I arrived early to the restaurant to make sure everything was set up to Quinto's specifications. Music was low and relaxing; wine had been pulled up from the cellars, ready to be served; and the table settings were lush and inviting. Alec came not long after I arrived and together we double and triple checked everything for our high-class guests.

I stood just a little behind Alec as he greeted the attendees, giving everyone a polite nod and a warm welcome as they entered. Well, everyone except Tamara, who looked absolutely disdainful upon the arm of the handsome son of Mr. Quinto. Fortunately, neither of us had any need to interact that night. In fact, I planned to stay as far away from her as possible. If she were to draw near, she may just pick up on my plan.

The night started off with light refreshments. Many of the guests lounged on some of the sofas by the open bar, while others remained standing and at the ready to snatch up the best hors d'oeuvres brought out by the waitstaff. I found Mr. Quinto, his family, and Tamara gravitating towards those sitting comfortably, while the remainder chatted amongst themselves by the bar. Those were the ones I needed to hone in on.

I headed over, introduced myself and once I established my rather low status in the company, the air between myself and the guests diminished. I discovered that most of them were significant others of the real moneymakers in the relationship. Not to say they didn't have respectable work, but they tended to resemble the common everyday man and woman more so than their other halves. I realized that this may have been why the Quintos seemed uninterested in working that particular side of the room, but it was perfect for me.

An amiable bunch, they tried to welcome me into their conversation by directing it towards my field of knowledge. Mainly the upcoming gala — which they were all excited about attending — and the charity. I answered truthfully, though they weren't asking the right questions to push me into telling the unfortunate truth. Until finally, the wife of a prominent lawyer brought up something she had heard from her husband.

"Charles tells me that he's a bit worried about this charity getting off the ground," said Natalie Laycome with a concerned pout. "He wanted to offer his services to the cause and help the charity with their legal paperwork, but he says that Quinto rejected him."

She scoffed at the very notion and paused for dramatic effect. The others responded with sympathizing shakes of their heads.

"So he decided to look into the registration for the charity to see who Quinto went with since his generous offer was declined. And well, he found real shoddy work in that registration and no one's name on it to point the finger at." She then looked to me, placing a bejeweled hand on mine. "You have to tell me who Quinto is using because I think the poor man may be getting robbed."

It was like the whole world had just been handed to me on a silver platter. I didn't even know where to begin. It also didn't help that now that I stood on the edge of the cliff, staring down into the canyon I had been determined to throw myself into, my heart was pounding.

"It's funny," I said with an uneasy smile. "It's funny you should mention robbery. In fact that's exactly what is happening with this charity."

I felt almost giddy. Giddy with fear and exhilaration. Adrenaline pumped through me, silencing all sense of self preservation that was screaming at me to shut up. But, soon that burden would all be off my shoulders and free to wreak havoc on the world.

"I'm not sure I follow dear," said Mrs. Laycome as she withdrew her hand in order to tap her lip with confusion.

"You see, what I mean is..."

"What she means is that Mr. Quinto robbed your husband of a real opportunity to do good in this community. Which is what they are discussing right now."

Tamara swooped in with the widest smile and gestured to where Charles Laycome sat laughing next to Mr. Quinto.

"He didn't want to burden your husband with what will surely be a long, tiring process when he knows your husband is already busy with his bid for district attorney. He realizes now that he should have trusted Mr. Laycome's wishes and allowed him to be part of the project." A warm smile lit up Mrs. Laycome's face as she turned towards her husband. With that taken care of, Tamara grabbed my forearm, digging her nails in so I could feel the pain, but not enough for anyone to notice the bite of her grip. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have some business to attend to."

The group nodded and returned to their conversation as if nothing happened while Tamara dragged me to the farthest corner of the room, her sweet, accommodating smile shifting into a dark, terrible snarl.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "What did you plan to say about robbery? Were you trying to imply Mr. Quinto is robbing the charity?"

