New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 746 Changing Venues

"Please don't mind your attire, missus, sir. We receive guests with more money than most here, and they often are dressed in shorts and floral shirts. There isn't a dress code in place here. As long as you can afford the entrance fee, you already proved you were a serious dinner."

Alex instantly calmed down. He had indeed paid the entrance fee, which he found outrageous.

But it was a good place, if that was all it took for them to ignore their unprofessional clothing choices. Mind you, a person in joggings and a sweatshirt wasn't that common in places like these unless they were filthy rich and didn't care what others thought.

The two thousand dollar entry fee was enough to make poor clientele avoid a place like this.

Seeing he had reassured his guests, the server went about his usual spiel.

"Will you be starting with an apéritif? Or maybe some of our seasonal appetizers from our menu du jour?" he asked.

Alex wasn't much of a fancy drinker, so he doubted they had anything that suited his cheap palate here, but he wasn't against some appetizers. Dinner was right around the bend, and he was getting hungry.

Especially since they had received a waft of delectable odours as soon as they walked near the kitchen entrance.

"What would the appetizers be, if I may ask?" Kary beat him to it.

The server turned towards her, smiling.

"Today, we have three options. The first is a pineapple, ginger, and habanero salsa, served with freshly baked tortilla chips.

"The second option is for the spicy lovers; we have some jalapeno pepper poppers wrapped in crispy bacon.

"And the third option is for the sour lovers amongst our clients; we have grilled potato and Napoleon goat cheese stackers with a balsamic and basil vinaigrette."

The server paused, letting the info sink in before asking, "So, what will it be?"

Kary was already salivating at the names alone and couldn't see or smell the food. But her mind was made up the moment she heard one word.

"I'll take your second option. The pepper poppers in bacon, please."

The server grinned widely.

"I somehow knew you would take that option. You look like a lady with a palate for tasty food and not a care for calories."

Kary wasn't sure whether he was saying she looked chubby or if he genuinely meant it as a compliment, but she decided to take it as the latter.

"Who would say no to bacon?" she asked with a grin.

The server turned toward the two men, waiting for their answer.

Louis didn't want to speak before Alex, so he waited patiently.

"Let me ask you first. Do you hold beers? Or do you just have fine wines and liquors?"

The server nodded at him.

"We would hardly be a local restaurant if we didn't hold some of the best micro-brewery beers on retainer. What can I get you, a blonde, a brown, a black, or a red beer?"

Alex paused, surprised a fancy place held beer, but he wasn't about to slip past this occasion.

"I'll take a blonde, please. And I would also like an entrée of your salsa with chips, please."

The server nodded at him, turning toward the last man in the room.

"What about you, sir?"

Louis looked up, his face still stoic.

"I'll have a glass of Porto with your potato and cheese appetizer."

"Very well. Did the lady also want something to drink, or should I bring water?" the server asked, turning to Kary again.

"Water is perfect, thank you," she replied.

"Very well. I shall get the appetizers going and have your drinks ready soon. My name is Mickael. Just ask me if you need anything. I will be just outside."

He left the room, leaving the three of them alone, as he went to get the drinks ready and order the food.

Silence immediately filled the room as Kary and Alex started staring at Louis.

Knowing he was the one to reach out to them, he understood it was also his job to speak up.

"Let me start by saying I am grateful you accepted to speak to me so readily. I realize Master Damien is not the most approachable or friendly man. So accepting to talk to me speaks in length of your open-mindedness."

Taking a pause, he observed their reactions.

Kary stayed motionless, her face still serious, while Alex smirked at the friendliness comment.

From this, he deduced their overall feelings for his boss.

'So the woman doesn't care about him and sees him as just another player. But the man. He sees him as lesser. I can play on that,' he thought.

"Master Damien has asked me to relay his request to you. He knows you aren't on good terms and that nothing obliges you to accept his request, so he has given me the liberty to offer money to entertain his whims."

Alex frowned at the mention of this.

'Offering money just to say yes to his proposal? He's either confident enough or desperate…' he thought.

And Kary had the same line of thought.

"How about we start by hearing his request, and then we can discuss how much he's willing to offer for us to say yes? There is no use in going around this pot any longer," Kary said.

Louis nodded at her words.

"I agree. But how about we wait for the drinks to be here so we can speak more casually?" he asked, repositioning in his chair and loosening his bowtie.

Kary almost laughed at his sudden loosening up. She had expected the man to stay stuck up to the end.

Maybe it was just her impression of Damien that made her think he would only hire someone submissive to the point of slavery, but she hadn't expected she would talk to this man as a person, much less in a casual fashion.

"I'm okay with that," Alex said, breaking the awkwardness.

"I'm not too keen on super formality, anyway."

And so they waited.