The waiter stared at me, his professional smile wearing thin. "Ma'am, do you have any other way to pay?"
I tried calling my best friend. No answer. I sent a text. Nothing. Tried again. Silence.
The two of us stood there in the most excruciating standoff of my life.
"I will pay. Just give me a moment."
The waiter had already lost patience. He lifted his walkie-talkie. "Manager Wu, we've got a dine-and-dash situation up here."
The hotel manager arrived with a police officer in tow.
"Miss, you'll need to come with us."
I tried to explain. I told them who I was, that my cards had been frozen, that I could get the money. They looked at me the way people look at anyone making excuses in a police station lobby.
I was taken to the station to give a statement. That was when my best friend finally called back.
Twenty minutes later, she burst through the doors, settled the bill, and I was free to go.
I stood outside and looked back at the police station entrance. A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Me. The sole heir to Skyward Group. Hauled into a police station because I couldn't pay a dinner tab.
If word got out, people would laugh themselves sick.