Chapter 2 - The Second Course of SecretsBy the time Eli brought the second course—a roasted butternut squash bisque with toasted pepitas—Maddie had managed to stop her hands from shaking.
“Course two,” Eli announced, setting the steaming bowls down.
Frank looked up at the young waiter. “Thank you, son. You didn't have to stay. I know the event was technically canceled.”
“I didn't have anywhere better to be, sir,” Eli said. He lingered for a fraction of a second longer than a waiter should. His gaze flicked to the empty chair on Frank’s left, then back to Maddie. “Though, if I may overstep my bounds again, Miss Price... I think you are better off.”
Maddie’s spoon paused halfway to her mouth. “Excuse me?”
Eli sighed, looking around the empty ballroom before stepping closer to the table, lowering his voice. “I wasn't going to say anything. It’s severely against venue policy to gossip about clients. But since the groom has permanently vacated the premises... you should know this isn't the first time I've served him.”
The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
“Tyler?” Maddie asked, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Tyler has been here before?”
“White Oak Manor has a private dining room in the east wing, open to the public on weekdays,” Eli said carefully. “He’s been coming here on Thursday evenings for the past four months. Always at table four. Always requesting the most expensive wine.”
Frank stood up, his chair scraping violently against the floor. “Are you telling me that boy was bringing another woman to the venue where I was paying for his wedding?”
“Yes, sir,” Eli said without flinching. “A blonde woman. She drove a silver Mercedes. They were here three days ago.”
Maddie felt the bisque turn to ash in her mouth. Thursdays. Tyler always had "late strategy meetings" on Thursdays. He had told her he was working overtime to help pay for the honeymoon—a honeymoon that, she suddenly realized, he had probably never booked.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?” Maddie whispered, the shock morphing into a cold, sharp anger.
“Client confidentiality,” Eli said, genuine regret in his eyes. “If I had spoken up, I would have been fired, and we had no proof he was the groom until I saw the photos on the welcome table tonight. By then, he had already run.”
Maddie looked at her father. Frank’s face was red with fury, his fists clenched at his sides.
“I’m going to kill him,” Frank breathed. “I’ll hunt him down and I will break every bone in his coward’s body.”
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“No, Dad,” Maddie said, standing up. The heavy lace of her gown pooled around her feet. The tears were completely gone now, replaced by a blinding, razor-sharp clarity. “Tyler doesn't get to ruin your life too.”
She looked at Eli. “Bring the third course. And Eli? Bring the most expensive bottle of red wine you have in the cellar. Put it on Tyler’s tab.”
