Mark stood at the front of the assembled staff of MC-KNIGHT SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, his shoulders squared and his tone carrying the authority of a man who did not joke when it came to discipline.
His eyes swept over the neatly lined servers, cooks, hostesses, cleaners, every one of them dressed in the restaurant’s signature uniform and pretending not to tremble.
The morning bustle of clattering pans, echoing footsteps, and murmuring voices stilled into complete silence the moment he lifted a finger.
Mark inhaled slowly, as though preparing to make an announcement that could shift the air in the entire building.
“You know what?” he said, projecting his voice with practiced firmness.
“Our boss, Samuel McKnight, will be arriving here very soon.”
The entire group tensed at the sound of the n
