They Held a Wedding at My Restaurant and Refused to Pay,So I Called the Police

1: 1

My best friend Leila James posted on social media, and she made sure to tag me.

[My bestie's place is my place. My brother-in-law's getting married over the holiday weekend, and Starmoon Diner's got it covered. Thirty-six tables, all free, everyone's invited!]

Thirty-six tables. At standard pricing, that came to eighty-six thousand dollars.

I gave a small laugh and didn't reply.

That night, I canceled every purchase order scheduled for the holiday weekend and shut the kitchen down completely.

Early the next morning, a notice went up on the door: [Equipment maintenance. Temporarily closed.] Then I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the airport.

When Leila found out, she called me straight away.

[Why is your place closed? I need to lock in the menu the day after tomorrow!]

I answered coldly.

[Bad timing. Equipment maintenance, you know. Or you could cook it yourself?]

1

At exactly noon, Leila posted again, this time with a group photo.

The caption read:

[My bestie's place is my place. My brother-in-law's getting married over the holiday weekend, and Starmoon Diner's got it covered. Thirty-six tables, all free, everyone's invited!]

Below it, nothing but likes and comments.

[So generous, Leila!]

[Now that's a friend worth having!]

I was still looking at the post, hadn't even had a chance to screenshot it, when my phone buzzed again.

Leila had added me to a group chat called [Wedding Planning].

There were forty-seven people in it. Not one of them was someone I knew.

Leila sent a voice message, ordering me around like the hired help.

[Vinnie, these are all my in-laws. Take a look at the menu. You've got to have the full spread of seafood dishes, don't embarrass me.]

Right after that, someone whose display name was [Nathaniel Whitney] jumped in. Leila's husband.

[Put out every signature dish. Top-shelf whiskey for the liquor, and premium cigarettes.]

Then someone named [Dana Whitney] popped up, and this had to be Leila's brother-in-law.

[Since it's your bestie's place, why not throw in the wedding decor too?]

[Backdrop, floral arch, emcee and sound system. All easy stuff.]

I stared at the screen and said nothing, and more people chimed in.

[Dana, you lucky guy, landing a sister-in-law like this.]

[A free wedding banquet, that's got to save at least a hundred grand, right?]

[Where's the owner? Say something! When can the menu be settled?]

Leila couldn't wait to tag me.

[Vinnie, where'd you go? My in-laws are all waiting.]