THE ICE IN THE PEARL EMBERS

Before the security officer could even step forward, a heavy aluminum tray clattered violently against the granite prep station nearby.

Out of the prep corridor rushed Elena.

Thirty-two years old, her dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, Elena wore the gray linen uniform and white waist apron of the hotel's catering staff. Her eyes, usually quiet and reserved, were blazing with a primal, terrifying fire. She didn't look like a minimum-wage waitress; she looked like a mother whose only reason for living was being threatened.

Elena closed the distance in three long, frantic strides.

Before Victoria could react, Elena raised her right arm and struck Victoria across the cheek with an echoing, stinging slap.

SNAP.

The force of the hit turned Victoria’s head sideways, knocking her pearl earring loose onto the carpet. Victoria shrieked in absolute disbelief, staggering back two steps.

Elena grabbed the heavy silver pitcher straight out of Victoria’s hand. Without missing a beat, she inverted it over Victoria’s head, dumping two quarts of ice water, lemon slices, and floating ice cubes directly onto Victoria’s immaculate blonde bun and sparkling beaded gown.

"Touch my daughter and regret it!" Elena roared, her voice echoing off the high ceiling, cutting through the murmurs of the entire banquet hall. "She took one discarded roll!"

Victoria gasped, coughing as icy water streamed into her mascara, ruining her heavy makeup and drenching the sheer fabric of her ten-thousand-dollar dress.

Elena stepped forward, grabbing Victoria by the shoulder of her wet dress and shoving her violently backward into a plush velvet dining chair. Victoria crashed into the seat, her soaked gown clinging to her frame like a wet rag, her mouth agape in total shock.

"You're fired! You're fired!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking into a high-pitched, pathetic scream as she wiped water from her eyes. "I will ruin you! You will never work in this city again!"