The dinner rush at Sizzling Steak was in full swing. Louise, a new waitress still finding her rhythm, weaved between tables with a practiced smile.

That’s when a middle-aged Japanese man, impeccably dressed in a kimono and overcoat, caught her eye.

He scanned the room before settling on a corner table. Louise hurried over, menu in hand. “Welcome to Sizzling Steak,” she greeted warmly. The man, Higashi, smiled back, his eyes crinkling with delight.

He spoke in rapid Japanese, gesturing at the picture of a juicy steak. “Steak,” he repeated, then added, “With rice… rice bowl!”

Louise, whose Japanese was limited to basic greetings, recognized the struggle. “Of course, sir, we have a delicious steak option!” she said brightly. “We don’t have rice bowls, but would you like fries with your steak?”

Higashi nodded vigorously. “Fries! Okay, okay!”

As Louise turned to leave, a wave of nausea hit her. There, by the counter, sat a half-eaten steak, cold and unappetizing. She grimaced, reaching for a plate to clear it away.

Suddenly, a gruff voice boomed, “Hold on there, kiddo! What do you think you’re doing? Why waste good food?”

It was Andy, the senior waiter, his face a permanent scowl. He eyed the plate, then the unsuspecting customer, a smirk twisting his lips.

“Waste not, want not!” he rasped, snatching the plate from Louise. “Serve it to him!”

Louise’s stomach lurched. “We can’t serve that, Mr. Miller!” she protested. “It’s cold and…”

“Relax,” Andy interrupted, waving a dismissive hand. “New guy in town, probably won’t know the difference.”

“But it’s wrong!” Louise’s voice rose, panic creeping in. “What if he complains?”

Andy threw back his head and laughed, drawing unwanted attention. “Come on, Louise,” he said. “He’s just a tourist. Doesn’t speak a word of English. Easy pickings, you gotta admit.”

Louise’s jaw clenched. Serving leftover food violated everything she believed in. But Andy, her only advocate at this point, was pressuring her, and the fear of losing her job was a cold, heavy weight in her gut.

“But I can’t! I can’t serve garbage to him. That’s against the rules!” she said.

“Look at it this way: you’re saving food from going to waste,” Andy said.

“If you don’t follow my rules, I can get you kicked out. I can say you stole the steak and no one will know it went in the bin.”

Shame burned in Louise’s cheeks. With trembling hands, she picked up the tray and served it to Higashi.

“This isn’t what I ordered,” Higashi said, pointing at the food. “No, I don’t want this.”

Before Louise could respond, Andy appeared beside the table, his face darkening.

“What’s going on here?” he snapped. Ignoring Louise’s pleading look, he snatched the plate from her grasp and slammed it back down.

“Hold on a second, Jackie Chan,” he barked at Higashi. “This is your order, right? Eat it!”

“Mr. Miller, stop it!” Louise blurted. “He’s a customer! Be respectful!”

Ignoring her, Andy continued to harass Higashi with racist remarks, demanding he eat the cold steak. Higashi, bewildered and hurt, rose from his chair, clearly wanting to leave.

But just as he turned, a wad of cash slipped from his wallet, revealing hundreds of dollars. He put a hundred dollars on the table and began to leave. In that moment, greed flickered in Andy’s eyes. He lunged forward, blocking Higashi’s exit.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there!” he said, his voice oily now. “That’s… that’s a lot of dough you got there, buddy!”

Louise watched, her stomach churning, as Andy spun a web of lies to keep Higashi and his money. He promised a better meal and a luxurious experience, but Louise knew it was all a ruse. Andy shoved the hundred-dollar bill into Louise’s hand, forcing her to participate in his charade.

The situation was spiraling out of control. Louise had to find a way to protect Higashi, her job, and her own morals. But with Andy’s desperation mounting, she wasn’t sure what move to make next.

***

Relief washed over Higashi’s face as he surveyed the steaming dishes Andy presented. The aroma of grilled salmon and teriyaki chicken filled the air, a far cry from the cold, reheated steak. A bottle of sake, its elegant label speaking of his homeland, completed the unexpected feast.

“Free for our esteemed guest!” Andy declared, his voice dripping with false cheer. “A token of our appreciation!”

Higashi blinked. “Free?” he asked.

“Absolutely!” Andy boomed. “Not a penny out of your pocket, my friend.”

As Andy grabbed a delicate sake cup to pour, his hand twitched, sending a splash of rice wine spraying across Higashi’s pristine overcoat.

“Oh, no!” Andy exclaimed, his face crumpling in mock apology. “Terribly sorry, my friend. Don’t you worry, I’ll have this cleaned in a jiffy. We have top-notch dry cleaning services here.”

He reached for the coat, but Higashi recoiled, clutching the garment tightly.

“No… okay,” he stammered. “It… is okay! Okay!”

“We can’t have you walking around with a stained garment. Come on, let me take care of this,” Andy insisted.

