CHAPTER 310: OWNER OF THE PLACE

(Author’s POV)

"What? Cat got your tongue, uhh?" Amy stared at the manager. Her gaze was so intense that it penetrated his very being and soul, making him shudder all over. He could feel the chills.

"I~ .... ma’am, I~ I am extre~mely very sorry for my as well as my staff’s behaviour. We didn’t know they were with you, ma’am," the manager started, his tone filled with hesitation and deferentiality. He then glared at both the security guards, signalling them to join in and apologize to Amy as well.

The security personnel followed suit, their voices shifting from too haughty to being too humble in just a matter of a few seconds.

"Manager~ ...... Mark ...... Crew. Did I spell it correctly?" Amy read his name from the badge. Her tone was filled with a certain peculiarity. The manager nodded with hesitation. She continued, "You are barking up the wrong tree here. The one you should convey your sincere apology to is not me~ ... but them ... my acquaintances. Don’t you think so?" She raised an eyebrow.

On her cue, the manager didn’t waste any time. He descended from the stairs, his steps hurried as he offered his contritely to both Myra and Wendy, his back a little bent, "I am sorry, ma’am. Due to my negligence, you both have suffered greatly. I should have taught my staff carefully." The two guards followed the manager as well. Seeing him being so subservient, they knew they couldn’t offend the other party and had to act accordingly. Otherwise, their jobs as well as their lives would be in jeopardy.

"We are very sorry, ma’ams. Please accept our humble apologies," they said in unison, their voices loud and clear as they bowed their heads.

They waited for either Myra or Wendy to say something, but neither of them said a word. Their faces remain cold and indifferent.

They were very well aware that neither the manager nor the security personnel was sincere in their actions. They have not even stated what they did wrong. Their fake apologies were to show the gathered crowd, and especially Amy, who was clearly an influential figure in their eyes, that they were remorseful.

Myra then asked the question, "What are you so sorry for? Can you please state the reason as to why you are apologizing to me and my sister, and why we should forgive you?" She was blunt.

The guilty trio were left off guard by her sudden questioning. They thought that after they had feigned their heartfelt sorries and begged for forgiveness, the other party would not pursue the matter any longer, and it would be done and dusted. But clearly, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Amy backed Myra’s words, as she remarked, "What are you waiting for? State what you said wrong." Her words were filled with finality. She then pointed out the specific person, Wendy had been staring at with narrowed eyes and called out, "You~ .... the security guy. You were being quite enthusiastic with your words earlier, weren’t you?" She sauntered and stood beside Myra and Wendy like a mother figure. "Now you aren’t even able to utter a single word."

The manager was boring his eyes at that guard. He beckoned him to do as Amy said.

With gritted teeth, he muttered reluctantly, "I am~ ...... deeply regretful for my lack of manners~ ...... and my loose tongue, ma’am. I shouldn’t have said those words to you or your sister. It was very disrespectful of me. Please be the bigger person and forgive my actions," His fists clenched on either side. He didn’t like the fact that he was being called out like that, but right now, he couldn’t do anything and just feigned a pitiful body language.

Myra spoke, her words devoid of any emotion, "The next time you are discourteous to someone because of their social class or for the clothes they are wearing, or you assume they are too poor to get in or simply not good enough according to your standards, remember today’s incident well. I advise you not to discriminate and treat your customers with equal respect and dignity." She then shifted her attention towards Amy. She was about to say that she wanted to leave this place, but Amy beat her to it, "Myra and Wendy, let’s not waste any more time and go to some other place."

"Ma’am~ ... ma’am~ ...... please~ ... ma’am~," the manager sensed a sense of foreboding. But Amy just signalled her bodyguard cum chauffeur, "Harris, handle the rest for me."

Harris nodded and blocked the manager’s path, stopping him from following them, "You’d better stop right there. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude towards you."

As Amy and the girls left the place, the manager asked Harris, "At least, tell me, who was that person?"

The bodyguard scoffed and said, "You don’t even recognize the name of your restaurant chain’s owner, the boss’s lady. Too bad for you."

The guards gasped in utter horror as the manager staggered backwards, his legs were about to give up. He fumbled with his words as he asked, "Don’t tell me .... That is .... Mrs.~ ... Mrs.~" He covered his mouth in disbelief as he pointed at the receding figure of Amy.

"Correct~ At least, you are not dumb. That was Mrs. Amy Garcia, your boss and CEO Sebastian Garcia’s lawful wife," the bodyguard completed his words. The shock on the manager’s face was hard to hide. He landed on his butt, a defeated look on his face. Needless to say, both the security guards’ faces turned ashen. They knew they were doomed for sure.

______________________

"Ahh~ ...... I am famished. Can’t we go to some nice place and have a meal first?" Dion complained as he, Elio and Brave were browsing through the market.

"We have literally just arrived, Dio. And you know~ ... our flight is in three hours. Can’t you wait a little?" Brave asked. "After we have bought the souvenirs, we will go to a restaurant, okay."

"Rave~ but I am starving. Do you want me to die from hunger? Is that what you want?" Dion was at his dramatic best as he started making a fuss. "And it’s not like you are going on a commercial flight. It’s our own private plane. Even if you are half an hour up, it will not take off without you. I just want to spend a little time at the local places without any outsiders’ presence." He was referring to Elisa. He might have teased Alaric with her name earlier, but Dion could tell Elisa wasn’t some poor, helpless, timid girl who would back down so easily. She would not be shooed away with just a few words. She was more like a panther, probably waiting for her time to make the move and dig her claws.

"You know, that’s not how things work, Dio," Brave commented. "I can’t delay the flight on just a whim."

"Whim~ .... You are calling my hungry state, whims now. Goodness heavens~ .... At this rate ..... I will dieeeee~ ... how cruel, bro. How cruel," Dion feigned a sob. His voice sounded even more dramatic.

Elio rolled his eyes. He has been listening to their back and forth and finally couldn’t take it any longer. He said, "I have got an idea for you. Why don’t you go and ease up your hunger, brother Dio? In the meantime, Brother Rave and I will look at some of the shops ourselves."

"That’s a good idea," Brave backed Elio up. "We will do just that. Enjoy your meal, Dio. And when you are done, just give us a heads up." He pointed at his forehead, gesturing for Dion to tell through the mind link.

After saying his piece, Brave didn’t give Dion a chance to say anything and just started walking to the other side with Elio in tow, "Let’s go, Eli."

"Heartless~ .... You guys are truly heartless, leaving me all alone in this world. You guys can’t even wait for a poor, hungry boy like me," Dion yelled in an emotional voice. The passerbys looked at him as Brave and Elio shook their heads, chuckled at his antics and just walked away. Whenever Dion was hungry, he behaved like this. So, they were used to it.

After a while, Dion bounced back to his original self. With his hands in his pockets, he walked leisurely around the street, searching for a good eatery.

As he passed by a narrow alley, he heard someone’s frustrated voice.

"Are you both crazy? Did you lose your goddamn mind? Jack, Henry," Mark Crew was lashing out at two security guards, his tone laced with extreme annoyance. "I have told you many times~ ... I have repeatedly told both of you not to mess around. And you, Henry~ ... can’t you hold your tongue for once. Now see~ ...... what kind of mess you have created."

"But Uncle~ ... I~ ..." Henry, the rude security guy, was about to defend his actions, but the manager cut him off. "SHUT UP! ..... did I or did I not give you a heads up that today, the owner is going to visit the restaurant for a secret inspection, huhh? Didn’t I warn you to be on your toes? But what the fucking hell did you do?"

Henry remained silent, his head bowed.

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .