After the call Preston opened his laptop to prepare notes for his attorney.
He found a message from a former bartender asking him to stop claiming everyone agreed with his decision.
The bartender had witnessed the firing and had no desire to be used as a defense witness.
Preston drafted an angry response, deleted it, and wrote a shorter message acknowledging the request.
It was the first time in weeks he had chosen restraint without a lawyer ordering him to do so.
The next morning his attorney reviewed the personnel files discovered in the locked cabinet.
She asked why he had written personal details about staff members and whether anyone had consented to those records.
Preston insisted they helped him understand scheduling conflicts.
She pointed out that the notes often concerned relatives who had nothing to do with scheduling.
He admitted he had sometimes used personal information to persuade reluctant employees to accept shifts.
His attorney told him that a candid account would be more useful than another story designed to protect his pride.
They discussed which actions were documented and which allegations he disputed.
Preston had trouble accepting how many different witnesses remembered the same humiliating exchange.
He tried to convince himself that everyone had turned against him after Samuel’s identity became known.
Yet Beatrice, Nora, and Hector had described problems that predated the encounter by years.
Their testimony made it harder to believe the issue was merely one unlucky dinner service.
At the hearing Preston appeared through counsel and limited his statements to facts he was prepared to defend.
He did not suddenly become kind, and he did not receive an easy redemption.
Several employees still feared his influence in the restaurant industry.
Elena continued helping those who wanted to correct references or challenge disputed payroll records.
Claire heard about Preston’s interview from a news report but chose not to watch the accompanying video.
She had spent enough evenings letting his voice occupy her apartment.
The man who dismissed her would have to reckon with his decisions without her standing in the room to witness every stage.
She turned off the television and opened her chemistry textbook.
The chapter concerned how small changes in conditions could alter an entire reaction.
She found the metaphor a little obvious and returned to solving the problems on the page.
CHAPTER 22: The Scholarship Committee
The nursing scholarship applications were reviewed by a committee that included a hospital educator, a retired public health nurse, and a community college counselor.
