The Sunset restaurant was really busy when Darren and the others arrived.
It was packed, and there were no tables available. More than ten guests were already waiting to be seated.
It seemed that it would be at least half an hour before they could get a table.
"I'll go talk to the manager and see if we can pay him to find us a table," Lisa said. She didn't want to wait any longer. She was hungry, and she was an important person in her town. She couldn't be expected to wait.
"Mom, let's just wait," Donna said. The Sunset restaurant was famous in New York, and it was always difficult to get a table.
Lisa didn't listen to her daughter. With her reputation and her eloquence, she was certain she would be able to get the manager to get them a table quickly.
At the front desk, she spoke to the manager and indicated that she would give him an extra five hundred dollars to arrange a table for her. But the manager wasn't interested. With such a big restaurant, he probably didn't even need the money.
In the end, Lisa was forced to give up.
"Mrs. Walters, why don't you sit here, and I'll try?" Darren said, standing up. They had all seen Lisa being embarrassed in front of the manager, so he had to do something. Otherwise, Donna, Natalie, and Fiona might blame him.
Darren walked toward the manager, feeling quite nervous. He wasn't that important, so would the manager embarrass him too?
He had heard his father talk about the manager of the Sunset restaurant several times, but he had no idea how well they knew each other.
Now that he had been forced into this situation, Darren had to try.
"Hello, Mr. Hood," he said politely, as he walked up to the manager. "I'm Darren Rogers, and my father is Gary Rogers from Rogers Construction Company. I've brought a few friends here for dinner, and I wonder if you could find us a table."
The owner of Rogers Construction Company? Mr Hood knew that Mr Rogers was just the owner of a medium-sized business. Compared to the other guests in the restaurant, the Rogers family simply wasn't important.
He was just about to tactfully reject Darren's request when a few more guests walked through the door.
Alex, Debbie, and Carla entered the restaurant and saw the others sitting in the waiting area, so they went over to join them.
Mr Hood was stunned when he saw Alex and Debbie. From the behaviour of Debbie and the middle-aged woman, they were mother and daughter. It was obvious that they knew Darren's friends.
On an earlier occasion, when Bruno had caused trouble for Debbie, Alex had ruthlessly beaten him with a wine bottle. Bruno had even called Sam Woodsworth and asked for help in dealing with Alex, but when Sam had heard Alex's name, everything had changed. Not only did Alex not get beaten up, but Bruno had had to grovel and then clean the floor with his tongue.
Alex was someone that even Sam Woodsworth was afraid of, and he seemed to be here with Darren. If the manager didn't help them find a table, Alex might get angry, and then the entire restaurant would be in trouble.
Remembering what had happened to Bruno, the manager trembled in fear.
He swallowed hard.
"Mr. Hood?" Darren asked, puzzled. What was wrong with the manager?
"Oh!" Mr Hood's gaze shifted to Darren's face. "You want a table, right? Sorry, we made a mistake. I will arrange something for you and your friends right now. Please wait."
"Okay," Darren agreed, and Mr Hood immediately hurried off to make the arrangements. Darren was confused.
When did my dad become so powerful? he thought. He had been worried that since his dad's company was only a medium-sized business, Mr Hood might not have respected him. He hadn't expected Mr Hood to agree so quickly when he heard Darren's father's name.
It looks like my father has quite a bit of prestige in New York City, after all, he thought.
With that in mind, Darren returned to the waiting area.
"Well, why do you think we're still just sitting here," Lisa was saying to Alex, clearly annoyed. "This is a restaurant, not a house, so you can't just eat whenever you want." Then she looked toward Darren. "Darren, it's fine if the manager doesn't have a table. I'm not that hungry, so we can wait for half an hour."
"Hey, Mrs. Walters," Darren said, proudly. "I've already arranged it with Mr. Hood, and he's gone to find us a table."
"Oh!" Lisa was a little taken aback. "You're really something, Darren. I tried, and the manager wouldn't listen to me. You're gone for only a minute or two, and you've already got the manager to agree. Impressive."
