Chapter 5 - The Rosewood Bill
I brought the phone to my ear and didn't say a word.
"Dad, what the hell is going on with the bank accounts?" Kevin whispered frantically.
I could hear the loud clinking of expensive silverware and the dull roar of seventy-five people talking in the background.
"I am currently restructuring my retirement portfolio, Kevin," I answered in a calm, steady voice.
"You can't do this right now!" he hissed, his voice cracking with genuine panic.
"I am standing in the manager's office at Rosewood, and the bill is over six thousand dollars."
"Every single corporate card I handed them just got declined in front of Tiffany's father."
"You need to log back in and unfreeze the credit line this exact second."
I looked through the office window at my exhausted wife sleeping in the kitchen chair.
"I am afraid I can't do that, son."
"You are a successful businessman, so I suggest you figure out how to pay for your own extravagant parties."
Kevin let out a desperate, choking sound.
"Dad, please, they are threatening to call the police if I don't settle this tab immediately."
Before Kevin could beg any further, I heard a loud scuffle on the other end of the line.
Tiffany violently snatched the phone out of her husband's hand.
"Listen to me, you spiteful old man," Tiffany snarled, completely dropping her polite, high-society facade.
"You are going to transfer the money to cover this dinner right now, or I swear you will never see Kayla again."
"Kayla didn't want to see us anyway," I replied coldly.
"She walked right past her grandmother without saying thank you."
"Your Facebook post is already destroying my reputation, so you owe us this money!" she screamed.
"I don't owe you a single dime, Tiffany."
I moved my finger toward the red button to end the call.
"If you hang up on me, Hank, I am going to ruin your precious wife," Tiffany threatened in a low, venomous tone.
I stopped moving my finger and pressed the phone tighter against my ear.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"Did you honestly think Kevin qualified for those massive business loans entirely on his own?" she laughed cruelly.
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"Check the public county records for Gloria’s Corner, Hank."
"If you don't pay this restaurant bill in the next ten minutes, I am going to stop making the monthly payments on the secret mortgage we took out against your wife's property."
