Chapter 26 Adeline Found Out Mr. Riley Is Narrow-minded
Chapter 26 Adeline Found Out Mr. Riley Is Narrow-minded
Chapter 26 Adeline Found Out Mr. Riley Is Narrow-minded
Ella rolled her eyes in disgust after seeing Victoria's reaction. You want her to fall for your tricks, but you don't want her to have a happy life. You are a truly evil person, Victoria. If Curtis the Cripple were evil, you'd be worse."
Ella asked Curtis, "Am I right?" after she said that.
Instead of answering her question, Curtis showed a glum expression.
Ella grunted softly as she stared at him and said, "I'm trying to help you."
Melissa thought to herself, "Mrs. Hodges, why do I get the impression that you're putting him down? And you're insulting both Victoria and Curtis at the same time!"
Victoria's face betrayed her rage, and those women who accompanied her couldn't help but laugh behind her back.
The boss of Le Charme, a man in his early fifties, walked up to them at that very moment. He was wearing a vintage-style suit and a pocket watch made of shiny gold. He said slowly to the group of people, "I can only accommodate one more table today. Would you like to have dinner together?"
Victoria's expression changed dramatically. She had heard that the restaurant's owner, Ben Kelly, was a snob who catered exclusively to the wealthy and powerful.
Being a snob was not a bad thing in Ben's eyes. In fact, he was a little smug about it, as evidenced by the gold pocket watch he always wore around his neck.
"No, we're not dining together," Victoria replied, her eyes twinkling. She appeared to be confident that she would be the winner.
Ben made an "oh" sound and gave a teasing expression. "I'm sorry, but I can only accommodate one more room of guests before calling it a day. Why don't you discuss who gets to come in?" he said.
"That won't be necessary! We're going in!"
"That won't be necessary! We're going in!"
Curtis and Victoria said in unison, which was unusual for the two of them.
"Curtis, are you serious? Are you serious about competing with me?" Victoria asked, laughing contemptuously
"I don't mean to compete with you," Curtis said, straightening his gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He rubbed one of Adeline's hands and said to Victoria with a smile, "But I promised my wife once that I wouldn't let her lose as long as she was married to me!"
"You're nothing but a cripple, Curtis! Do you have anything that will help you win? Don't forget that my husband now leads the Riley Group!" Victoria said as she gave Ben a meaningful wink.
Ben, being the astute businessman he was, smiled and nodded to show he understood her meaning.
"But I'd like to point out that "acting chairman" and "real chairman" are two different words for two different positions."
Victoria said while giving Curtis a vicious glare, "Why are you so mean to me? We're family, aren't we?"
Curtis's eyes behind his glasses turned grim. He asked, "So what? Do you consider me a member of your family? Did it ever occur to you that we were a family when you hired online trolls to spread
rumors about Adeline on the Internet today?"
Adeline, Melissa, Ella, and those wealthy women were all shocked when they heard his words.
Victoria was embarrassed after being caught red-handed, but she defended herself by saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about! You made stuff up because you just wanted to pin the blame on me!"
Despite her protests, it was evident to everyone that she was embarrassed.
"Hey, Victoria, you're the one who brought us here for dinner! You promised that if we mentioned your husband's name, we would dine at Le Charme without hitching. Honestly, can we have dinner here tonight or not?" A woman asked.
"We can! I will most certainly bring you guys in!" Victoria replied. She turned to Ben and said, "You can make the call since you're the boss. Who would you like to invite over for dinner? People all over town know you have high standards for your guests, so we'll show everyone who can meet those standards today."
"Well. I'd like to invite Mr. Riley to dinner at Le Charme." Ben said this while rubbing his gold pocket watch.
Victoria was so shocked that she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. "What did you say?" she asked, surprised, in a high-pitched voice.
"You're the one who told me I get to make the call because I'm the boss. Plus, you're the one who told me to pick my guests based on my criteria. So, I said I would like Mr. Riley to come into my diner. Is there a problem?"
Ben looked at Victoria sincerely as she was fuming. He showed no sign of nervousness or concern that she might ask him probing questions.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Victoria was stunned by what she had just heard. "You chose him?" she asked, pointing to Curtis. "He has lost both his money and power. My husband is the one who manages the Riley Group and all of the docks that my family owns now. Are you out of your mind, Ben Kelly? The whole town knows that you're a snob! Why did you choose him when you've always dealt exclusively with the wealthiest guests?"
Ben said with a smile, "Yes, everyone in town is right about me. We, Le Charme, only cater to the wealthy, and we judge our guests based on their wealth. What most people don't realize is that the "money" we talk about refers to the amount of money they spend here. Mr. Riley used to spend a lot of money here and was always on the list of our top spenders, but you spent nothing. Mr. Riley is, of course, my first choice."
"What?" Victoria was so furious that she couldn't breathe.
Ben bowed politely and said meaningfully, "I'll show you your husband's spending records here if you want to see them. Mr. Riley is consistently ranked first among the highest spenders and spent significantly more than the second-place guest."
Ben's words shocked Victoria so much that she nearly passed out from rage.
"Let's go inside," Curtis said as he raised his hand.
Adeline pushed him in his wheelchair toward Le Charme.
Curtis abruptly pressed the wheels, turned to Ella, and asked, "Mrs. Hodges, do you need me, the cripple, to bring you in for dinner?"
Adeline was at a loss for words as she became aware that her husband appeared to be very narrow-minded.
"Adeline, you see, that's exactly what he is!" Ella exclaimed, realizing her words had been confirmed. "He lives for the chance to retaliate against others!"
Curtis squinted his eyes and clenched the wheelchair's armrest tightly.
Adeline pushed Curtis inside the yard with a smile and no further commentary, where Melissa and Steffen soon joined them.
Melissa's eyes widened in surprise as she walked into the yard.
Every detail of Le Charme's vintage-style French courtyard was exquisitely designed.
Melissa and Adeline then started to take photographs all around the courtyard.
Curtis couldn't pretend to be calm after Adeline left. He called Mr. Hodges and complained bluntly, "Your wife called me a cripple."
Mr. Hodges froze, pretended to be enraged, and exclaimed, "How could she do that? I'll talk to her when she gets home! How can she nickname you after your flaws?"
"But, Curtis, I can't sleep in my bedroom at night these days," Mr. Hodges lamented. "Every night, I could only sleep on the floor of my study! It isn't easy to get along with women. Well, you'll realize this after you get married. "
"I'm fully aware of this."
"You know about that? How is this possible?" Mr. Hodges asked in surprise.
"I just got married." Curtis couldn't help but smile and showed a smug face.
"Well, I believe you'll understand me better! Let me tell you, you'd better not point out your wife's mistakes. Otherwise, you'll be the one who has to beg her to forgive you. True story."
"Exactly!" Curtis said as he was too aware of this. His eyes were almost filled with tears before he could say anything more.
Curtis soon found himself fully engaged in the lessons Mr. Hodges had taught him.
And right then, Victoria was having a hard time as she stood in front of the door of Le Charme.