She glared at Alex as she continued, "Unlike some people who asked why we were still sitting here. If you have the power to do something about it, then go and get the manager to give us a table. If you don't have the power, then keep quiet." She crossed her arms and turned her back on Alex, who merely sighed.
A waitress came over and asked them to follow her upstairs to a private room.
The door was labeled "888." Inside, the room was spacious and bright. It was decorated with red carpets, yellow chairs, and two expensive-looking porcelain vases that were as tall as a person.
Looking at the room, Darren started to panic. He asked the waitress, "What does this room cost?"
"Oh, this is our most luxurious room," she said politely. "Prices start at eight thousand dollars."
Eight thousand dollars! Darren was shocked and more than a little nervous. He had thought that this meal would cost two thousand dollars at the most. But eight thousand? That was a lot.
"Darren, how about we go to a different room?" Lisa suggested. She had never spent so much on a meal before. And Donna and Darren were still students. How could they possibly afford to spend that much money?
"It's okay, Mrs. Walters," Darren said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I like this room. Let's stay here." He didn't want to be humiliated in front of everyone.
"Sir, there's nothing to pay," the waitress said with a smile. "Mr. Hood said that you are honored guests, and we are happy to have you in our restaurant. Your meal is on the house."
Free! Darren felt like a prisoner who had suddenly been pardoned on his way to be executed. He was overjoyed.
He looked at the waitress and noticed that she seemed a little starry-eyed, which was a little amusing.
"Please take a seat," she said. "We will bring your meal shortly. They are all our best dishes." She smiled and left the room.
"Darren, you really do command respect," Lisa said, sitting down. "Not only have you got us into the most luxurious private room, but you don't even have to pay for it." She was extremely satisfied with this powerful boyfriend of Donna's.
"Exactly," Fiona agreed. "What does your family do? Why are they so respected?" She was very interested in Darren.
"My family has a small construction company, and it only earns ten million dollars a year. It's barely worth mentioning," Darren said casually.
"Ten million is not worth mentioning?" Natalie smiled at him. Then she glanced at Alex, looked him up and down, and asked, "Young man, what does your family do? Do you earn several tens of thousands of dollars a year?"
"My family has no business, so how could I earn tens of thousands of dollars?" Alex asked, not interested in talking to snobbish people.
They all mocked Alex for not having enough money.
The waitress returned and brought several dishes to the table, including mushroom soup, pork chops, steak, salmon, and fruit salad.
They didn't know which knives and forks to use, but Donna showed them what to do. Debbie and Alex already seemed to know and helped explain it to Carla and Lisa. But weren't they just country bumpkins like Carla?
"How do you two know which knives and forks to use?" Lisa asked in disbelief. "Have you eaten in places like this before?"
"I used to work here part time," Debbie said flatly.
"Ha! For a minute there I thought you ate in places like this all the time. But, no, you were working for someone else." Lisa sneered, then muttered softly, "No matter how much you know about fancy cutlery, it's a waste of time. It's not like you'll get much chance to eat expensive meals."
The door opened, and Mr Hood came in, bowing his head slightly.
"How is your meal?" he asked politely, his gaze locked onto Alex's face. Of course, he didn't dare make eye contact.
"Very good," Darren said, standing up and shaking Mr. Hood's hand. "Thank you for your hospitality. I will remember it."
Mr Hood is so polite, he thought. He even came over just to ask me if my food was okay.
"Ah…" Mr Hood wanted to speak to Alex, but Darren hadn't let go of his hand and was still standing there, smiling at him. Since he didn't know how close Darren and Alex were, he couldn't object. He simply smiled amicably.
Darren talked for a while, and then he finally let go of the manager.
"To welcome everyone, I've picked out two special bottles of red wine," Mr Hood told them, gesturing to where a waiter had already brought in the two bottles.
Smiling, he picked up a bottle. He wanted to place it in front of Alex to show his respect.
"Mr. Hood, you're too kind," Darren said. "How can I accept—" He broke off in surprise when he looked at the bottle. "Whoa! This is a Louis XIV from 1992. This is really expensive. Thank you, Mr. Hood. How did you know that I've always wanted to taste this?"