Chapter 1 - The Cardboard Store and the Broken HorseCamille reached out a manicured finger, gently touching the plastic horse with the broken tail. Her eyes held genuine warmth, or at least a very convincing imitation of it.
"How much for the horse?" Camille asked softly, keeping her voice light.
"It’s not for sale," Nora said instantly, pulling the horse closer to her chest.
"Everything has a price, sweetie," Camille smiled, looking up at Grant. "In the hospitality industry, even the presidential suites are technically available if the offer is high enough."
Grant noticed the subtle shift in Nora’s posture. Her shoulders tightened. The warmth in Camille’s eyes hadn't reached her smile lines.
"The horse isn't a suite, Camille," Nora whispered, staring at the floorboards. "It’s a rescue. It doesn't want to go anywhere."
After Camille left, leaving behind a delicate trace of expensive French perfume and a lingering sense of staged perfection, Grant found Nora sitting quietly on the living room rug.
"What did you think of Camille?" Grant asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Nora looked up, her fingers tracing the frayed ear of her stuffed rabbit.
"She knows how to talk to kids," Nora said carefully. "Like she's reading from a manual."
"And the manual said?"
"She wants you to think she’s good at everything. But she wouldn't buy my horse. She only wanted it because she thought I wanted her to want it."
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Grant didn't say anything. He walked over to his desk, opened his laptop, and pulled up Camille's file. He looked past her corporate achievements, her hotel management awards, and zeroed in on her social media history. Hidden beneath layers of polished public posts was a series of blistering, anonymous restaurant and service reviews where she berated staff with surgical cruelty.
She hides behind a uniform of smiles, Grant realized. Just like Victoria.
