Chapter 167 You're Being So Fussy
So, the deal was that there were private rooms, but Katniss and Samuel couldn't snag one just for themselves.
"Look, I don't care what went wrong with our reservation. It's your restaurant's problem. You need to fix it," Katniss said.
Samuel was eyeing this big black decorative stone at the entrance, which had all the info about Nightfall City's famous dishes.
There was also a friendly reminder that sincethe place was always packed, you had to book in advance. If they couldn't honor your reservation, they'd compensate you tenfold.
He pointed at the reminder and said, "If you can't fix it, then pay up."
Katniss followed his finger, saw the reminder, and turned to the waiter.
The waiter looked stunned for a moment, then glared at Katniss and said, "I didn't say it couldn't be fixed. Do you have a confirmation text?"
"Yep." Katniss pulled out her phone and showed the text to the waiter.
The waiter glanced at it and said, "You've been scammed. That's not our service number!"
Katniss was livid. She'd seen some shady folks before, but this was next level.
The waiter tried to head back inside, but Katniss grabbed her, eyes blazing.
She quickly dialed the number that had sent the message, and within a couple of seconds, someone picked up. "Hello, this is Rustic Eats. How can I help you?"
"Your waiter just hit me. Get your manager out here now!" Katniss said.
She hung up. The waiter struggled but couldn't break free from Katniss's grip.
Soon, a guy in a white shirt and jeans, wearing glasses, came out of the restaurant.
Seeing the tussle, he scolded, "Maeve Harrington, what are you doing?"
Maeve, her face red, looked at him and softly said, "Manager."
"Sorry, ma'am. This is our fault. What did she do to upset you?" The manager's tone was very apologetic.
Katniss let go of the waiter and said coldly, "I made a reservation and got a confirmation text, but your employee says the number is fake. So I called to check."
She smirked and added, looking at Maeve, "Are you going to say this manager is fake too?"
The sarcasm in her eyes made Maeve's face turn even redder.
The manager, realizing they were in the wrong, shot Maeve a displeased look and asked quietly, "What's going on?"
"It's not my fault. Tessa gave the spot to her relative," Maeve muttered back.
But they were standing close enough that Katniss heard everything loud and clear.
Her cold, delicate face frowned slightly as she looked at the manager, waiting for an explanation.
Knowing they were at fault, the manager said, "Isn't there still an empty private room? Let the guests in first."
"No way. That room's already reserved by a Ms. Savoy, and she paid a deposit," Maeve shot back, firm.
In front of a guest who reserved a private room, what did Katniss's table reservation count for?
That attitude made Katniss, who had seen plenty of snobbish people, even angrier.
But before she could say anything, Maeve's eyes lit up as she looked behind them and said, "Ms. Savoy is here!"
Eudora, dressed in a black jumpsuit with her curly hair down and a strong, elegant presence, clearly looked like a wealthy young lady.
Beside her, Tristan stood tall with one hand in his suit pocket, slightly leaning as he chatted with her.
Behind them were Nicholas, Saskia, and Ryan.
Saskia was the first to spot Katniss and exclaimed in surprise, "Katniss?"
Several eyes turned to look at Katniss. Tristan's deep gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before shifting to Samuel beside her.
Seeing this, Samuel walked over and greeted them in a low voice, "Mr. Forbes, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Savoy, Ms. Stuart."
"Samuel?" Eudora, who hadn't seen Samuel much, sounded both surprised and puzzled.
Samuel nodded slightly and replied, "Yes, Ms. Savoy. We met at the Astor Corporation last time."
"What are you doing here?" Eudora's gaze shifted to Katniss and back to him, "Do you know Ms. Grey?"
Samuel explained, "Yes, Katniss and I were college classmates. Katniss used to be Mr. Forbes's assistant, so we're quite familiar."
During their brief conversation, Katniss came to her senses. Although she didn't want to see them in such a place, she still walked over to greet them.
Seeing this, the manager quickly walked over and said, "You all know each other. Why not share a table then?"
"No need!" Katniss quickly refused.
The manager didn't want to compensate her or keep arguing, so he desperately tried to push them together.
"I've seen that private room. It's a ten-person table, and they won't fill it up. You're all young and know each other, so why not sit together? The more, the merrier, right?" said the manager.
"Exactly, Ms. Grey. You reserved a single table, and going to the private room is an upgrade. Ms. Savoy hasn't even said if she's willing, and you're already being difficult," Maeve mumbled softly.