"Guilty much?" It was a stupid thing to say, but it was all I could manage. The sudden withdrawal left my body tired and quaking with the residual burst of adrenaline.

"Excuse me?" Her shoulders rose and her face tensed. She looked like a cat about to pounce upon her prey.

"Tamara, take a deep breath." Alec appeared by my side and placed a hand on Tamara's shoulder. She, however, looked ready to slash his face open with her finely manicured nails. With a calm voice, he continued. "Don't forget others can see you right now. Others that happen to either be your boss or our company's clients."

"I thought you said you had her under control Alec."

"We can discuss that after the dinner is over. Every minute you stand here yelling at Lex is a minute missed schmoozing our donors."

It took all of a second for Alec's words to sink in. Without further protest, Tamara spun back towards the rest of the lounge, her sneer morphing into a brilliant smile with effortless ease. As for me, Alec grabbed me by the arm and once again I was dragged away. This time though, it was a far gentler grasp that led me through the lounge and towards the hallway.

As we walked past the guests and Mr. Quinto's family, I heard their friendly banter and saw the laughter upon their lips. Tamara radiated geniality and was glowing within her element. No looks of confusion, suspicion, or concern were present on anyone's faces. My ripple in the water had disappeared in the wake of more powerful waves.

"Lex," said Alec once we got in the hallway. He looked tired and aged in the low light.

"Going to fire me now."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead with a shaky hand.

"No, I am not." He drew closer so that a whisper could be shared between the two of us. I became painfully aware of every member of the waitstaff that shuffled by. "I admire what you are trying to do. I really do. It's one of the things I love about you."

Love? One of the things? There were more things? I felt faint. I felt certain that that night might just end with me collapsing outside of the lounge, giving the guests a real story to talk about after dinner.

"But, this is not the way to do it, Lex. You could destroy the company in one fell swoop if you just break the truth like that at once. It would leave a lot of innocent people without jobs."

I thought of my coworkers. I thought of Emily, Ryan, Cynthia, Theo, and all the others. Sure some of them probably knew what was going on, but how many were completely clueless about the truth? How many still went home feeling like all their hard work was worth it because it was for a great cause? How many had families to support or homes to pay for?

"Well," I said, a growl of frustration rolling in my throat, "what am I supposed to do?" I felt the heat in my cheeks and my teeth clenched back an emotion I wasn't ready to bear in front of Alec.

"I don't know, but now you know the struggle myself and others have to go through day after day. I, unfortunately, lost my battle, but please, I don't want you to lose yours. I need you to hold on to who you are and I want to help you do that, but I can't help if you don't tell me these things. I shouldn't have to hear secondhand that you're up to something like this."

Emily.

When she went for her walk that morning, it wasn't to clear her head, it was to tattle on me. I vowed to throttle her the next time I saw the snitch. I looked past Alec's shoulder as I envisioned the swift retribution I would serve to my friend...

"Lex."

I turned my attention back to Alec and found a grave expression on his face.

"I think you should leave for the night. I think it will be best for everyone."

I took a deep breath and then exhaled forcefully through my flared nostrils. Eventually though, I nodded with agreement.

"Okay. Go straight home and rest. I'll be in contact with you."

I started to head for the stairs that led back to the main restaurant, but Alec's hand grabbed my arm once again. I turned back around to find his face inches from mine.

"It will be okay. I'll keep you safe, okay?"

I nodded and he headed back into the lounge where Tamara, Quinto, and the guests awaited. As the door swung open and Alec passed in, I had a clear view of my rival. She was nodding and smiling as some guest detailed a humorous story. However, she glanced over my way in that instant. A victorious smirk pulled at her lips. I didn't care though. I didn't care what she thought. I didn't even care if she decided to tattle on my kiss with Alec. At that point, that little gesture on the patio was the least of my problems.

I headed down the stairs, straight through the bustling restaurant, and into the crisp autumn night. The doors closed behind me and the rumble of voices and laughter disappeared. I stood out in the cold quiet all alone. I took a deep breath and headed for the subway.

***

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