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My Fake Fiancé’s Mother Tried to Fire Me—But the Restaurant Was Mine
Novelix
Completed
On her first day working undercover as a hostess at her family’s flagship restaurant, Claire Whitmore is slapped by a woman who claims her son is Claire’s fiancé—and demands the entire meal for free. The problem? Claire is single, and the so-called fiancé doesn’t even recognize her. After exposing the lie, Claire takes control of the restaurant and starts fixing years of favoritism. But when her enemies stage a public health scandal to destroy her reputation, Claire must prove she earned more than a family name—and make everyone who underestimated her pay.
Chapters (2)
第1章
After returning from overseas, I start working undercover at one of my family's restaurants.
On my first day as a hostess, a woman tries to walk out without paying.
When I stop her, she shoves me aside.
“Do you know who I am? My son, Ryan Parker, is marrying Claire Whitmore, the owner's daughter!”
“You're just a hostess. One phone call, and I can have you fired.”
I stare at her.
Because I am Claire Whitmore.
And I'm single.
So when did I get a fiancé—and a future mother-in-law?
-
A woman leaves a one-dollar tip on a nearly $1,000 dinner and tells me I should be grateful.
I only returned from overseas a few days ago.
Instead of sending me straight to headquarters, my father sent me to work undercover at one of our flagship restaurants and told me to learn the business from the ground up.
So today, I am standing at the host stand in a hostess uniform when I notice a middle-aged woman walking toward the exit.
Her three friends are still gathering their things near the private dining room.
Their check is still unpaid.
I step in front of her.
“Ma’am, you still need to pay the check.”
She gives me a slow once-over, then shoves my shoulder.
“Do you know who I am?”
I steady myself.
She lifts her chin.
“My son is Ryan Parker. He’s marrying Claire Whitmore, the owner’s daughter.”
She points at my uniform.
“You’re just a hostess. One phone call from me, and you’re gone.”
I stare at her.
I am Claire Whitmore.
And I am single.
So when exactly did I get a fiancé and a future mother-in-law?
The woman takes my silence as fear.
She snorts and starts toward the door again.
I step in front of her.
“Your son can marry whoever he wants. You still have to pay for dinner.”
Her face hardens.
“Our table was almost a thousand dollars,” I add. “You can’t just walk out.”
Her eyes flash.
“My table gets comped here.”
Then she raises her hand and slaps me.
My head snaps to the side.
For a second, all I feel is heat burning across my cheek.
Before I can say anything, the server beside me rushes over and pulls me back.
“Don’t,” she whispers. “It’s your first day. Just let me handle it.”
Then she turns to the woman with a tight smile.
“Ms. Parker, I’m sorry. She’s new.”
The woman folds her arms.
“That’s not my problem.”
The server glances at the unpaid check.
“Let me get the manager. He usually takes care of Ms. Parker’s check.”
The woman reaches into her purse, pulls out a single dollar bill, and slides it under an empty wineglass.
“There.”
She looks at the server.
“Split it with the girls.”
Her friends laugh.
“Maybe next time,” she adds, “you’ll learn how to treat the owner’s family.”
The server’s face goes red.
I look at the dollar, then at the woman.
The server lowers her voice.
“Please. She comes in all the time.”
That catches my attention.
“All the time?”
The woman hears me and smiles.
“Of course I do.”
Her friends finally reach us from the private dining room.
One of them laughs when she sees me standing in the way.
“What happened?”
“This little hostess tried to make me pay,” Linda says.
The others burst out laughing.
“She doesn’t know who you are?”
Linda smiles.
“I told her. She’s just slow.”
One of her friends shakes her head at me.
“Linda never pays here.”
Linda.
So that is her name.
Linda Parker.
Apparently, my future mother-in-law.
She turns to her friends.
“Next time, just give them my name.”
They grin.
“Good to know.”
Then all four of them move toward the exit.
I step in front of the door again.
“No.”
Linda’s smile disappears.
“No?”
“Nobody leaves until the check is paid.”
Her face twists.
“You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”
She raises her hand again.
This time, I catch her wrist.
Her eyes widen.
“Let go of me!”
“You already hit me once.”
I release her.
“You’re not doing it again.”
She stares at me, then pulls out her phone and starts recording.
“Look at this!”