Katniss turned her head and coldly questioned the manager and Maeve, "First of all, my table reservation was given to someone else at the last minute, which is your fault. And now you're saying it's my fault for not wanting to go to the private room? Secondly, you want to squeeze us into Ms. Savoy's reservation without her permission. Who do you think you are?"
Her words left the two of them speechless, especially Maeve, who hadn't expected Katniss to be so difficult to deal with.
Tristan and the others also realized what was happening, and Tristan's face instantly turned cold.
"So this is how your restaurant operates," Tristan said. His light remark immediately made the manager break out in a cold sweat.
"No, there's been a misunderstanding. We will definitely handle this properly," the manager replied.
Tristan casually rubbed the button on his sleeve and said, "Well, I'd like to see how you handle it."
The manager was at a loss for words, his mind racing. He turned to Maeve and said, "Compensate Ms. Grey ten times the cost of her reservation, and give her a small gift from our restaurant plus a 20% discount coupon. We solemnly promise that this will never happen again when Ms. Grey visits."
The oppressive aura from Tristan made it hard for Maeve to even breathe.
She didn't understand why, even though Tristan had come with Eudora, he was helping Katniss.
But she still followed the manager's instructions and went to prepare the documents and stamp.
About three minutes later, Maeve returned and handed the stamped documents to Katniss.
Katniss took them and turned to say, "Thank you, Mr. Forbes. I'll just..."
Before she could finish, Tristan had already started walking toward the restaurant. After a few steps, he noticed no one was following and turned to ask, "What are you all standing around for? Come in!"
"Alright, let's all join in the fun since we're here." Nicholas quickly echoed Tristan's words.
Katniss hesitated for a few seconds and said, "No, I don't want to disturb you all."
Her refusal made Tristan frown, his jawline tightening visibly.
Eudora timely interjected, "Ms. Grey, Samuel, if you don't have any special plans, why not join us? I also wanted to discuss Aaron's tutoring with you, Ms. Grey."
"We don't have any special plans," Samuel said, frowning slightly. "We're just worried about intruding on your gathering."
"Not at all. I just arrived in Nightfall City, and Nicholas and Tristan are hosting a welcome dinner for me. It's just a simple meal, so let's go in." Eudora walked slowly toward Tristan and whispered, "Let's go."
Tristan responded, his gaze sweeping over Katniss. Seeing her frown, his eyes grew colder.
Nicholas and the others quickly followed. Saskia wanted to say something but, seeing the crowd, just gave Katniss a look before going in.
The manager and Maeve were unhappy. Despite the tenfold compensation, Katniss was still staying for the meal.
Seeing Katniss's hesitation, Maeve couldn't help but sarcastically say, "Got the compensation and still staying for a free meal, acting all reluctant. Manager, I think we've encountered a scammer today!"
"Say less!" the manager scolded, then smiled at Katniss. "Ms. Grey, Mr. Bennett, please go in."
Katniss glanced at Maeve's name tag, memorizing her name, and then went in with Samuel.
"Sorry, this meal has been quite unpleasant," she whispered to Samuel once inside.
She had intended to treat Samuel, but now she wasn't paying, and the situation had turned into a mess.
"It's okay. I'm here for a few more days; we can reschedule," Samuel said, patting her shoulder with a smile. "Mr. Forbes really stood up for you, getting the compensation first before letting us join them. Otherwise, we might not have gotten it."
'Stood up for me?' Katniss murmured inwardly. Without thinking, she said, "Don't be ridiculous. He just can't stand such petty tricks and demanded compensation for me. But it wasn't his idea for us to join them for the meal."
Samuel just smiled and said casually, "Isn't that the same thing?"
When they reached the private room, both fell silent.
Katniss was about to sit in a corner when Nicholas pulled out a chair next to him and called Samuel, "Come, Samuel, sit here. I'll treat you like Michael today and drink with you."
"Katniss, come here!" Saskia pulled out the chair next to her and waved at Katniss.
The seating arrangement was quite strategic. Besides the empty seat between Saskia and Tristan, there was one between Eudora and Ryan.
Katniss's gaze fell on the chair next to Ryan, who quickly took off his coat and hung it up. "Since Ms. Grey isn't sitting here, I'll put my coat here."
Feigning indifference, Katniss walked over to sit next to Saskia, hanging her bag on the chair. When she turned, she met Tristan's deep gaze.
He leaned lazily against the back of his chair, one long leg propped up on the crossbar of hers, his rolled-up sleeves revealing muscular forearms.
She couldn't help but remember how those hands had often braced beside her, the veins on the back of his hands standing out.
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