Chapter 23
No Audience
Imani agreed to meet Graham at Elise's office.
She did not want to enter his hotel for the conversation, and she did not want him in Aiko's shop. Neutral furniture and a receptionist who knew the agreed arrangements seemed like enough ceremony.
Before Graham entered, Imani asked Elise whether she could leave midway through the conversation.
“Of course.”
“Even if he hasn't finished?”
“You agreed to consider hearing an apology. You didn't agree to surrender the rest of the day.”
Imani nodded and moved her chair so she could see the door. She did not expect danger. She wanted her body to understand the difference between this room and the restaurant, where the exit had felt connected to her wages.
Elise placed water within reach and left the tissues in a drawer rather than announcing their availability.
“Do you want me in the room?” she asked.
“Nearby. I'll ask if I need you.”
Waiting, Imani looked at the painting above the filing cabinet. It showed a harbor boat with no name on its side. She wondered who had made it, then smiled at herself. She could enjoy a painting without beginning a research project beforehand.
Graham arrived five minutes early. He wore a dark coat rather than the dinner jacket she remembered. For a moment, seeing him without the table, guests, and tray around her, she was surprised by how ordinary his height was.
Elise remained available nearby. Peter attended the beginning to confirm the scope, then stepped out with their agreement.
When Graham arrived, she stayed seated until he had been shown where to sit. The gesture was not a punishment. She simply did not need to stand because he entered a room.
He noticed, or perhaps he did not. Either possibility was tolerable. She took a drink of water and waited for him to begin, aware of Elise working nearby and the afternoon continuing outside the window. She could hear his apology without agreeing to remain until he felt forgiven.
Graham placed no gift on the table.
“I treated your language as entertainment,” he said. “I assumed your job told me what you could know. When you noticed something inconvenient, I used your job again to dismiss it.”
Imani waited.
“The wager was insulting even though I paid it. I'm sorry.”
She had imagined the apology many times. In some versions she had been magnificent. In others, she had said nothing and let silence punish him.
In the real room, she felt tired and attentive.
“Why did you think it was funny?” she asked.
He looked at his hands.
“I expected everyone to share the assumption. I wanted to be the person who decided what happened at the table.”
“Including whether I got to finish a sentence.”
“Yes.”
He did not ask her to admire the admission.
Imani told him what she remembered: his guests watching, her manager trying to make her disappear, the fear that refusing would cost her work and accepting would turn her into a performance. The money had changed her circumstances. It had not changed the fact that he had put her there for amusement.
Graham listened without explaining his father's debts.
When she finished, he asked whether there was anything he should correct in his public account.
“Keep the apology about what you did,” she said. “Don't describe me as someone whose hidden talent you discovered.”
He nodded.
“And the staff?” she asked.
The hotel was reviewing how managers handled guest conduct and complaints, including Victor's response. Graham had arranged an independent review rather than asking employees to tell him whether they felt safe criticizing his behavior. Imani would receive information about her own employment record and concerns through the appropriate process.
“That work needs to continue after this stops being embarrassing,” she said.
“I understand.”
“I hope so.”
The meeting ended without a handshake. Graham did not offer one, and Imani was grateful not to decide whether to accept.
Outside, Elise asked how she felt.
“Like someone apologized.”
“Enough for today?”
“Yes.”
She walked to the bus stop despite having the car nearby because she needed ten minutes with nowhere to arrive. On the harbor wall, a child was feeding crumbs to birds while an adult explained why the birds were becoming unreasonable.
Imani watched until one bird stole the entire piece from the child's hand and fled. The child laughed so hard the adult gave up the lesson.
At home, Walter asked whether Graham had behaved well.
“For one conversation.”
“That's the only one you can report.”
She nodded and helped him choose a color for the bathroom wall. He wanted blue. Noah wanted a shade that would make everyone look seasick. They argued over the samples until the apology became one part of the day rather than the day itself.