Ryan Caldwell thought that Skyhaven was a branch opened by Vincent Moretti, and since it was directly opposite Bella Vista, it didn't matter which side he ate at—they were both Moretti's stores.
Ryan then walked in, satisfied.
"Hello sir, are you here to reserve a room?"
A waitress approached and asked.
Ryan glanced at the waitress and found her quite good-looking and polite, making the other guests feel very comfortable.
Unbeknownst to him, these waitstaff had all been borrowed from a top agency in New York by Butler Vance overnight, and their quality and demeanor were far superior to those in Riverforge.
Ryan nodded: "I've never been here before, so I'd like to take a look around."
The waitress quickly introduced, "Sir, please follow me. Let me show you around. The first floor mainly has some individual tables, and these are all valuable items that our boss just sent from various places. Please follow me to the second floor."
"The second to fifth floors are private rooms, both large and small. How many of you are there, sir?"
Ryan held up two fingers.
The waitress said, "Then you can choose a small private room."
Ryan scoffed, "A private room? Heh, little girl, I'm going to book the whole floor! Besides, I've already paid your boss a deposit!"
"Huh?" The waitress was taken aback. "I've never heard the boss mention it."
The restaurant was still accepting reservations. If it was booked out, the owner must have given the order.
Ryan looked down at her and said, "You can call your boss to confirm. My name is Ryan Caldwell."
"OK."
The waitress immediately dialed Jeff's number: "Boss, a Mr. Ryan Caldwell said he has booked an entire floor of our restaurant and has paid you a deposit. Is that true?"
"That's not true. Tell him to get lost."
Upon hearing Ryan Caldwell's name, Jeff immediately became annoyed.
The waitress hung up the phone, still smiling at Ryan, and said, "Sir, you may have made a mistake. Our boss did not receive your deposit. Please leave."
Jeff told Ryan to get lost; as a waitress, she dared not speak to Ryan like that.
"What? That bastard Vincent Moretti isn't trying to renege on his debt, is he?" Ryan's face turned ugly.
The waitress said, "Our boss's name isn't Vincent Moretti."
Ryan then realized that Skyhaven was not a branch opened by Vincent Moretti at all!
Just then, Vincent Moretti called: "Mr. Caldwell, I'm sorry, I was busy with something. What's up? Don't worry, I've arranged everything for the proposal. Are you coming at noon or in the evening?"
Ryan stammered, "Well... Mr. Moretti, I'm afraid I can't make it. I'm so sorry, my girlfriend suddenly has to go somewhere else."
Vincent Moretti said with slight disappointment, "Alright then, I'll refund your deposit right away."
After hanging up the phone, Ryan looked around the place with a smile. He noticed a lake in the middle of the second floor with beautiful artificial lotus leaves in it, and a private room above the lake.
This small private room could have its roof opened to become open-air, or it could be completely hidden away.
Ryan walked over and said, "This spot is good, I'll take it!"
The waitress said, "I'm sorry, sir, this seat has already been reserved by a customer for one hundred thousand dollars. The singer will be performing here tonight, so the price is very high."
Paying one hundred thousand dollars just for a table at a meal was indeed a bit pricey, but was one hundred thousand dollars a large sum for Ryan?
Ryan took out a platinum credit card from his wallet, handed it to the waitress, and said, "Give me that customer's phone number."
...
At 7 p.m., Ryan drove his BMW 7 Series to the parking lot that Jeff had just purchased, and then took Emily inside.
At this time, Skyhaven, from the first floor to the fifth floor, was already packed with people.
In contrast, the Bella Vista restaurant across the street was practically deserted; all its customers had been snatched away.
It has to be said that a singer's influence is quite strong.
Ryan and Emily went up to the second floor, pointed to a special spot in the middle of the lake, and said:
"Emily, I spent six hundred thousand dollars to buy this best seat! The singer will be performing here later. If this were a concert, this would be a VVIP seat!"
Emily said, "It's just a meal—spending six hundred thousand dollars, isn't that too extravagant?"
Emily doesn't eat much for dinner anyway; girls will get fat if they eat too much.
Ryan laughed and said, "Six hundred thousand is just like six hundred to the Caldwell family, haha, no need to worry about it."
Hearing Ryan flaunt his wealth, Emily smiled and said, "Even if you have money, you can't just spend it recklessly."
Ryan said, "Yes, yes, after we get married, I'll give you all my assets worth billions, and you can manage them, okay?"
Hearing the numbers "billions," Emily couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.
Just then, Jeff, Victoria Lang, and Rachel Brooks also arrived on this floor.
"Oh, Jeff, Ms. Lang, Secretary Brooks, what a coincidence."
Ryan greeted the three of them with a smile.
Jeff and Emily exchanged a glance, somewhat embarrassed, and did not greet each other.
Ryan asked, "Ms. Lang, which room are you in?"
Victoria Lang said, "307."
Ryan frowned: "The third floor? The view from there isn't very good. I spent six hundred thousand dollars to book a seat in the middle of the lake. How about Ms. Lang comes up here to watch the show later?"
Victoria Lang sneered: "No need. Jeff and I originally planned to eat there, but I don't really like this song and find it too noisy, so we went upstairs."
The right to choose any of the restaurant's private rooms naturally rested with the owner, Jeff.
The location that Ryan painstakingly bought was actually a place that Jeff didn't want.
Not only did Victoria Lang dislike it, but Jeff was also not particularly fond of the song.
But this song was currently the most popular, and it also best suited the tastes of the customers who came here to eat, so they requested him.
If it were an upscale Western steakhouse or fine-dining spot, that kind of pop-heavy playlist wouldn't fit the vibe; they'd need singers doing classic American standards, jazz standards, or current top-40 hits instead.
And this was already part of Jeff's plan.
From casual diners and fast-casual chains popular with everyday people, to high-end steakhouses and fusion spots, all the way to trendy sushi and ramen concepts—Jeff aimed to build a complete monopoly across Riverforge's entire dining scene!
At this moment, Emily remembered that Jeff had helped her last time, and assuming that he still loved her deeply, she said to Jeff:
"Jeff, you can come and watch our performance later."
Ryan hadn't expected Emily to invite her ex-husband. Of course, he didn't want Jeff to join in the fun, but he still acted very magnanimously.
"Yeah, Jeff, you've probably never seen a live show this close in your entire life. I'll let you have a turn. After the singer finishes performing, I'll get him to take a picture with you. That'll be enough for you to brag about on your social media, haha."
Ryan was such an ignorant fool; he didn't even know that the singer was invited by Jeff.
Jeff ignored Ryan and said to Emily, "No need, you can enjoy it at your leisure."
After saying that, he went upstairs.