“Honestly, you should be grateful for this job,” Catherine sneered, leaning against the counter. I froze, then smiled faintly. “Grateful? I chose this job because it has meaning.” The room fell silent, eyes filled with astonishment. And just as I finished speaking, Ethan appeared, looking around in disbelief. “Simone? What are you doing here?” In a split second, the fired waitress had become the most important person in the room.
THE SYMPHONY OF TRUTH: WHEN THE APRON FALLS
Chapter 1: The Deceptive Light of Obsidian
New York City in November always possesses a cold and haughty beauty. Outside, icy drizzle whips against the windows of Manhattan skyscrapers. But inside Obsidian – the city's most expensive private club, where membership cards cost a fortune – the air is thick with French perfume, expensive wine, and hypocrisy.
Simone stood in the corner of the banquet hall, her hands clasped lightly in front of her. She wore her standard waitress uniform: a pristine white shirt tucked into perfectly tailored black trousers, and a charcoal gray apron. Despite her job as a waitress, her posture remained straight, her calm, ash-gray eyes observing the stream of people passing by.
Today was the annual fundraising party of Thorne Venture Capital, an event that any ambitious Wall Street resident would covet.
“Hey, you there! Are you deaf?”
A shrill, irritated voice interrupted Simone's thoughts.
Simone turned around. Standing before her was Catherine Vance, the public relations director for tonight's event. Catherine wore a bright red silk dress, held a Martini, and her heavily made-up face was contorted with a grimace.
“I'm sorry, Ms. Vance. How can I help you?” Simone replied calmly.
Catherine smirked, her eyes sweeping over Simone's uniform with blatant contempt. “Help? Look at your tray. It's empty! Guests are waiting for champagne, and you're standing here like a cheap decorative statue. Do you know where you work? This is Obsidian, not some cheap Brooklyn bakery where you were born.”
Chapter 2: “You should be grateful for this job”
Simone remained unfazed by the rudeness. She bowed slightly: “I'll bring more drinks right away.”
But Catherine didn't seem to want to stop. She was under pressure from the organizers and needed someone to vent her anger on. Simone, with her strangely calm demeanor, became the perfect target.
Catherine stepped forward, leaning against the bar, her lips, painted crimson, curled into a malicious smile. “Honestly, you should be grateful for this job,” Catherine said, her voice low but loud enough for the nearby guests to hear. “A person with no background, no reputation like you, if it weren't for our tolerance, would never have set foot in the Obsidian banquet hall in your entire life. Don't pretend to be high and mighty; serve well so you can earn tips to support your meager life.”
The entire room fell into an awkward silence. A few guests stopped their conversations, curiously looking towards them. They expected the maid to cry or profusely apologize.
But Simone did the opposite.
She slowly removed her apron, neatly placing it on the counter. She held her head high, her gaze so cold and sharp that Catherine unconsciously took a step back.
“Grateful?” Simone smiled faintly, a smile devoid of any warmth. “I chose this job because it has meaning. I wanted to see firsthand how those who call themselves the ‘elites' of this country treat those they consider invisible. And Catherine, you've given me a very clear answer.”
Simone's voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a strange power that silenced the entire room. Everyone's eyes were filled with astonishment. A waitress daring to lecture the PR director in the middle of a party?
Chapter 3: Ethan's Appearance
“You… you dare…” Catherine stammered, her face flushed with anger. “You're fired! Immediately! Security? Drag this bitch out!”
Just then, the large doors of the banquet hall burst open.
Ethan Thorne – the most powerful man tonight, the owner of the multi-billion dollar Thorne empire – entered. He brought with him a cold wind from outside, his handsome but stern face causing the crowd to automatically part to make way.
Catherine saw Ethan as a savior. She rushed towards him, trying to force out a few fake tears.
“Ethan! You've arrived just in time. This waitress insulted me and the guests. She's crazy! I was having her kicked out…”
But Ethan didn't look at Catherine for a second. His gaze was fixed on the woman standing at the bar – the one who had just removed her gray apron.
