Chapter 17: Take Me Home

Jasper’s Point of View

“You can’t make her apologize without any valid reason.” I reached them, and the blond girl took a step back with a shocked expression on her face when she recognized me, and I returned the gesture with a smile. “We meet again.”

“And who the hell are you?” The manager asked, so I just pointed towards my seat, where Morgana sat alone now, her eyes hard and filled with so much anger.

Yep, I’m dead, but we can discuss that later.

“A customer,” I answered promptly.

“This doesn’t concern you.” Miss Blond snapped, her blue eyes glaring daggers at me; I’m certain that if looks can kill, I would be dead by now.

“Do you have any proof that the waitress in question attacked you?” I inquired, and she stiffened.

“Please, Jasper.” Dawn neared me. “Just go back to your table, I have everything under control.”

“I have eye witnesses.” Miss Blond pointed to the group of people standing close to the stairwell, all holding phones in their hands—probably recording.

I recognized two of the girls from earlier today, but the guys were people I had never seen before.

“Witnesses? Or your friends who are just going to agree with everything you claim?” I challenged, and she leered at me. “And you? Are you her fucking boyfriend or what?”

Ignoring the question, my gaze shifted back to the manager.

“I believe that you have a CCTV camera in that section. We can just have a replay of what truly happened, and then we will know the truth.” I suggested. “Should we go check to confirm this statement of yours?”

Her chest heaved, and she blinked. I could tell that she was about to swear at me because by mentioning the CCTV, I just cut her bluff; besides, I know that bullying doesn’t usually end in school.

They are probably here intentionally; they knew where Dawn worked, and since they were not able to bully her in school due to my intervention, they decided to bring it to her workplace.

Which, in my opinion, was playing very dirty and very disrespectful. The poor girl was only trying to earn an honest living, and they wanted to get her fired.

“What are you trying to insinuate? That I was lying.”

“I will apologize and take responsibility if you’re not.” I pledged with a smirk before turning back to the manager. “Is there a way to access the CCTV footage?”

“Actually, the CCTV in the section is not functioning; it’s undergoing maintenance.” The manager started by clearing his throat, and my eyes narrowed almost immediately. “So, we don't really actively have a way to prove that either of them is lying, but according to the principles of this establishment, customers are always right.”

“What?” I was flabbergasted. “The CCTV cameras are not aesthetic; they are necessary for the protection of individuals' rights. Don’t you think it is rather unprofessional that you don’t have CCTV cameras in such a big establishment?”

“The customer has no reason to lie; there is nothing to gain from throwing away their own food.” He diverted my initial question.

“But you think the waitress has any reason to throw the food away, knowing fully well that this could cost her job?” I drawled.

“It could be an accident,”

“But she said it wasn't,” I interrupted him sharply. “Do you think the waitress has any reason to lie about it?”

“To keep her job?”

“And has this happened before?” I asked, and Dawn grabbed my arms, trying to stop me, but I ignored her advances.

“Please stop arguing with him; he is going to fire me.” She begged.

“She is poor and cannot even afford a plate of that food.” The manager's voice turned mocking, and something in my chest snapped. “She is going to lie to save herself from the accumulated debt, but nothing is going to save you—I promise you, Dawn. I’m going to squeeze out every single dime you owe.”

“What kind of services do you run in your establishment?” I asked curiously. “It doesn't matter where your employees come from, their background, race, or gender. You have no right to ridicule them, all because you pay them some change—it reflects very poorly on the standards of this establishment.”

The rest of the words were caught in the throat of the manager. I turned around, glancing at everyone else.

“You treat your employees like garbage, and you expect me to sit here and eat? Or you expect conceited customers like Miss Blonde here to respect them.” I spat.

“Excuse me.” She screeched.

“Add the cost of the wasted food, and every other charge that you’re penalizing her for, to my bill. I’m glad I haven’t even made my order yet; you just lost a customer.”

“Jasper!” Dawn ran towards me, but I ignored her, storming back to my table to get my girlfriend.

“Grab your purse, we are leaving,” I ordered firmly, and luckily, this wasn’t one of those days that Morgana argued with me; she pushed the chair backward and grabbed her purse.

“I’m sorry that you lost your job because of me.” I apologized to Dawn just outside the restaurant, just like I promised, I paid everything the manager says she owes.

“I should thank you instead, for standing up for me, and for paying.” She kneaded her hands, her eyes glued to the ground. “I guess I owe you then.”

“Yup.” I grinned. “And you can pay me back if you rethink letting the Bears face the Wolves.”

I didn’t intend to blackmail her, but at the same time, it would be nice if she just let us have a game to test the ability of our opponents. She wasn’t resisting; she just nodded her head.

“I will try to pitch this to the rest of the board members.” She offered, and I grinned. “It’s not a promise, but I will let you know the outcome.”

I nodded, then her eyes flickered to Morgana, who was standing only a few feet away from us.

“I’m truly sorry for ruining your date.”

Morgana rolled her eyes and hissed before walking off. Dawn sucked in her lips, and then her innocent green eyes flickered towards me.

“I’m sorry.

“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I’ll handle her. I could drop you off if you want.”

I pointed towards my car, and Dawn shook her head immediately.

“You have helped me enough today, thank you.” She turned on her heels almost immediately and walked off.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.” Morgana slammed the door as soon as I got into the car, tears welled in her eyes. “You knew just how much I was looking forward to this date, but you ruined it because of that bitch.”

I knew she was angry, and I knew to expect this, so I didn’t even try to defend myself.

“I’m sorry,” I pleaded. “She was in trouble, and I needed to do something.”

“And why?” She wiped the tears away from her cheeks. “You’re Superman, who somehow notices the distress of other people but can’t see the girlfriend that is in front of you?”

“I can take you to another date.” I offered. “We can go to another restaurant, a fancier one, you can pick whichever one you want.”

“And then what? When you see another damsel in distress, you rush in to rescue them.” She turned her head towards the outside of the car, her fingers dabbing on the tears that lingered on her cheeks. “Just take me home. I can’t stand the sight of you. I’m done.”

“You can’t be serious.” I paused for a while, waiting for her to take back her statement, but she didn’t.

“I’m fucking serious, Jasper.” She snarled. “Take me home, or I will go find a taxi.”

I grabbed her arms before she could get out of the car.

“I’m sorry—fine, I’ll take you home,” I begged my other hand, igniting the engine. “Just please sit down.”