Chapter 1
She Slapped Me After I Spilled Wine on Her Dress—Then the Host Asked Why I Was Wearing a Waiter’s Uniform
The woman slapped me across the face the second I accidentally spilled red wine on her white dress.
The entire ballroom went silent.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” I said, grabbing a clean napkin.
She knocked my hand away.
“Do you have any idea how much this dress costs?”
It was a charity gala at a luxury hotel in Manhattan, and nearly three hundred guests were watching us.
“I’ll get my manager and have the hotel cover the cleaning,” I said.
She laughed loudly.
“Cleaning?”
Then she looked me up and down in my waiter’s uniform.
“Someone like you probably doesn’t make enough in a month to replace this dress.”
A few guests looked uncomfortable, but nobody stepped forward.
I swallowed my embarrassment.
“It was an accident, ma’am.”
She moved closer.
“People like you always say that when you ruin something you could never afford.”
My manager hurried over.
“Mrs. Harrington, please accept our apologies.”
Instead of calming down, she pointed at me.
“I want him fired before dessert.”
My manager looked at me helplessly.
“James, go wait in the service hallway.”
I started walking away.
Then Mrs. Harrington called after me.
“Maybe next time you’ll remember your place.”
I stopped.
But before I could turn around, a man’s voice came from behind her.
“His place?”
Everyone looked toward the stage.
Robert Whitmore, the billionaire hosting the gala, was walking toward us.
Mrs. Harrington immediately smiled.
“Robert, thank goodness. This waiter destroyed my dress.”
Robert didn’t even look at the stain.
He stared directly at me.
Then his expression changed.
“James?”
Mrs. Harrington frowned.
“You know him?”
Robert walked closer and looked at my uniform in disbelief.
“What are you doing serving tables tonight?”
I could feel every eye in the ballroom on me.
Before I could answer, Robert turned toward Mrs. Harrington.
His voice went cold.
“Do you have any idea who you just slapped?”
She laughed nervously.
“A waiter?”
Robert shook his head.
May you like
“No.”
Then he looked around the ballroom and said, “He’s the reason every person in this room was invited here tonight.”
