Chapter 377: I’m With Todd. Are You Happy Now?
Looking at them from the back, it appeared to be an intimate gesture to Michael.
Slowly, his hands clenched into tight fists, hanging by his sides.
"Hi Sir, do you have a reservation?" a staff member walked over to him with a smile.
"No, I don’t ...," Michael replied. He had followed Todd to this place so, naturally, had no reservation.
"My apologies, Sir. We only cater to customers who have reservations," the staff member replied.
"Can I make a reservation now then?" Michael asked.
"We have a policy of an advance booking of at least one hour. So sorry."
Noting that Todd and Wendy had walked some distance away already, Michael got a tad irritated when he heard what the staff member had just told him.
Todd and Wendy might be done with their dinner in one hour.
Taking out his black card, Michael said curtly, "This is a black card with a limited quantity worldwide. I need to get in there now. You can charge whatever fee you wish onto this card. Will that do?"
Since this was not Lake City, Michael could not instruct Mr. York to take care of this little hiccup for him.
"Well...," the staff member looked like she was caught in a dilemma.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in his forties came over and said to the staff member, "You cover the other duties. Let me handle this."
The staff member nodded and left them.
"Hello, Sir. May I see your black card please?" The man was the restaurant manager and obviously experienced with such situations.
He was keenly aware that there were some people that, wherever possible, one should not cross swords with.
Michael handed over his black card.
The manager inspected the card and concluded that it was not a fake card. Smiling, he gave a little bow and asked, "If I may ask, what is your name please?"
There were some people who would take offence when asked for their name and that was why the manage hastily added, "It’s perfectly OK if it’s not convenient for you to tell us."
By then, the manager had already gestured for Michael to enter.
Michael’s black card was only one of ten issued worldwide.
Anyone who possessed a card like that would surely be no minion.
There was really no need to make an enemy of an influential bigwig over a small matter like a reservation policy.
"Michael Lucas of the MC Group...," Michael dropped those words and strode immediately into the restaurant.
Although he had not met Michael, the manager had definitely heard of the MC Group.
At that moment, Todd and Wendy were being shown to their private dining room by a wait staff.
Turning around for a look, Todd saw no sign of Michael. However, he suddenly had a brainwave.
Pointing to a table by the window, he said to Wendy, "That looks like a nice table with a great view. Why don’t we sit there and not in the private dining room?"
Relieved that Todd had voluntarily decided not to use the private dining room, Wendy of course nodded in agreement.
She had no desire to eat alone with Todd in the private dining room .
Because that would make her more uncomfortable.
However, because she was aware of this restaurant’s rule about reservations and the cancellation or amendment of private rooms, she had decided not make a fuss.
So naturally, she was glad that Todd himself had decided to not use the private room.
"Waiter, has that table been reserved?" Todd asked.
"Please hold on, I will check with the reservations desk." In quick time, the waiter had spoken quietly into the Bluetooth earpiece, asking, "Has table 010 by the window been reserved by anyone?"
Very quickly, the waiter looked apologetically at them and said, "So sorry. That table has been reserved."
"Let’s do this then. When the customers of that table arrive, just inform them that they were welcome to use the private dining room that we had reserved," Todd suggested.
Continuing, he said, "If they are not willing to do so, we could compensate them with cash. Of course, if they’re adamant about sticking to their original reserved table, then we will swap back to the room. How about that?"
"Are you sure about this, Sir?" the waiter asked, looking surprised.
A private dining room costs a lot more than the general dining area.
It was rare to see a customer swapping out a private room for the general dining area.
Todd nodded, "Yes, I’m sure."
"Ok. Please come this way...," the waiter gestured for them to follow him.
Very quickly, Todd and Wendy were settled into their seats at the table by the window.
Upon entering the restaurant, Michael had originally seen them walking towards a private room. However, for some reason, they retraced their steps and walked into the general dining area instead, to a table by the window.
That, from his perspective, was a good thing.
After all, if they were in a private dining room, he would be locked out.
Barging in there to eat with them would be most inappropriate.
However, being in the general dining area was different. He could be able to monitor their behavior.
Truth be told, Michael did not really want to tail them like this, making him feel like a stalker.
But he was really at his wits’ end as to what he should do in order not to upset Wendy. He had no clue as to where she and Todd were in regards to their relationship.
He feared that she might get very upset with him if he charged forward and appeared before her now.
He found a table and sat down. He was two tables away from where Wendy was seated.
Oblivious to the fact that Michael was in Rheinsville city , much less following them, Wendy never noticed him.
But Todd had seen him.
In fact, he had noticed Michael the moment he entered the restaurant.
And that was why he had suggested switching to a table in the general dining area.
Smiling, he stood up from his seat and walked over to Wendy’s side with the menu in his hand.
Bending down, he leaned into her and asked softly, "Take a look. What do you fancy eating?"
"Erm...," Wendy was taken aback by his action. She looked up at him and said a little awkwardly, "I’ve got this. Why don’t you go back to your seat?"
