"York, let's go find somewhere else to eat."
Shirley glanced at York.
York's face was pale. He had never been kicked out of a restaurant before. If people heard about this, his reputation in Apex would be toast.
"The way you treat your customers isn't right," he said, looking at Jennifer, trying to defend himself.
Even if they weren't going to eat here, he wanted the owner to apologize for what she'd just said.
"What's not right about it? From where I'm standing, you and your friends started all the trouble," Jennifer shot back.
"There's someone who needs emergency help, but you're blocking Claire and making a scene. Honestly, it's ridiculous."
This time, it was Abbott, the hospital's vice president, who spoke up for Claire.
As soon as Abbott said his piece, the other diners started chiming in, blaming York's group.
"You guys were putting on some kind of show and holding up a rescue. That young woman just did the owner a huge favor."
To everyone else, Claire had saved Eaton, which meant Hearth & Kettle had dodged a major disaster.
It made sense for Jennifer to treat Claire like a VIP.
"We..." York tried to argue, but nobody was listening anymore.
Defeated, their group shuffled out of Hearth & Kettle. York glared at the restaurant sign, his eyes full of anger.
Abbott finally turned back to Claire. "Come on. You need to go with the ambulance to the hospital. Other than you and your teacher, no one's going to touch those needles you used."
Claire rubbed her nose. "If I'd known you were here, Abbott, I wouldn't have tried to show off."
Abbott wasn't having it. "Don't give me that. Let's go."
The paramèdics were still confused about why Abbott wanted a young girl to ride with them, even after he explained she was the one who did the acupuncture.
They could hardly believe it. Was she really some kind of hidden expert?
Claire waved at Pandora. "You stay and eat. I'll go to the hospital and come right back."
Pandora frowned. Saving someone was important, but Claire hadn't even had lunch yet.
"You and Dane stay here and enjoy your meal. I'll have someone pack some food for Claire and bringat to
her. As the owner, Jennifer needed to keep things running.
She also had to wait for the police, who would need to check that Eaton's episode
had nothing to do with the restaurant's food.
“Jennifer, you'll probably be busy. I'll go instead," Dane offered.
"Good idea. Jennifer realized if she left for the hospital, no one would be around to take charge. The police
were coming, after all. Ther
could handle things at the hospital.
"Manager, go with Dane. He's not from Apex and doesn't know his way around," Jennifer said, and the manager nodded right away.
Claire had no idea that as soon as she left, Dane was already packing up food to bring to her at the hospital.
The ambulance was from the nearest hospital, so that's where they went.
As soon as they arrived, they rushed Eaton into the emergency room.
His condition was under control, stable for now, but they put him on an IV just to be safe.
Next, they needed to figure out what caused his seizure.
Abbott pulled Claire aside while they waited for the right time to take out the needles.
"So, what's going on between you and the James family? From what I heard, you're not their biological daughter?"