Chapter 65
“There is an empty VIP room. If you don't mind, please wait a few minutes while we clean it up...” The waiter explained.
“Yes, I'll wait. Thank you...” Lilian smiled at him.
“Ma'am, you can wait in the waiting room.” He led them to the waiting room before leaving to tell his colleagues to clean the VIP room.
Just before Lilian and Matthew sat down, a middle-aged woman with short gray hair, glamorous with heavy makeup and bold red lipstick, entered the restaurant, and beside her, a tall, slender woman wearing an elegant long gray coat from a famous brand and large sunglasses that almost covered part of her face, looking like mother and daughter walking hand in hand.
The waiter who had greeted Lilian earlier rushed to the entrance and greeted them.
At first, Lilian didn't pay much attention to the two beautiful women, continuing to talk to Mattew, however, when the older woman spoke, she felt a chill as she recognized her voice.
Lilian looked at them, taking a few seconds to recognize the woman, and no words came out of her mouth. She was shocked and speechless, staring at the older woman.
Lilian choked, recognizing Suelen Legrand, her ex-mother-in-law, and looked away, trying to hide her face, not wanting Suelen to recognize her.
She avoided her not because she was afraid of her, but because she wasn't in the mood for drama with her, and noticing the tension in Lilian's expression, Matthew approached her.
“Why do you look tense? Did you recognize them?” he asked, looking at the two women standing not far from them.
Lilian shook her head, picking up her cell phone to distract herself, not wanting to pay attention to Suelen Legrand.
“I'm sorry, ma'am. Our VIP room is full, and we only have two tables in the dining room!” the waiter replied politely to Suelen Legrand.
“Do you know who I am? We can't eat in the hallway. Please check your VIP room. Or ask your manager to come here and talk to me!” insisted Suelen, and the waiter was a little surprised to hear this.
He looked at the tall, slender woman with huge sunglasses that almost covered her face. He didn't recognize her. Was she a public figure?
“Who?” asked the waiter, and the tall, slender woman smiled as she took off her sunglasses and put them back on.
The waiter was speechless when he recognized her.
“Joana Mercandante...” His voice trailed off when he saw Joana put her index finger to her lips, gesturing for him not to reveal her presence there.
“Now you recognize her, right?” Suelen smiled at the waiter. “All right, go and call your manager or check for an empty VIP room. I believe you still have an empty VIP room...” She said kindly, but her gaze was commanding.
The waiter was confused because there was no empty VIP room. In fact, there was one available, but it was already occupied, and the customer was waiting for it to be cleaned.
He looked at Lilian and Matthew with concern.
Would they give up the VIP room if they knew that Joana Mercandante wanted to use it?
The waiter couldn't help but wonder.
Worried that he might have made a mistake, the waiter explained the situation to Suelen, but she continued to insist.
"Could you please approach that customer? You can offer him a complimentary lunch. I'll pay the bill. Tell him he can eat as much as he wants." Suelen smiled kindly at the waiter before asking politely, but even so, her tone sounded like an unrefusable request.
The waiter is afraid of offending a public figure, and this older woman, with an aura of wealthy origins, decides to help them talk to the previous customer.
“Ma'am, I'll talk to them first before making a decision. However, I'm not sure if they'll accept your generous offer!” said the waiter.
“Yes, please try... If they refuse, let me take care of it!” replied Suelen with her characteristic gentle smile, her face still maintaining its elegance, although her eyes were beginning to look unhappy.
After the waiter left, Joana Mercandante leaned her head close to Suelen with a worried gesture.
“Miss Legrand, we can have lunch in the main hall, I don't mind,” she said, but deep down, she couldn't accept the idea of dining in the hall.
Joana was just trying to make a good impression on Ethan's mother, and even if her son didn't like her very much, the important thing was that Suelen Legrand loved her and always supported her.
“Ah, my dear Joana, you are an angel. You have a kind heart and your feet are firmly on the ground.”
Lilian almost spat blood when she heard those words.
“Don't worry, my dear Joana, we need to secure a VIP room for us. After all, you are the biggest celebrity in this country, and it's inappropriate for you to eat in public, right?” Suelen declared, patting Joana's hand affectionately.
“Thank you, Mrs. Suelen, I'm so grateful to know you!” Joana smiled sweetly. She looked at the waiter approaching the customer. “I hope Ethan can have lunch with us!” She said calmly, turning her gaze back to Suelen.
Suelen's calm expression suddenly hardened, because since she had returned from vacation a few days ago, her son had not visited them, and Ethan never answered when she called, and his assistant always said he was busy.
“Ethan has been busy lately, so we shouldn't bother him.” She sighed quietly before saying, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
Unbeknownst to them, Lilian and Matthew overheard the conversation, and Lilian, in particular, was speechless.
Previously, Lilian had no intention of causing a scene in that place, however, hearing Suelen's arrogance made Lilian want to teach her a lesson.
“Ma'am, sir...” The waiter stopped in front of Lilian and Mattew, his concern clearly noticeable in his nervous voice. “I'm sorry, the two ladies over there want to offer you something!”
“ he said, pausing to wait for their reaction.
”What are you trying to say? Is our room ready?" Before Lilian could respond, Matthew interrupted, pretending not to know what had happened.
Matthew was aware of what was going on, and he had overheard the conversation between the waiter and a woman.
He was surprised to witness such audacity. How could that woman have the nerve to bribe them by offering a free lunch just to get their VIP room? They didn't need her money to pay for lunch. If they wanted to, they could even buy this restaurant.
“No, sir!” stammered the waiter, becoming even more frightened as he observed the cold expression on the man's face. “I wanted to inform you that the lady is offering you a free lunch if you are willing to give up your VIP room.”
“Really? She said that?” Matthew replied with feigned excitement.
“Yes, sir!” replied the waiter hastily, relieved that the man seemed to be considering the offer. “The lady mentioned that you can enjoy as much as you like, and she'll pay the bill!”
“What a generous woman!” Matthew smiled and looked at Suelen.