Her voice carries across the lobby.
“This employee just grabbed me!”
Heads turn.
A few guests look over from their tables.
Linda swings the camera toward my face.
“I come here with my friends, and some nobody at the door thinks she can put her hands on me.”
Her friends immediately join in.
“She assaulted you.”
“Get the manager.”
“This is unbelievable.”
I watch them perform for the camera.
Linda takes a step closer.
“You think I’m bluffing?”
She holds the phone inches from my face.
“My son is Ryan Parker. He is marrying Claire Whitmore.”
She smiles coldly.
“I can have you fired before dinner service is over.”
I laugh.
Linda’s face darkens.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
I step back and gesture toward her phone.
“Call him.”
She blinks.
“What?”
“Your son.”
I meet her eyes.
“If Ryan Parker is really marrying Claire Whitmore, call him.”
Her friends go quiet.
Linda stares at me like I have lost my mind.
Then she gives me a vicious smile.
“You asked for it.”
She taps his name and puts the call on speaker.
A man answers after two rings.
“Mom?”
Linda looks straight at me.
“Ryan, get down here.”
Her smile widens.
“Some little hostess thinks she can disrespect your future mother-in-law.”
I listen to the unfamiliar male voice coming through the phone.
Apparently, my fiancé is on his way.
第2章
Linda hangs up and looks at me like I’m ridiculous.
“You don’t even know who Ryan Parker is?”
Her friends laugh.
One of them looks me up and down.
“She works the front door and thinks she gets to question the owner’s family?”
Emma’s face turns pale beside me.
She tugs lightly at my sleeve.
“Claire, please,” she whispers. “Just let this go.”
I look at her.
“She tried to walk out on a nearly $1,000 check and hit me.”
“I know.” Emma lowers her voice even more. “But Ms. Parker comes here all the time. The manager always comps her table.”
That only makes it worse.
Before I can answer, a man in a dark suit hurries over from the dining room.
His name tag reads GREG MILLER.
“What the hell is going on out here?”
He sounds angry until he sees Linda.
Then his whole expression changes.
“Ms. Parker?”
Linda immediately puts on an injured look.
“Greg, thank God you’re here.”
She points at me.
“This new girl refused to let me leave, grabbed me, and made a scene in front of everyone.”
Greg looks at me.
Then at the unpaid check.
He does not ask a single question.
Instead, he turns back to Linda.
“I’m sorry. This should never have happened.”
Emma steps forward.
“Greg, that’s not what happened.”
His face hardens.
“She only asked them to pay the check,” Emma says. “And Ms. Parker hit her first.”
Greg’s eyes snap to her.
“Clock out.”
Emma freezes.
“What?”
“You heard me. Clock out.”
He points toward the staff hallway.
“And you’re off Friday and Saturday nights until I say otherwise.”
Emma goes still.
Friday and Saturday dinners are her best tipping shifts.
Linda smiles.
“Good. Maybe losing a few hundred dollars will teach her some manners.”
Emma says nothing.
Greg turns to me.
“And you.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“You’re new. You don’t decide how VIP guests are handled.”
“VIP doesn’t mean free.”
His jaw tightens.
“Apologize to Ms. Parker.”
“No.”
Linda lets out a short laugh.
Greg stares at me for a second.
Then he points toward the back.
“Fine. Clock out too.”
I do not move.
“You’re done here,” he says. “Don’t bother coming back tomorrow.”
I take out my phone.
Greg looks almost offended.
“What are you doing?”
I call my father.
He picks up after the second ring.
“Claire?”
“Dad, I need you at Whitmore Prime.”
His voice sharpens.
“What happened?”
“The manager just fired me for asking a customer to pay.”
There is a brief silence.
“I’m on my way.”
I hang up.
Greg stares at me.
Then he laughs.
“Calling Daddy isn’t going to save your job.”
I slip my phone back into my pocket.
“We’ll see.”
A few minutes later, the front door opens.
Linda immediately straightens.
“Ryan!”
A young man in an expensive coat walks toward us, his expression dark.
His eyes move from his mother to Greg.
Then to me.
He does not recognize me at all.
“Which hostess put her hands on my mother?”
I look at the stranger standing in front of me.
My supposed fiancé looks straight at me—and has no idea who I am.
