An hour later...
"So?" Jessa arched a brow, her arms folded across her chest as she stood a step away from Charles, Haines, and Stephen’s table. Her sharp eyes were fixed directly on Stephen. "What do you think? Can you still say this cheap restaurant will go bankrupt if I serve such food to our custors?"
Stephen chewed slowly, coughing a bit as he lowered his head. "It’s... it’s surprisingly good."
That was honest feedback, though it seed like he was doing it under duress. The food was surprisingly good, and considering Stephen hadn’t had much of an appetite since Sven’s arrest, it suddenly made him want to eat more.
"Surprisingly good?" Jessa arched a brow, watching Stephen straighten his back. "Hah! Is that all you can tell ? Surprisingly good? How insulting."
"It’s the best," Stephen blurted out. "Better than those fancy restaurants I eat at. I didn’t an to be rude, but I just didn’t expect it to be this good."
"Oh?"
"I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, but now I feel like... I finally understand the value of food again."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!" Stephen bit his tongue, realizing he sounded like he was trying to curry favor with her. "I’m sorry."
Jessa snorted, looking down at him as though he were nothing more than a peasant. "Good, because that dish cost twice the usual price... or maybe ten tis."
"What?"
"Why? Are you poor? Why do you sound so shocked?" she returned, clicking her tongue at him. "You’ll pay for the dish, and the extra charge is for the emotional distress you’ve caused ."
If anyone was causing emotional distress right now, it was her! Why was he being charged ten tis the price?
"Just take it," Charles urged. "Don’t worry about her. You can afford it. Just think of it as eating at a five-star Michelin restaurant—only cheaper and better."
Jessa smiled in satisfaction, looking at Charles with pride. "You’re learning."
"I’m helping your business," Charles returned. "Please give us our food now; I’m starving."
"Alright, your food is coming. You don’t have to shout," Jessa mused, snapping her fingers to signal the standby servers to bring out the al.
"Wow... this is a feast. No wonder you spent an entire day in the kitchen," Charles comnted happily, rubbing his hands together as he flashed Stephen a smile. "Thanks for this, Stephen. It’s been decades since you bought dinner."
"Thank you, Stephen," Haines expressed. "I’ll eat with a grateful heart."
Stephen’s face twitched as he looked at the feast before him and gulped. He then looked up at Jessa.
"Uh, Missus... I an, Big Sister, all this food... is it also ten tis the price?"
"Of course!" Jessa intoned. "You should be grateful it’s not a hundred tis the price. Do you think you’re the only one good at business? Enjoy your al. And don’t leave early — you three still need to help us clean later."
With that, Jessa huffed and turned her back on them, walking away... in style.
"This isn’t business, it’s robbery," Charles grumbled but then smiled because he wasn’t the one paying for this. "Thanks again, Stephen. Finally, I ate here without paying."
"It’s the sa for ," Haines remarked. "Thank you, Stephen. Enjoy the food."
With that, Haines and Charles happily served themselves with satisfied smiles on their faces. Although they weren’t being charged extra when they ate here, it still felt good to be eating for free.
As for Stephen, he was left speechless by the two of them. He shook his head, took another bite, and raised his brows in surprise. The food tasted better with each bite.
’This food gets better and better with each bite,’he thought to himself. ’I thought this restaurant was just a cheap place Allison started out of boredom. I guess it’s actually thriving.’
Out of hunger and shock, Stephen forgot—or rather, missed—Jessa’s last remark. He was only reminded of it when he finally felt full and was ready to leave. To his dismay, he was told they couldn’t leave because, apparently, Charles and Haines were on duty to help clean the restaurant.
Thus, Stephen’s expectation of coming ho early crumbled within hours. He couldn’t leave just as he pleased. He stayed at the restaurant until closing ti. Aside from paying ten tis the price for each dish, he also had to clean.
It taught Stephen one important lesson: don’t criticize others because they might turn out like Jessa.
***
"Thanks for dinner again, Stephen!" Charles called out as Stephen walked to his car.
Looking back, Stephen scrunched up his nose at the satisfied Charles. "What a shaless guy," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he continued toward his car.
The young driver was already waiting, opening the door for him. Stephen didn’t hesitate to get inside, frowning as the car slled of cigarettes. However, he didn’t complain and just leaned back, hearing the driver’s door open and close.
Stephen turned his head toward the window, watching as Charles’s car light flickered on while it slowly pulled away from the parking space. A shallow breath slipped past his nostrils as he realized this was probably the longest ti he had spent with Charles in a while.
’He still hasn’t changed,’he thought to himself, keeping his eyes on the other car until the distance between them grew.
Charles’s direction and Stephen’s were opposite. That was why Stephen had been reluctant to drop them off—because this detour would take longer. Stephen, after all, preferred to live closer to the company to save ti.
"Are you going to take ho?" Stephen asked after a minute of silence, his eyes still on the window.
"Yes," the driver answered succinctly.
For a while, there was nothing but silence in the car. The driver focused on the road and Stephen gazed out the window. After a mont, Stephen peeled his eyes from the glass, and the corner of his mouth hooked up.
"Call your boss," Stephen said, his eyes glinting malevolently. "Tell him I have sothing to tell him. It’s urgent."
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, only to see the vile look plastered on Stephen’s face.
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