Chapter 8: Chapter 8

868 words

<html><head></head><body>Samuel smiled and asked, "What would you recommend?" Layla skillfully introduced the restaurant's signature dishes. "How is the cream of mushroom soup made?" Samuel's voice was low and very pleasant. Layla was momentarily stunned, thinking, 'How would I know? I'm not a chef.' She politely replied, "Sorry, please wait a moment. I'll ask the chef and get back to you." Reluctantly, Layla went to the kitchen, came back, and explained the cooking method in detail. Layla asked, "Would you like the cream of mushroom soup?" "One Muzen veal steak," Samuel replied. Layla tightened her grip on the pen, gritting her teeth with a smile. "Alright." She comforted herself, thinking, 'He's a troublesome customer, but he tends to tip more.' Layla inquired, "What wine would you like?" "How about Lesco red wine? I went abroad last week..." The beautiful woman hurriedly interjected, afraid of being ignored. Layla replied, "I'm sorry, Miss. We don't have that wine in our restaurant." Samuel pulled out two bills and placed them on the table. "Thank you, Mr. Holland." Layla took the tip and spent half an hour running around, finally managing to buy the wine. She returned, sweating and holding the wine, only to see him elegantly swirling a wine glass, a slight smile on his lips. He remarked, "1982 Lafite is not bad either." Layla was speechless and wanted to throw the wine at his face. He was clearly messing with her. Layla said, "Mr. Holland, I got this wine as you requested. If you don't want to drink it, you can take it with you, but you still have to pay for it. Shall I pack it for you?" Samuel refused, "I don't need this bottle." Layla glared at him and remarked, "You asked me to get it. We didn't have this wine in the restaurant." Samuel retorted, "I asked you to find another wine, not necessarily this one." Clearly, he was being unreasonable. Layla clenched her fists, reminding herself, 'Hitting a customer would land me in jail.' Layla said, "So, Mr. Holland, are you trying to skip out on the bill? I'll call the police." He answered, "Go ahead. I'd like to see how the police handle a restaurant forcing a customer to buy something." Layla gritted her teeth and remarked, "Enjoy your meal." 'Hope you choke on it,' Layla thought. The beautiful woman forced a smile and asked, "Mr. Holland, do you know her?" Samuel denied, "No." The beautiful woman continued, "However, it seems you have a special interest in her." Clearly, he was teasing Layla. "Do you think I'd be interested in a little girl like her?" Samuel's cold gaze glanced at Layla, who was clenching her fists in clear frustration, probably cursing him and occasionally glaring at him childishly. "Maybe I'm overthinking it." The beautiful woman comforted herself, 'Although she looks pure and has some charm, the heir to the Holland Group would never notice a working girl.' "If your company changes personnel at the last minute again, we will terminate the cooperation immediately." Samuel put down his wine glass, his tone cold. "Doing business with unprofessional people is a waste of my time." "I'm sorry..." The beautiful woman apologized in a panic. Layla was also miserable, being toyed with by a sex worker. They took over two hours to finish their meal, and she was summoned multiple times, her legs sore from running. Didn't he notice the beautiful woman's face turning pale? At 10:30, they finally finished dinner. "Tonight's dinner was pleasant. Thank you for your service." Samuel glanced at her and smiled faintly. Was that a wicked smile of success? Layla wanted to punch him. Layla said, "You're welcome." After they left, Layla found that he had left an extra $20,000, the price of the wine. Layla ran out with the wine and yelled, "Mr. Holland, your wine." He replied, "Keep it." Layla refused, "I don't drink." "Really?" Samuel raised an eyebrow. Layla felt inexplicably guilty. She could count the number of times she'd had a drink on one hand. Samuel teased, "Do you only drink when you're heartbroken?" 'How does he know everything?' Layla was furious, more convinced that he had some plot against her. She asked, "Did you come here specifically for me tonight?" Samuel stopped, looking at her coldly. He spoke up, "Don' t flatter yourself." He wasn't the type to chase after a little girl, though seeing her here was a bit of a surprise. Otherwise, he would have turned to leave when he entered. Layla clenched her fists and said, "Then, I sincerely hope this is the last time we meet." With that, Layla returned to the restaurant with the wine. Half an hour later, the restaurant closed. "Damn, I'm going to miss the bus." Layla checked the time and ran towards the bus stop. A white Bentley followed her. In the back seat, the stern Samuel watched her with a light smile. 'She ran pretty fast, like a bunny.' 'Why is he back again? Didn't I say it was the last time we would meet?' Layla didn't want to deal with him and tried to speed up, but a wave of nausea hit her, and she stopped to retch. </body></html>