The manager stared at the black card on the table, his expression growing even more respectful. He glanced at Shana, then called over a man standing in the distance and handed him the card. "Nate, hurry up and register a membership for our esteemed customer."
Nate was a bit bewildered. One second he had been serving other guests, and the next, he was being hit with a fat membership commission by the manager. He blankly took the card, processed the manager’s words for a second, and then broke into a run toward the cashier.
Staring at the printed receipt that indicated a successful top-up of five million, Nate was reeling in shock for a moment. He quickly snapped out of it and headed straight to Rian Sinclair’s table. He handed the bank card to the manager, who then respectfully passed it back to Rian Sinclair along with her newly issued VIP card.
"Miss, here are your cards. You have five million deposited in your account. This card can be used at any other branch of The Verdant. Would you like to dine now? We will arrange it for you immediately."
"Yes."
Following that, the manager arranged for Nate to lead Rian Sinclair and Ash Sinclair into the dining area. Lily naturally witnessed this entire scene. Her eyes widened in absolute shock as she stared at the pair. She never could have imagined that these two were actually wealthy individuals who would casually deposit five million in one go.
Recalling what had just transpired, Lily was instantly gripped by intense panic. She had offended them beyond repair.
As Rian Sinclair walked past, she paused and looked at the trembling Lily. She then turned to the manager beside her. "Mr. Manager, some people in your restaurant still need more training. Otherwise, if everyone who walks in is called a stinking beggar, never mind making money—you’d be lucky if the restaurant doesn’t get smashed."
The manager cast a dark, unreadable look at Lily.
Lily’s face turned deathly pale as she staggered back a few steps. Rian Sinclair ignored her and continued following Nate without pausing. Nate was terribly conflicted. What kind of juicy drama had he missed out on in just those few short minutes?
Shana stood to the side. She had warned Lily about her foul mouth before, but Lily had never taken it seriously. Now, she had finally hit a brick wall. Who would have thought the other party was a hidden billionaire?
As a colleague of one year and someone who was soon to become her sister-in-law, Shana still wanted to put in a good word for May. She said respectfully, "Miss, about Lily’s matter..."
Ash Sinclair shot Shana a sideways glance and cut her off with a light scoff. "What, is it trendy to apologize on someone else’s behalf now?"
Rian Sinclair shot Shana an indifferent look and walked away without another word.
Cut off mid-sentence, Shana realized she had spoken out of turn. How could she have thought about pleading for someone else? After all, having someone intercede like that was incredibly annoying to anyone on the receiving end.
She had assumed the customer was good-tempered, but everyone had a bottom line, and she had just nearly crossed it.
A wave of regret washed over Shana. Working in a restaurant like this, the biggest taboo was talking too much. How could she have made such a foolish mistake? Furthermore, even though she hadn’t shown it, her internal thoughts had been quite similar to Lily’s. Thinking of this now, Shana felt a lingering wave of dread.
Rian Sinclair didn’t exactly consider herself a good-tempered person. In the past, when she had no money, she was forced to put up a mild front. But now that she was rich, there was no way she would let herself suffer any grievances.
Nate led them to their seats and considerately handed them a menu. Rian Sinclair passed it to Ash Sinclair to let him order. However, upon seeing the exorbitant prices, Ash Sinclair lost his nerve and handed the menu right back to her.
Rian Sinclair took it back but didn’t even look at it, instead passing it straight to Nate. "You arrange it. Just make sure it’s enough for two."
"Very well, Miss," Nate said as he accepted the menu. "Do you have any other requests? Would you prefer juice or wine?"
"Juice will be fine." Rian Sinclair glanced at the manager standing nearby and then said, "Is the service attitude at a five-star restaurant always as poor as that first lady’s?"
The manager’s expression remained unchanged, but inside, he was panicking. Beside him, Nate was also nervous—though mostly because he was finally about to hear the juicy drama!
When the manager had seen Lily’s state earlier, he already knew she had committed a massive taboo. "Miss, all the service staff in our restaurant undergo excellent training, but what happened today is entirely our restaurant’s fault."
"Training? I couldn’t tell."
The manager began to sweat profusely. He absolutely could not afford to offend the girl sitting in front of him. Anyone who could pull out a black card of that caliber was someone he didn’t dare cross!
"Miss, I am deeply sorry that you had such a terrible service experience. This is an oversight on our part. I will dish out an appropriate punishment for Lily’s behavior. Would that be acceptable?"
Rian Sinclair leaned back in her chair and remained silent for a moment. To the manager standing to the side, however, those seconds dragged on like years. He was terrified that if this hidden billionaire was even slightly unhappy, she might just buy out the entire restaurant and fire him.
Rian Sinclair stirred her cup with a straw. "I just hope that the next time I visit your fine establishment, I won’t be called a beggar again."
Hearing Rian Sinclair speak, the manager knew she was somewhat satisfied with his response. After expressing his gratitude, the manager left with Nate. Hearing those words, however, Nate mentally commended Lily for her sheer audacity. Calling a customer a beggar? Was her head filled with crap?
On the other side, Lily was pale, her legs feeling weak. She knew she was finished. Having offended this kind of client, the manager would never let her off the hook. Especially since she had just been criticized one second, only for this to happen the very next.
Lily was filled with regret, but she knew it was too late. How could words once spoken ever be taken back?
The manager looked at Lily, who was shivering like a leaf in front of him. His expression was as warm as jade, but the words that came out of his mouth were colder than a December winter. "You’re fired. Given that your mistake nearly caused the restaurant to lose an esteemed client, I was originally planning to use your entire salary for this month to compensate the restaurant. However, our restaurant manager is well-versed in labor laws. So go collect this month’s wages, pack your things, and get out."
Lily felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss, but she couldn’t say a single word. After all, she had brought this upon herself.
"Sis, I can’t believe we ran into someone like that just coming out for a meal!" Ash Sinclair was absolutely furious about being slandered. Perhaps because the circles he interacted with were relatively modest, he had never expected there to be such people among service staff. Talk about a snob looking down on others!
Rian Sinclair chuckled. "It’s normal. You can find this kind of person everywhere in society. She just saw us dressed in cheap clothes, and since she was probably already frustrated with something else, she took her anger out on us."
Ash Sinclair’s eyes were red with indignation. Having not yet entered the working world, he hadn’t realized just how filthy society could be, even though he knew it wasn’t fair.
But he hadn’t expected it to be *this* unfair. As a server, shouldn’t she have a good attitude? Why did she have to say such awful things?
Rian Sinclair sipped the juice on the table. She had seen through this society a long time ago. Society was inherently unfair; what could anyone do about it?
The only difference now was that she was rich. If this had been the past, what could she have done? She would have had to swallow her anger. If she met a decent manager, they might help sort it out. But if she met a corrupt one who shielded their staff, they would probably gang up on her and scold her together, and she would just have to take it.
Rian Sinclair looked out at the river view through the window. On the surface, it was a scene of bustling prosperity, but underneath, it was rotten to the core. This was modern society, and she had seen right through it. What hadn’t she done in the past? Designated driver, server, retail associate, bartender, tutor, food delivery rider, dishwasher, cashier...
If you did a bad job, you got yelled at by customers and scolded by bosses. If you did a good job, they praised you with a few empty words, talked to you about dreams, and fed you false promises.