I looked at her leisurely.
“I opened it specially to treat my ‘best’ friend. Any problem with that?”
“You!” Rachel trembled with rage. “This is extortion!”
“Right back at you.”
I mimicked her earlier pose, wagging my finger with elegance.
“Compared to your half-million ‘consulting fee,’ this dinner is clearly priced and perfectly fair.”
“Otherwise, feel free to call the police.”
Eric’s expression darkened.
“Sophia, stop this nonsense. Cancel the bill.”
“Rachel came to support you today. How could you treat her like this?”
I looked at him and suddenly found it laughable.
From the moment we started dating, he had always known Rachel was my best friend.
But he didn’t know what Rachel had done to me in the past.
And he had no idea what this restaurant meant to me.
“Eric, get it straight. I’m not the one making a scene right now.”
“It’s your dear Rachel who’s trying to squeeze money out of me.”
My expression hardened.
“Do you think my money is that easy to take?”
The tension grew thick. Other diners in the restaurant had noticed the conflict and were casting curious glances our way.
Rachel’s face flushed red, then white—clearly embarrassed.
She bit her lip and lowered her voice.
“Sophia Miller, do you really have to make this so ugly?”
“Which of my suggestions isn’t worth the price I asked?”
“Look at your restaurant: the music tastes cheap, the flow is a mess—only the décor is halfway decent.”
“If it weren’t for my promotion, do you think you’d have this much buzz today?”
The more she spoke, the more justified she seemed to feel, her voice rising.
“I gave you exposure, I gave you strategy. Charging you half a million was the friendship price!”
“Don’t be so ungrateful!”
I almost laughed in anger.
On opening day, the hype had been built with millions my father spent on city-wide promotion.
What did that have to do with her heavily Photoshopped selfies?
Eric chimed in as well.
“Sophia, Rachel’s right.”
“She’s a million-follower influencer now, with huge reach.”
“Think of it as a publicity fee. You’re not losing out.”
Looking at Eric’s insincere face, disgust churned in my stomach.
“Publicity fee?”
I pulled out my phone and opened Rachel’s Instagram, showing them her so-called “recommendation” post about my restaurant.
“The whole thing is just selfies of you. One blurry shot of the food, barely a mention of the atmosphere.”