Charles turned slowly back toward his daughter.
“Did you know who he was?”
“No.”
Charles nodded once.
Then he asked the question Rosa clearly had not expected.
“Why should that matter?”
She froze.
Rosa lowered her voice.
“Dad, you don’t understand.”
Charles looked at Walter.
“No. I think I do.”
He walked toward the older man.
“Sir, I’m sorry.”
Walter nodded politely.
Charles turned back to Rosa.
“You judged him from his clothes.”
“I was doing my job.”
“No.”
Charles’s voice remained calm.
“You were using your position to decide who deserved dignity.”
Rosa stared at him.
“You got me this job.”
“I recommended you for an interview.”
“You told me this hotel was about standards.”
“It is.”
Charles glanced around the lobby.
“Service standards. Professional standards. Human standards.”
Rosa’s eyes filled with angry disbelief.
“So you’re taking their side?”
Charles shook his head.
“This isn’t about sides.”
He looked toward Marcus.
“If my daughter did exactly what they’re describing, firing her was justified.”
Rosa seemed stunned.
“Dad.”
Charles continued.
“Did she refuse to check his reservation?”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did she have him removed?”
“Yes.”
“Did she continue insulting him after his son arrived?”
Marcus answered.
“Yes.”
Charles looked back at Rosa.
“Then what exactly did you expect me to defend?”
She had no answer.
The authority she believed would rescue her had become another witness against her.
Security waited nearby.
But Walter finally spoke.
“I don’t want anyone humiliating her.”
Marcus turned toward his father.