Luella stared at Oliver with narrowed eyelids as if staring at a pile of trash in her yard. Just like Hugo, Luella also knew that Oliver was the Harvey family's trashy son-in-law.
Oliver's presence there seemed like a speck that tarnished the aesthetics of her workspace.
She was surprised and couldn't understand her sister. How could someone as educated and of high social status as Lydia let someone like Oliver give shear from this family café?
Even more upsetting was the agreement made by Lydia, which stated that Oliver was entitled to a one-third share of the café's net profits.
"Hffttt ...." Luella let out an exasperated breath. She reached for the bottle on the table and gulped down the contents.
Not knowing what to do, Oliver did the same. He gulped down the drink in the bottle. Just so he could do something.
Oliver felt like he was being scanned. But it's not Oliver if he's afraid to face Luella's intimidating eyes.
Realizing that he was being judged like an animal at an auction, Oliver put on an innocent and modest face. He made his face as calm and clear as possible.
"Was it hard to find this address, sir?" Luella started the conversation.
"No," Oliver replied shortly.
"Okay, before Mr. Oliver starts joining us. It would be good if I told you a little about the Luella Cafe. Mr. Oliver is not in a hurry, right?"
"No, ma'am. Go ahead and tell me. I'm ready to listen."
Luella began to tell him about the history and current state of the cafe. Luella Cafe is a company that has been run by Luella's family for generations.
However, Luella felt a little confused about the cafe's bookkeeping, which often did not match the income and expenses.
Then Luella added that apart from being responsible for the cafe's security, one of Oliver's duties was to help Luella solve the mystery.
"Excuse me, Ms. Luella, before that, can I see the cafe's financial data?" Oliver interrupted Luella's seemingly endless story.
"You may. Of course, you may." Luella bent down to retrieve a ledger from the drawer and held it out to Oliver.
Oliver accepted the ledger and immediately checked the contents.
Luella glanced at Oliver with a satisfied smile. She had deliberately asked Oliver to take care of this almost impossible job. Because Luella had serious doubts about Oliver's ability and was sure that Oliver would fail.
After finishing her story, Luella got up and asked Oliver to be introduced to James, the café manager. James occupied a room of his own, though not as large as Luella's.
"Hello, Mr. James. This is our new head of security." Luella introduced Oliver to James.
Oliver and James nodded to each other and exchanged brief greetings.
'Oh this is what it looks like at Luella Cafe,' Oliver whispered to himself without taking his eyes off James's face, who seemed to be unhappy with his presence.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Luella left the two of them.
Oliver knew that James looked down on him, and he kept stealing glances at him with a dismissive and contemptuous look.
"Welcome to the Café Lodge." James rose from his chair and reached out to shake Oliver's hand.
And to Oliver's surprise, as they shook hands, James suddenly grasped his hand very firmly as if he wanted to crush Oliver's fingers.
Oliver was quick to respond. It looked like James wanted to show off the strength of his fingers.
'You don't know who I am yet, do you,' Oliver whispered to himself.
Although Oliver initially defended himself and didn't counterattack, James became more and more aggressive.
What could be done, Oliver began to tighten his grip on James's hand. He increased his strength more and more until finally James roared in pain.
"Awwwhhh... let go of my hand!"
James tried to pull his hand out of Oliver's grip, but Oliver's strong grip made James's wrist twist.
"Sorry. I let go." Oliver released his grip while smiling warningly.
James wagged his reddish-colored hand.
"Mr. James, take it easy. Although I've been given the responsibility of being the head of security here, I won't be coming every day to patrol or anything like that. So, Mr. James doesn't have to worry about your position being threatened. But there is one thing I would like to tell Mr. James. I will definitely follow up on all cheating and anything that could harm the cafe."
Oliver said firmly with a threatening face to James, who sat with his back bent like a pangolin. He sat down on an empty chair and started asking James some questions about the cafe's operations.
Oliver's skill in extracting information from his targets was unquestionable. Through subtle questions, Oliver managed to get the information he needed.
He connected James's statement with the messy cash register. From these two things, Oliver was able to draw the conclusion that Luella had been a puppet master in the café all along.
And it was James who had been in control of the café's affairs and doing everything that could benefit himself. James didn't care about the rising costs and dwindling profits as long as the money kept flowing into his pockets.
Oliver had completely disarmed James without James even realizing it.
As they continued to chat casually, it was obvious that James was uncomfortable. Deep in his heart, James was certain that Oliver was no match for him. James regarded Oliver as a lowly security officer. But, for the time being, James chose to keep his doubts about Oliver to himself.
After all, Oliver was Lydia's recommendation, and James didn't dare mess with his boss's sister.
Although at first their conversation was quite tense due to the tragedy of the hand grip earlier, but slowly the tension between them began to relax, and the conversation could flow smoothly.
"Alright. Thank you for the chat, Mr. James. I hope we can be good working partners in the future." They shook hands once more, and Oliver excused himself.
To get a better feel for the working climate at Luella Café, Oliver ordered a drink and took a seat next to the barista.
The visitors seemed to be flowing back and forth as endlessly as the water. Almost all seats were occupied by guests. Both the chairs inside the cafe and the chairs spread out on the front terrace.
Oliver sipped the chamomile tea he had ordered while thinking hard about how such a busy café could not make a profit. Suddenly, the cell phone in Oliver's pocket rang loudly with an incoming call. Nancy's name was displayed on the screen.
Oliver took a deep breath before answering the call from his sister-in-law.
"Hello?" he greeted her in a flat, lackluster voice.
"Oliver, where are you?" said Nancy in a high-pitched voice.
"I'm still at work," Oliver replied shortly.
"What kind of work at this time of night? You should come home soon. Please pick me up. I'm locked up by my mom. I can't go anywhere."
"I can't, Nan. I'm at work."
"Don't make things up. What are you doing at this time of night? Hurry up and pick me up."
"I can't," Oliver insisted.
"You have to. Hurry up and pick me up. Watch out if you don't come! I'll tell Carla that you grabbed my pussy in the bathroom!"
Click. Call ended.
Continued ....