” I asked, my voice quiet but carrying easily over the noise of the kitchen. “I’m the person your falsely accused and illegally detained employee just called for help.”
His lip curled into a sneer, but his arrogance faltered. “Oh, great. Mommy’s here to the rescue. What are you going to do, sue me? You have no idea what you’re getting into. Get out of my way! You’re about to watch your thieving daughter get arrested!”
I turned my back on him completely, an insult so deep it stunned him into silence. I addressed Robert, the Manager-on-Duty, a competent but timid man I had noted in my review. He had clearly been summoned to serve as a witness to Peterson’s power play.
“Robert,” I said sharply, my voice now crisp with authority. “Get on the phone and call Mr. Dubois, the Chairman. Tell him Chairwoman Vance is requesting his presence in the kitchen to witness a gross violation of corporate conduct and a case of criminal slander being committed by the Night Manager.”
