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Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The manager glanced from the unhappy server to the fuming Giselle. He then looked at Casper questioningly.
Realization dawned upon him after a moment.
Selecting his words with care, the manager said, “Are you saying that my server spilled the sauce on you? Do you have any proof?”
Casper instantly deduced that the manager was intent on defending his employee.
Giselle’s face grew livid with rage. Sneering, she replied, “Do you have any proof for his accusation of us spilling the sauce on ourselves?”
The manager refused to reply. Instead, he turned to his assistant and asked her to fetch the female server who had collected Casper’s bill.
“Lacey, did you see him spill the sauce on this gentleman?” The manager asked.
Four pairs of eyes instantly fastened their gazes onto Lacey. She instinctively recoiled. Fearing for her employment, Lacey decided to withdraw herself entirely from the affair.
“I don’t know. I was busy at that moment and wasn’t able to keep track of what was going on over here,” Lacey said meekly.
The other server inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
The manager smiled patronizingly at Casper and Giselle. “If there’s no proof that our server was the one who caused this incident, you can’t blame us for it,” he said smoothly.
During his entire engagement with Casper and Giselle, the manager had been keenly assessing their clothing. He had determined that they were of below-average means and were merely seeking to avoid
having to pay their bill.
The manager prided himself in his ability to handle and resolve conflicts that arose within the restaurant. A small matter like this, he privately thought, was beneath his level of expertise.
Casper’s face grew thunderous. His lips had parted, trembling, and he was about to speak when a dainty voice called out from behind him, arresting his speech. “I’ve never seen you so humiliated before!”
Struck by the familiarity of the voice, Casper whipped around to see Victoria sauntering breezily towards them, a smile lurked at the corners of her lips.
In a bright, sparkling voice, Victoria said, “Isn’t the solution simple? Just take a look at the surveillance footage in your restaurant. Why bother trying to guess who’s right?”
Giselle darted a glance at Victoria. She was the epitome of feminine charm, exuding an enchanting aura that held its beholder mesmerized in Victoria’s honeyed gaze.
Giselle, in sharp contrast, radiated an air of gentleness and warmth. She made whoever she was with feel as if they had finally arrived back home.
Either woman would have turned heads in a crowd. Both of them now stood each on either side of Casper.
Casper, however, remained seemingly unfazed by his good fortune. He fixed Victoria with a piercing gaze, asking, “Ms. Stalling, what brings you here?”
“If I didn’t come, you’d have been bullied to no end!” Victoria teased, waggling a finger at him playfully.
Victoria was wearing a fitting gown that highlighted her lovely curves. If Victoria had been transported onto a fashion show’s runway that moment, she would have blended right in. Casper sighed inwardly in
pleasure.
What a waste! He reflected privately. If she’d chosen the life of a celebrity, her path would already have been paved for her.
“You’re right, Ms. Stalling. If you hadn’t arrived, I would indeed have suffered a great deal,” Casper replied pleasantly, humoring Victoria.
Victoria’s gaze lingered on Casper for a while, then turned abruptly to Giselle, who had been gaping in wonder at Victoria’s beauty. Victoria raised her eyebrows, then gushed at Casper in mock jealousy, “Where did you find this beauty? She’s so much prettier than I am! I’m ashamed to even stand next to her.”
Having thus declared, Victoria turned to Giselle and gave her a conspiratorial wink.
Giselle could feel her cheeks burning scarlet with embarrassment. She lowered her gaze, then muttered shyly in reply, “You’re far prettier than me!”
Victoria giggled happily. She flashed Giselle a dazzling smile, then remarked approvingly, “She’s not only beautiful, she’s got such a charming personality too!”
Casper looked at Victoria in awe.
He knew very well the effect Victoria had on men and the way she used it freely to her advantage. This was the first time he had witnessed Victoria’s way with women and was amazed to see that she was no less expert at handling her own sex.
“Don’t say that. She’s a teacher at my school,” Casper retorted.
The manager wiped a drop of cold sweat from his trembling brow. He had not expected that this shabbily-dressed customer would know Ms. Stalling.
The manager gave the trio before him a forced smile. “Sir, we must have been mistaken. We deeply apologize for the wrongful assumption. By way of apology, this meal is on the house. Please forgive us.”
Casper snorted, dismissing the manager’s apology with a wave of his hand. “What, aren’t we going to examine the surveillance cameras?”
The smile on the manager’s face had wavered and turned into a grimace. He suddenly turned to the server and snapped, “What were you thinking? How could you have been so careless as to spill sauce on this gentleman? Apologize to him at once!”
The server paled at the manager’s abrupt shift in tone. She hastily bowed to Casper and Giselle, mumbling, “I’m sorry! It was my fault entirely. I was afraid to get scolded for it and pushed the blame to you.”
She then turned to the manager with tears in her eyes, pleading, “Please don’t fire me! I’m very sorry.”
The entire scene seemed absurd to Casper. He batted away the server’s profuse apologies, drawling, “Forget it. I’m not petty enough to continue pursuing this matter.”
The manager felt as if the burden on his shoulders had instantly lifted. Gratefully, he asserted, “Your meal will be on the house.”
Casper nodded without a word. Just as the manager and his server were about to escape, however, Casper called after them, “Please get this server to continue waiting on us.”
The manager and the server halted in their tracks. In a low voice, the manager whispered sternly, “You’d better be on your best behavior. If anything else goes awry, I’ll fire you immediately.”
The server looked immensely vexed but resigned to her fate nonetheless. “Got it.”
The manager turned back and flashed Casper a tight smile. “I’ve warned her against any funny business. She’ll do her best to serve you.”
“Tsk. You’re really out to get her,” Victoria remarked, smirking.
Casper shrugged carelessly. “There’s nothing for her to worry about,” he replied.
Victoria glanced at her watch and her face sobered immediately.
“I’ve got other matters to attend to. I’ll leave the two of you in peace now. Remember to treat me to a meal sometime to thank me for helping you today,” Victoria said, grinning wickedly at Casper. She then turned around and hurried off, her heels clicking sharply.
As she watched Victoria’s departing figure shrink into the distance, Giselle turned to Casper and asked curiously, “Who was that?”
Casper was startled by Giselle’s interest.
Had Giselle really been that smitten by Victoria? He mused.
Casper, however, answered Giselle with a straight face. “That was Victoria, the owner of Victoria’s Chamber on Pine Street. Don’t be fooled by her easygoing manner. She isn’t as simple as she makes herself out to be.”
Casper had exaggerated Victoria’s negative qualities on purpose. He was doing his best to discourage Giselle from further striking up an acquaintance with Victoria. Most importantly, Casper was anxious that Victoria’s careless, flirtatious manner would rub off on Giselle.
The other servers who had been watching the entire incident unfold were green with envy. It wasn’t fair, they thought, that this man could enjoy the company of two such beautiful women both at once.
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