The dinner rush had reached its peak. Glasses clinked, laughter bounced off marble walls, and the kitchen doors swung open nonstop as orders piled up. I balanced a heavy tray on my shoulder, moving carefully through the aisle, focused only on finishing my shift without mistakes.
Then the noise changed.
It didn’t stop all at once. It faded, like someone slowly turning down the volume of the entire room.
I looked up.
A man stood from table fourteen.
Tall. Controlled. Familiar in a way that made my stomach tighten before my mind caught up.
Nathaniel Hayes.
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