CEO Calls The Waitress A Liar About Speaking 9 Languages — Until Three Words Leave Him Silent
Chapter 2
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Dubois materialized at her elbow, his earlier venom replaced by a sycophantic tremor. "That's Julian Sterling. This is the most important table of the night. Do not, under any circumstances, make a mistake. Your job depends on it."Elara's stomach clenched. "Understood."She approached the table, her tray balanced perfectly, her smile a carefully constructed mask of pleasant neutrality. "Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to Aurelia. May I begin with a beverage selection for you this evening?"One of the men, a beefy individual with a booming voice, waved a dismissive hand. "The '82 Lafite. And don't be slow about it.""An excellent choice, sir," Elara said, her voice smooth as cream.As she turned to leave, another man at the table, Richard Thorne, Sterling's notoriously sharp-tongued COO, smirked. "Make sure you decant it properly, sweetheart. This isn't a bottle you just pop open like a soda."Elara paused, meeting his condescending gaze for a fraction of a second. "Of course not, sir. A wine of that vintage requires at least an hour to breathe properly, to allow the tertiary aromas of cedar and truffle to fully express themselves. I'll bring it to the table for your approval before decanting."The table went quiet. Richard Thorne's smirk faltered.Julian Sterling, who had been engrossed in his phone, looked up, his stormy eyes fixing on her for the first time. There was no warmth in his gaze, only a cold, analytical curiosity. He was dissecting her, cataloging her.The dinner service was a high-wire act. Elara moved with fluid efficiency, anticipating their needs, refilling glasses before they were empty, her movements silent and precise. She was a phantom, just as they wanted.But she was also listening. Their conversation was a mix of corporate strategy and casual boasts, punctuated by Thorne's abrasive jokes. Sterling himself said little, but when he did, his words were clipped, intelligent, and carried the undisputed weight of command.As she cleared the appetizer plates, Thorne, clearly still smarting from her comment about the wine, looked at her with a glint of malice. "You know, for a waitress, you've got a big vocabulary. You pick that up from a word-of-the-day calendar?"The other men chuckled. Elara kept her expression placid. "I enjoy learning, sir.""Oh, I bet you do," Thorne sneered. "What else do you enjoy learning? A little French to impress the tourists? A few words of Spanish to talk to the kitchen staff?"