Chapter 2: What She Kept in Her Pocket
Elena didn't take his hand.
She stood up slowly, smoothed her apron, and looked at Adrian with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"I appreciate what you just did," she said quietly.
"But I don't want a seat at that table."
Adrian blinked.
Before he could answer, Claire's voice cut across the room.
"Someone get the manager.
This girl just made a scene at a foundation dinner."
A few heads turned.
A few didn't bother.
Grant put his hand on Claire's arm.
"Claire—"
"No." She pulled free.
"She's staff.
She crossed a line."
Elena turned to face her.
She didn't raise her voice.
She didn't step back either.
"I crossed the floor," Elena said.
"That's all."
The room held its breath.
Then Adrian saw it.
Elena's hand had moved to the small pocket of her apron.
Her fingers rested there without reaching inside.
Just resting.
Like someone who already had what they needed and was deciding whether to use it.
Claire noticed too.
"What is that?" Claire said.
"What do you have in there?"
Elena said nothing.
Grant set his champagne flute down on the nearest table.
Carefully.
The way a man does when he suddenly wants both hands free.
Adrian looked at Elena.
She was still watching Claire.
And for the first time all evening, Claire Beaumont looked uncertain.
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What Elena pulled from that apron pocket changed everything — for Adrian, for Claire, and for Grant.
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