He lunged for the overcoat again, his movements aggressive. Seeing the struggle, Louise intervened.

“Mr. Miller, stop it!” she blurted. “The coat will dry on its own.”

“Shut up, girl!” Andy hissed. “This is none of your concern!”

Before Louise could react further, Andy snatched the coat from Higashi’s grasp and disappeared through a swinging door marked “Staff Only.” Higashi stared after him, his confusion turning into anxiety.

Louise felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach. Without hesitating, she excused herself from the table and raced after him.

Inside the room, Andy emptied the pockets of Higashi’s overcoat. He was shocked as he pulled out wads of cash from it.

“What are you doing?” Louise confronted him. “This is illegal. You can’t steal his money!”

“Go outside!” Andy shouted.

“And don’t worry about this. Everything’s under control. You know this money can change our lives.”

“No, Mr. Miller. You should put that money back,” Louise said.

“Are you serious? This is your chance to change your life, Louise!” Andy blurted. “Come on, take this money!”

“No, I won’t!” Louise protested.

“He won’t even know we took this money from him. That Samurai Jack has a lot of money. He’s a rich guy. A few missing bucks won’t make a difference. Trust me, Louise. Take this money!” Andy said, handing a wad of bills to Louise.

Feeling pressured, she took the money from him. “Okay, I’ll take it,” she said.

“That’s the spirit!” Andy cheered. “Just make sure he finishes his meal soon, okay? I’ll go get this overcoat fixed.”

Once Andy left the staff room, Louise immediately pulled a hairpin out of her hair and opened Andy’s locker. She couldn’t let him keep the stolen money. She wanted to return all of Higashi’s money to back to him.

***

“Excuse me, sir?” Louise blurted out as she bolted to the table. Then, she took a deep breath and held out the wads of cash. “Please take this. It’s your money. Take it.”

“I can’t understand,” he said. “Sorry.”

“This is your money. Your. Money,” she said, pointing toward him. “You were robbed. My senior waiter, Mr. Miller… he took your money. I’m giving it back to you.”

Higashi stared at her, his expression unreadable. The language barrier loomed large, a frustrating wall that separated them.

Instead of giving up, Louise took out her phone and used a translator app to convey her message. Higashi was shocked when he understood what had happened.

Suddenly, the restaurant door swung open with a bang, shattering the tense silence. A police officer walked in with Andy in tow. Andy, practically bouncing with glee, pointed at Louise and Higashi.

“There they are, officer!” he declared, voice booming. “The culprits! They stole my money. I have proof!”

Louise’s heart lurched in her chest.

“No, officer, it’s not true!” she stammered. “He’s the one who’s been stealing!”

Before she could explain, Andy whipped out his phone, a sly smile spreading across his face. He tapped the screen, and a video flickered to life.

It showed Louise, her back to the camera, stuffing money into her purse from a locker. The blood drained from Louise’s face.

“She took out money from my locker and gave it to this man!” Andy lied. “She’s a criminal!”

“It’s not what it looks like, officer!” she cried, her voice shaking.

The officer watched the video impassively. When it ended, he turned to Louise. “Please step aside. You need to answer some questions.”

“No, officer,” Higashi said, his voice steady. “Not her. You should interrogate that man.”

He turned towards Andy, his eyes blazing with quiet anger. “Because he’s the real thief, not us!”

It turned out Higashi could communicate in English perfectly. All this while, he understood what Andy said earlier in the restaurant.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card. “I’m not who you think I am. I’m a journalist, here to write about this very restaurant.”

“I can also prove the money belongs to me. I can prove Andy stole it from me,” he said. “My cash is marked blue. You just need to soak it in water to see the mark. Would you bother giving me one of the bills that you stole?”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Andy protested, his voice trembling. He knew he was in trouble.

“Do as he says!” the officer told Andy.

Once Andy handed one of the bills to Higashi, he quickly soaked it in water, revealing a blue mark. “See, officer. This is what I was talking about.”

At that point, the officer was convinced Higashi was not at fault.

“And what about this waitress? This video shows she’s stealing money.”

“I didn’t steal anything,” Louise said. “Please come with me so I can show you the entire CCTV footage of the staff room. Mr. Miller entered before me to steal the money from Higashi’s overcoat. I just wanted to return it to our customer.”

In no time, it was clear that Andy was the culprit. The officer quickly put handcuffs on Andy’s wrists and took him outside the restaurant.

“Thank you so much, sir!” Louise thanked Higashi.

“Thank you for your bravery and honesty, Louise,” Higashi smiled. “I have an offer for you.”

“If you’re ever looking for a job, I might have a position for you in our New York office,” he continued. “You’re an honest employee and our company needs people like you. You may contact me or visit our website if you’re interested.” He handed his business card to Louise.

“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” Louise said.

“Consider it a reward for your bravery!” Higashi winked. “You deserve it!”