Chapter 1

After returning from overseas, I start working undercover at one of my family's restaurants.

On my first day as a hostess, a woman tries to walk out without paying.

When I stop her, she shoves me aside.

“Do you know who I am? My son, Ryan Parker, is marrying Claire Whitmore, the owner's daughter!”

“You're just a hostess. One phone call, and I can have you fired.”

I stare at her.

Because I am Claire Whitmore.

And I'm single.

So when did I get a fiancé—and a future mother-in-law?

-

A woman leaves a one-dollar tip on a nearly $1,000 dinner and tells me I should be grateful.

I only returned from overseas a few days ago.

Instead of sending me straight to headquarters, my father sent me to work undercover at one of our flagship restaurants and told me to learn the business from the ground up.

So today, I am standing at the host stand in a hostess uniform when I notice a middle-aged woman walking toward the exit.

Her three friends are still gathering their things near the private dining room.

Their check is still unpaid.

I step in front of her.

“Ma’am, you still need to pay the check.”

She gives me a slow once-over, then shoves my shoulder.

“Do you know who I am?”

I steady myself.

She lifts her chin.

“My son is Ryan Parker. He’s marrying Claire Whitmore, the owner’s daughter.”

She points at my uniform.

“You’re just a hostess. One phone call from me, and you’re gone.”

I stare at her.

I am Claire Whitmore.

And I am single.

So when exactly did I get a fiancé and a future mother-in-law?

The woman takes my silence as fear.

She snorts and starts toward the door again.

I step in front of her.

“Your son can marry whoever he wants. You still have to pay for dinner.”

Her face hardens.

“Our table was almost a thousand dollars,” I add. “You can’t just walk out.”

Her eyes flash.

“My table gets comped here.”

Then she raises her hand and slaps me.

My head snaps to the side.

For a second, all I feel is heat burning across my cheek.

Before I can say anything, the server beside me rushes over and pulls me back.

“Don’t,” she whispers. “It’s your first day. Just let me handle it.”

Then she turns to the woman with a tight smile.

“Ms. Parker, I’m sorry. She’s new.”

The woman folds her arms.

“That’s not my problem.”

The server glances at the unpaid check.

“Let me get the manager. He usually takes care of Ms. Parker’s check.”

The woman reaches into her purse, pulls out a single dollar bill, and slides it under an empty wineglass.

“There.”

She looks at the server.

“Split it with the girls.”

Her friends laugh.

“Maybe next time,” she adds, “you’ll learn how to treat the owner’s family.”

The server’s face goes red.

I look at the dollar, then at the woman.

The server lowers her voice.

“Please. She comes in all the time.”

That catches my attention.

“All the time?”

The woman hears me and smiles.

“Of course I do.”

Her friends finally reach us from the private dining room.

One of them laughs when she sees me standing in the way.

“What happened?”

“This little hostess tried to make me pay,” Linda says.

The others burst out laughing.

“She doesn’t know who you are?”

Linda smiles.

“I told her. She’s just slow.”

One of her friends shakes her head at me.

“Linda never pays here.”

Linda.

So that is her name.

Linda Parker.

Apparently, my future mother-in-law.

She turns to her friends.

“Next time, just give them my name.”

They grin.

“Good to know.”

Then all four of them move toward the exit.

I step in front of the door again.

“No.”

Linda’s smile disappears.

“No?”

“Nobody leaves until the check is paid.”

Her face twists.

“You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”

She raises her hand again.

This time, I catch her wrist.

Her eyes widen.

“Let go of me!”

“You already hit me once.”

I release her.

“You’re not doing it again.”

She stares at me, then pulls out her phone and starts recording.

“Look at this!”

Her voice carries across the lobby.

“This employee just grabbed me!”

Heads turn.

A few guests look over from their tables.

Linda swings the camera toward my face.

“I come here with my friends, and some nobody at the door thinks she can put her hands on me.”

Her friends immediately join in.

“She assaulted you.”

“Get the manager.”

“This is unbelievable.”

I watch them perform for the camera.

Linda takes a step closer.

“You think I’m bluffing?”

She holds the phone inches from my face.

“My son is Ryan Parker. He is marrying Claire Whitmore.”

She smiles coldly.

“I can have you fired before dinner service is over.”

I laugh.

Linda’s face darkens.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

I step back and gesture toward her phone.

“Call him.”

She blinks.

“What?”

“Your son.”

I meet her eyes.

“If Ryan Parker is really marrying Claire Whitmore, call him.”

Her friends go quiet.

Linda stares at me like I have lost my mind.

Then she gives me a vicious smile.

“You asked for it.”

She taps his name and puts the call on speaker.

A man answers after two rings.

“Mom?”

Linda looks straight at me.

“Ryan, get down here.”

Her smile widens.

“Some little hostess thinks she can disrespect your future mother-in-law.”

I listen to the unfamiliar male voice coming through the phone.

Apparently, my fiancé is on his way.