She grabbed a plate of food and hurled it at me. "Stop talking big. You're going to bankrupt my family? You think you have that kind of power?"
"Worry about your own problems!"
"Manager!" The manager caught her signal and walked over with security flanking him. His voice was cool and professional. "Mr. Dickerson, will you be paying in cash, or would you like someone else to cover the bill?"
At least he was keeping things civil.
I scanned the room and spotted someone I recognized—a business contact I'd worked with before, back when I was handling deals on behalf of the Galloways.
I started walking toward him. The moment he saw me coming, he jumped up and backed away.
"Rick, stay away from me. I can't pay for—"
"Relax. I'm not asking you to pay. I just need to borrow your phone."
"Can I? I just need to call a friend to bring money."
"Ha! He's still putting on an act!" Jacob shouted. "Who in Capital City would show up to bail you out?"
"Go ahead, let him make his call. We'll give him thirty more minutes. If nobody shows up with the money, I'll let all these lovely single ladies here strip him down. A man the richest woman in the city has been with can't be all bad, right?"