Wendy was feeling decidedly uncomfortable with Todd’s behavior.
He had never been like this in the past.
From where Michael was seated, it appeared that Todd was actually hugging Wendy.
Instinctively, he wanted to get up and drag Todd off her.
Unfortunately, common sense told him to control his emotions.
Since Wendy had requested that he went back to his seat, Todd had no other option but to do as she asked.
Returning to his seat, he uttered, "Sorry."
"It’s OK," Wendy replied. Since it was not a big deal, she did not take it to heart.
Looking at the menu, Wendy selected a couple of dishes that she loved.
At that moment, Todd took the water jug from the waiter and poured Wendy a glass of water before placing it in front of her.
Having made her selection, Wendy passed the menu to Todd, "Pick what you want."
Taking over the menu from her, Todd selected a few more dishes, all of which were to Wendy’s taste.
"Excuse me, can you serve the food quickly please? Thank you," Todd requested politely as he handed the menu back to the waiter.
After that, Todd once again took over the waiter’s duties and set the cutlery for Wendy.
On his part, Michael had seen everything that Todd was doing and it hurt, very badly.
They seemed to be getting along very well, so natural and yet intimate.
Recalling, Michael could not remember any time during their years of marriage when they had been so natural together.
He had rarely taken Wendy out to dinner.
In fact, most of the time, it was Wendy who had cooked their meals, waiting for him to come home to eat.
But he had never wanted to go home Of course, all this was happening because of him.
He was the one who had pushed Wendy away, right from the very beginning.
Although he did not blame Wendy for any of this, he could not be indifferent to it all either.
Unable to look away, Michael kept his eyes trained on Wendy.
Slowly, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a long period of hesitation, he called her.
He did not know if Wendy would take his call.
In fact, he was going through a turbulence of emotions.
Holding his breath, he waited with anticipation and fear, watching to see if she would accept his call, or perhaps ... decline it.
The food had just arrived when Wendy’s cellphone on the table started ringing.
She took a glance at the screen and knew it was Michael calling. Wendy neither answered nor rejected the call. She let her cellphone continue ringing. She now had mixed feelings toward Michael.
She couldn’t say she hated him. He might have treated her badly, but to her, that was ancient history. Besides, since her return, he had been good to her. The last time he lied to her was because he was concerned about her and the children’s safety. His intentions were good, though things didn’t turn out as well as she had hoped for.
However, she couldn’t say she did not hate him either. He had indeed hurt her deeply all those years ago. His recent deception was also an undeniable fact.
What she minded the most, however, was his lack of trust in her even though they had been married for so many years and had gone through so much together.
Other than the matter of him deceiving her, there was also that surveillance video.
Michael had questioned her the moment he saw it. Was she that untrustworthy in his eyes? The amount of trust he had in her was disappointingly little.
Todd heard Wendy’s cellphone ringing and glanced at the screen. He could guess who the caller was even without looking at it.
Probing tentatively, Todd asked, "Why aren’t you answering the call?"
At Todd’s question, Wendy picked up her cellphone and silenced it, then put it facedown on the table.
The ringing sound had stopped, but the cellphone was still vibrating.
"There isn’t a need to answer it," Wendy sighed softly.
She actually didn’t answer the call because she didn’t know what to say to Michael.
He was probably calling to ask her how she was getting along with Todd. She didn’t feel like discussing that matter with Michael right now.
"In that case, ignore it," said Todd.
Michael agonized over the fact that Wendy neither answered his call nor rejected it.
What did she mean by that?
After thinking about it for a while, he composed a message and sent it.
Wendy heard the cellphone vibrate again after it stopped ringing and guessed that a message had come in from Michael. She did not want to look at it, but eventually reached out and picked up her cellphone.
After unlocking the screen, she saw that it was indeed a message from Michael. It contained just one line of text: Answer the call.
She had no intention of replying to his message. Just as she was about to return the cellphone to the table, it vibrated and an incoming call notification flashed on the screen. She answered the call.
Michael was the one who had called her. However, when Wendy finally answered the call, he didn’t know what to say to her.
Should he say "Hello"? That seemed a little awkward. How about "Hi"? That’s even worse!
The silence at the other end elicited a frown from Wendy’s sculpted brows. "What do you want? If there’s something you want to say, say it quickly. Don’t call me for nothing!"
"There’s something..." Michael was afraid that Wendy would hang up. He glanced in her direction and took a deep breath. "What are you doing?" he finally asked.
Immediately, he regretted it. What kind of a question was that? It wouldn’t be strange if Wendy hung up on him immediately.
Luckily, Wendy checked her temper and merely answered curtly, "Eating."
"With who?" This time, Michael regretted his question even before he finished enunciating the words. Lowering his head, he gave himself a silent slap on his mouth.
"I’m with Todd!" Michael’s question made Wendy inexplicably angry. "Are you happy now?"
