"You want me to help with that?"

"I do."

Talia closed the notebook.

"And I want you to be paid for your work."

Maya laughed softly through her tears.

"You're serious."

"Completely."

For the first time since the incident, Maya smiled.

It was not a large smile.

But it was real.

That evening, Talia returned home with a different expression.

Adrien was in his office reviewing financial reports.

She stood in the doorway.

"I met Maya."

He looked up.

"How did it go?"

"She wants to help."

"Good."

"I think she would be excellent at helping us build the new employee-support system."

Adrien closed his laptop.

"Then let's make room for her."

Talia smiled.

"You don't even want to interview her?"

"I trust your judgment."

"That is dangerous."

"Only when I trust the wrong person."

She laughed.

For a moment, the weight of the previous week seemed to lift.

Adrien stood and walked toward her.

"How are you feeling?"

She considered the question.

"Better."

"Really?"

"Not because I have forgotten what happened. I haven't. But I think I finally understand something."

"What?"

She looked toward the window.

"I don't have to spend the rest of my life proving that I deserved better."

Adrien took her hand.

"No. You only have to decide what better looks like."

She leaned against him.

And for the first time since the soda had struck her face, Talia felt that the future might contain something other than the memory of that afternoon.

It might contain a purpose.

THE PRICE OF A NEW BEGINNING

Rebuilding Ridgeview Grill proved more complicated than either Talia or Adrien had anticipated.

The restaurant had been closed for nearly three weeks, and the investigation had revealed problems that extended far beyond the incident.

There were payroll discrepancies.

There were scheduling practices that favored certain employees.

There were customer complaints that had been deleted from the system.

There were managers who had treated staff members as replaceable tools rather than people.

And there were financial decisions that had kept the restaurant profitable while quietly damaging its reputation.

Adrien could have replaced the entire management structure overnight.

He had enough resources to do it.

But Talia insisted that the rebuilding process needed to be thoughtful.

"I don't want to walk in and simply change the people," she told him during a meeting at the restaurant.

"I want to change the reasons people behaved that way."

Adrien leaned against the counter.

"That's a much larger project."

"I know."

"It will take longer."

"I know that too."

He smiled.

"Then let's do it properly."

The first major decision was to conduct a full financial and operational audit.

The second was to bring in an outside human-resources director.

The third was to establish a new employee advisory council.

Talia wanted employees to have a voice in decisions that affected their schedules, working conditions, and opportunities for advancement.

She also wanted clear procedures for handling customer harassment.

A customer who threw something at an employee would not be treated as a valued guest.

A customer who used racial insults would not be allowed to remain in the restaurant.

A customer who threatened staff would be asked to leave and, when necessary, reported to the authorities.

The rules would apply to everyone.

No spending history would create an exception.

No expensive watch would purchase permission to humiliate another person.

But before the new policies could be implemented, Talia needed to understand the business.

Adrien arranged for her to work with several senior executives from Kingsley Industries.

She learned how to read profit-and-loss statements, negotiate supplier contracts, manage inventory, calculate labor costs, and forecast demand.

She attended meetings about equipment purchases and building maintenance.

She studied food safety regulations.

She learned how scheduling software worked.

Some of the material came easily.

Other parts were frustrating.

One afternoon, she sat in the restaurant's small office staring at a spreadsheet.

The columns contained labor costs, ingredient expenses, projected revenue, and several complicated formulas.

She rubbed her forehead.

"I think this spreadsheet hates me."

Adrien, seated across from her, smiled.

"Spreadsheets don't have feelings."

"This one does."

"Perhaps it has been poorly managed."

She looked at him.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Never."

"You are smiling."

"That is a separate issue."

She threw a folded napkin at him.

He caught it.

For several seconds, they laughed.

Then Talia returned to the spreadsheet.

She was determined to understand every number.

She did not want to become a figurehead whose authority existed only because she was married to a wealthy man.

She wanted to know the business well enough that nobody could dismiss her decisions as favors.