Astonishment was evident on Ethan's usually cold face. He strode quickly forward, leaving Catherine bewildered behind.
“Simone?” Ethan exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise and a touch of… respect. “What are you doing here? Why are you wearing that?”
The room erupted in murmurs. Catherine froze, her hands, outstretched to grab Ethan, suspended in mid-air.
Chapter 4: The True Identity
Simone sighed, looking at Ethan with a gentle reproach: “You arrived earlier than expected, Ethan.”
Ethan looked at the apron on the counter, then at Catherine, whose face was now pale and bloodless. He began to understand the situation.
“Simone Vance?” an older guest behind them exclaimed. “Isn't that Simone Vance, the secretive billionaire who just bought 30% of Obsidian last week?”
The murmurs turned into muffled screams of horror.
Simone Vance. The woman known as the “Queen of Undercover Deals.” The woman Ethan Thorne had spent six months trying to convince to sign an investment contract for his fund. The woman Catherine had just called “a nobody.”
Simone looked at Catherine, who was now trembling, unable to speak.
“Ms. Vance… I… I don't know… I really don't know…” Catherine stammered, her voice shaking as if she were about to faint.
“You don't know who I am, so you think you have the right to trample on my dignity?” Simone stepped closer to Catherine, her gaze piercing through the other woman's glamorous facade. “You said I should be grateful for this job. Actually, you're the one who should be grateful. Grateful that I took the time to observe your unprofessionalism and cruelty before I officially took over this place.”
Chapter 5: The Judgment at the Scene
Simone turned to Ethan. “Ethan, I'm here tonight as a servant to check whether my investment in your fund was truly worthwhile. I want to know if your representatives – like Ms. Vance here – truly bring value or only bring disgrace to our brand.”
Ethan Thorne bowed his head, his face showing clear remorse. “I'm extremely sorry, Simone. This is a failure of management on my part.”
He turned to Catherine, his gaze becoming razor-cold. “Catherine, you're fired. Immediately. No severance pay, no letter of recommendation. And I'll make sure no PR firm in Manhattan dares hire someone with such a terrible moral character.”
Catherine collapsed onto the silk floor. Her magnificent red dress now looked pathetic. The guests who had just smiled at her now looked at her like a pile of garbage. They quickly turned to Simone, trying to find a way to approach the most powerful woman in the room.
Chapter 6: The True Meaning
Simone didn't care at all about Catherine's downfall. She picked up the apron, smoothed it out once more, and handed it to a young waiter standing nearby with a bewildered expression.
“Keep it,” Simone said gently to the young man. “And remember, this job is meaningful because you're the one keeping this party running. Never let anyone make you feel inferior.”
She turned to Ethan, smiling—this time a genuine smile. “We have something to discuss about the contract, Ethan. But not here. The perfume in here is starting to suffocate me.”
Simone walked away, gliding past the breathless crowd. She didn't need a red silk dress, nor glittering jewelry to prove her status. In a single second, the “fired waitress” had transformed an entire high-society club into her own personal stage.
As she exited the Obsidian, the New York rain seemed to have stopped. Simone looked up at the faint stars in the Manhattan sky, taking a deep breath.
Catherine was right; she should be grateful. Grateful for always keeping a clear heart in a world blinded by power.
Because ultimately, a person's worth isn't measured by their position in the ballroom, but by how they treat those in the darkest corners.
The End
The next morning, The New York Times reported on an unprecedented personnel overhaul at the Obsidian Club. Catherine Vance vanished from the PR world overnight. Ethan Thorne received a massive investment, but with a strict code of conduct for employees.
And somewhere in a small Brooklyn café, a woman in simple jeans sat reading, occasionally smiling at the waitress bringing her coffee.
“Thank you,” Simone said, and she truly meant it.
The lesson of the story: Never judge a book by its cover, and never belittle anyone just because you think they are inferior to you. Karma sometimes doesn't come from heaven; it comes from the very person you just offended.