Chapter 12

Samantha had barely sat down for a few minutes when a waitress suddenly burst into the break room, looking flustered and pale. "Where's Samantha? Is she here?" Huddled in the corner, trying to slack off, Samantha hesitantly raised her hand. At that moment, she was very worried that she had been caught slacking. She had only sat down for a few minutes. Even the hardest workers deserved a break, right? "Juliet has been looking everywhere for you! She's mad right now! Hurry up and come with me to Room One!" "Room One?" Samantha was caught off guard. That room again? She had been doing her best to avoid it. The waitress didn't have time to explain. She grabbed Samantha's arm and dragged her toward the door. "Just go! It's a mess in there, and Juliet is going to lose her temper!" Samantha was even more confused. What did this have to do with her? She hadn't even set foot in that room since she began her shift. As she was pulled along at full speed, she quickly put her mask back on. By the time they reached the door of Room One, she hadn't even had a chance to compose herself before she was shoved inside. Samantha was taken aback. They weren't even going to give her a second to prepare. The moment she stepped in, she sensed something was wrong. The room was eerily silent, and the atmosphere was suffocating. Samantha hadn't even had time to figure out what was going on before Juliet grabbed her and pulled her to the center of the room. "Samantha, explain this to Mr. Stewart and Mr. Garrett. I told someone to call you over, so why did Xenia show up instead?" That was when Samantha noticed Xenia on the floor, her mask removed and a red handprint on her face. She was completely stunned, especially after hearing what Juliet just said "I don't know—" Before she could finish, Xenia immediately cut in. "We told you! You refused to come and begged me to take your place, and now you're acting like you don't know anything? Do you realize how much trouble you've caused me?" "What are you talking about?" "If you hadn't asked me, why would I have dared to come here?" Xenia asked, turning to Wesley and Leonardo. "It was really her idea! She said everyone wears masks, so no one would even notice. I didn't think too much about it and just helped her out, but now… I regret it so much. I should've never agreed!" She was trying to drag Samantha down with her. The situation had blown up, and the consequences were severe. Pinning the blame on Samantha was the only way out so that she could save herself. "That never happened. No one told me anything, and I never said those words to you." "Oh, please… Plenty of people in the break room can back me up!" Xenia shot back. Her tone was firm and unwavering, as if she were telling the truth. She had always gotten along well with the other girls, and she was confident they would take her side. Men like Wesley and Leonardo wouldn't waste their precious time digging into the details. They would go with the majority, and when that happened, Samantha was done for. Desperate, Samantha defended herself. "I haven't even spoken to her today, let alone asked for a favor. If you don't believe me, check the security cameras!" "Huh? Check the security cameras? Do you think Mr. Stewart and Mr. Garrett have nothing better to do than waste their time over this? Everyone here can back me up, so why bother?" Samantha narrowed her eyes. "You don't want to check because you're lying, aren't you?" "I'm not lying! Everything I said is true, and plenty of people can vouch for me. Can anyone vouch for you?" As Wesley's expression turned grim, his patience visibly wore thin. "Enough!" Juliet snapped. "Both of you, shut up!" After silencing the argument, she turned to the two men and apologized. With a sincere attitude, she said, "This was my failure to manage properly, and I take full responsibility. I deeply apologize for the situation. Tonight's drinks are on the house." Wesley scoffed. "You think you can play us for fools and brush this off? You really think we care about the bill?" Though they easily spent hundreds of thousands in a single night. It was nothing more than a drop in the ocean for them. Juliet said, "I understand. Offering free drinks is simply a gesture to show our apology. I will fire Samantha immediately and ensure this never happens again." To her, Xenia was a shrewd worker with solid performance and seniority, while Samantha was just another ordinary server with no particular charm. Right or wrong didn't matter. Keeping Xenia was the logical choice, and Samantha was the scapegoat. "You're going to fire that woman?" Hearing Leonardo's question, Wesley glanced at him. He didn't care who got fired. He just wanted to know the truth. Leonardo had come specifically for Samantha, so Wesley was curious about his reaction. "Leonardo, what do you think?" Leonardo cast a glance at Samantha, his expression unreadable. "If you had been notified, would you have come?" Samantha bit her lip. To be honest, she wasn't exactly willing. However, her priority right now was self-preservation. Truth or lie, whatever she said had to be treated as the truth. "Of course, I would." "Alright." Leonardo nodded as he replied, "I believe you." Wesley was stunned. He thought to himself, "Seriously? That's it?" "Leonardo, since when were you this easygoing?" he asked. Leonardo simply lifted his chin slightly as he said, "You take care of this." Finally given something to do, Wesley straightened up and looked at Juliet with a smug expression. "Didn't you hear? Quick, handle it. That woman, what was her name again?" Leonardo answered, "Samantha Newton." "That's right. Samantha was telling the truth. That other woman was lying to us, taking us for fools! You should know better than we do how to deal with that!" With both Wesley and Leonardo fully backing Samantha, Juliet wouldn't dare touch her. If this matter needed to be settled, the only option was to deal with Xenia. "Get out!" she ordered, turning toward Xenia. "You're done here, and don't you dare come back again." Xenia never expected to lose her job just like that. This job was everything to her. Her rent, her daily expenses, her credit card bills—all of them depended on her paycheck. Without a stable income, she would be in serious trouble. More than that, her boyfriend would definitely leave her. Xenia groveled to Juliet's feet, trying to plead her case. "I'm not lying! Samantha is the one making things up! Everything I said is true! Juliet, please, don't just listen to her. Don't fire me, please… I really need this job!" A loud slap echoed through the room as Juliet slapped Xenia hard across the face. A red handprint quickly appeared, overlapping with the previous one. Judging by the size of the marks, the first slap was most likely from Juliet as well. "Shut the hell up! If you keep begging, not only will you lose your job, but you'll also lose every last bit of your bonus this month!" Juliet looked toward the door and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get her out of here before she ruins the guests' mood!" The club's security immediately stepped in and dragged Xenia away. Then, Juliet excused herself professionally before leaving. Silence finally settled over the private room, leaving Samantha standing in the center, unsure of what to do. "Sit next to me," Leonardo said.