Undercover owner orders steak — waitress secretly slips him a note that stops him cold…
Oriana brought out his steak 15 minutes later, but instead of setting the plate down and walking off, she paused. Her hand suddenly slipped something under the plate, just beneath the edge of the charger. She whispered, Enjoy your meal, sir, and disappeared.
Curious, Julian waited a moment before lifting the plate. Folded in plastic, wrap slightly damp from the condensation, was a napkin. Scrawled across it in shaky handwriting were four words, He watches the cameras.
Julian’s pulse kicked. He looked around, careful not to move too fast. Security cameras dotted the corners, and the manager hadn’t stopped pacing between the kitchen and his office.
He unfolded the rest of the napkin. Please help us. He’s locking our pay, skimming tips, and threatening to fire anyone who speaks out.
No one will listen. Julian stared at the words. The room faded into a buzz.
This wasn’t just a failing restaurant. This was abuse. And someone, somehow, had figured out who he really was.
His instincts from his early days in corporate investigations kicked in. He didn’t react. He calmly ate half his steak, smiled politely at Ariana when she passed by and paid in cash dot as he left.
He caught her eye. She gave the slightest nod, lips trembling. Julian didn’t go home.
Instead, he drove ten blocks away, parked in the back lot of a 24-hour diner, and opened his laptop. What Ariana didn’t know was that Julian had full ownership of the security system. It wasn’t just for the manager.
He had remote access for playback, all cameras, all audio. He spent three hours that night watching footage. What he saw turn his stomach dot the manager, Greg Simmons, had been skimming off the top of every credit card tip…