“Please don’t take my word alone,” she told him. “Ask to see what you signed against what was entered.”
He nodded once, then stepped away to telephone the other trustees. Nicole watched him go with the expression she had worn when her phone vibrated earlier. Nina understood that expression now. Someone outside Nicole’s control might check the numbers.
“There’s another file in the event record,” Brandon said.
He indicated PRE-SHOW COMMS, a folder in the same event archive. Production staff recorded intercom traffic to resolve disputes about cues and restricted-room access. Brandon had preserved it with the other files, but no one had listened yet.
Nicole reached for the power cord. Brandon stopped her with a raised hand.
“If you think this is inaccurate, give your statement. Don’t touch the equipment.”
“You’re turning a family matter into a spectacle,” she said.
Nina glanced toward the guests holding up phones. “You did that when you hit me.”
The words came out quieter than she expected. Their effect on Nicole was worse than a shout.
Brandon selected the pre-show recording. At first there were only stage directions: a request for fresh water, a check on the backstage doors, someone testing a microphone. Then Nicole’s voice sounded through the tablet.
“Put Nina Donovan at the west service station. She’ll recognize the old register.”
Nina went still.
Nicole had asked for her by name before she had even reached the theater.
Another voice asked whether the station should be reassigned. Nicole replied, “No. Give her a reason to challenge me in front of the guests. Once she does, she’s out. An angry former employee isn’t a credible witness.”
Nina looked at the hand Nicole had used to strike her. What she had mistaken for a burst of temper now had the outlines of a rehearsal. Nicole had wanted a public dispute. She had counted on Nina becoming angry enough to be dismissed before anyone considered the figures.
Nina hadn’t reacted as Nicole expected. That explained her fear.
Sebastian stared at the floor.
Brandon stopped playback. “This is why we’ll preserve everything,” he said. “But Nina, you need to decide what to do with your complaint. I can’t make that choice for you.”
Nicole recovered first. “If she files anything, she’s finished in this industry.”
There it was: a promise of consequences, delivered in the same room where Nicole had claimed to be defending her family.
Nina thought of the workers whose names she had just seen. Her own shifts were seven lines among hundreds. If she walked out with nothing but a story, someone else would be asked to wait until Monday.
She asked Brandon to attach her written account to the preserved records. She signed her name and authorized the verified copies of her own schedule, the disputed acknowledgments, the programs, and the relevant event files to be forwarded to the foundation’s independent trustees and the state labor authorities. She would not post other workers’ private records online.
When she submitted the complaint, the tablet chimed once.
Nicole retira son insigne de l’uniforme de Nina, fixé à l’avant. L’épingle érafla le tissu.
«Vous ne travaillez plus pour mes événements.»
Nina tressaillit sous la piqûre, mais ne prit pas son badge. Sept quarts de travail non payés, et maintenant, la promesse de chaque quart à venir s’évanouissait d’un seul geste.
Brandon a discrètement ajouté le licenciement à son rapport d’incident.
Sebastian a finalement pris la parole. « Nicole, tu ne peux pas lui faire ça. »
« Tu l’as vue essayer de nous ruiner », dit Nicole. « Et toi, tu t’inquiètes pour un badge ? »
Il ouvrit la bouche, puis la referma. Nina connaissait ce silence. Elle l’avait entendu chaque fois qu’un membre de l’équipage lui demandait quand les chèques arriveraient.
Brandon reprit l’enregistrement. « Il reste encore quelques secondes. »
On entendait la voix de Sebastian, plus grave que celle de Nicole, mais indubitable.
« Tenez Nina éloignée du registre principal. Pas ce soir. Pas avant que nous ayons terminé les promesses de dons. »
Nina ne pouvait plus le regarder comme l’homme surpris par la gifle. Il savait qu’elle pourrait découvrir quelque chose de précieux à cacher.
Et il avait choisi le moment où elle serait autorisée à le voir.
