Shocked! That was the expression written all over the cleaning lady's face when she saw me at the restaurant where she works. Her face went completely pale like she had just seen a ghost and you bet I loved the reaction and that caused me to smile at her but it was the lady beside her who reciprocated my gesture. Perhaps misjudging it for a show of good faith than what it truly is..a smile to signify her friend Amelia's imminent misfortune.
The owner of the establishment and his wife and their young daughter seem to be huge fans of me as they were practically worshiping me and offering me free services and food but I ain't here to fill my belly plus this place is way too local for me to patronize. I bet their food tastes really bad in the tongue and definitely won't be hygienic!
I don't plan on poisoning my system with their rubbish besides I am here for one purpose and one purpose alone and that's to have my revenge on that cleaning lady that slapped me.
".. here is the menu, just select anything you want... You can even have all of ii if you want. It would be our pleasure to serve you," the old man said and his wife and daughter all echoed along his words with joyous spirit and I offered them a fake smile.
"I would like for her to be the one to attend to me," I said pointing to the cleaning lady and they all looked puzzled except for Amelia herself.
I am sure they were wondering why I singled her out but I am sure Amelia knows the reason why. I could see the apprehension on her face as her expression was a sharp contrast to everyone else who looked happy and thrilled I was in their midst. .
"Of course. Of course. Whatever you want. She is even the waitress," the old man said then turned to the cleaning lady who apparently works as a waitress here.
"Amelia, my child. Please come attend to this fine gentleman," he said, his tone still full of excitement and thrill.
"Okay, Mr Ken," Amelia answered softly and slowly walked towards my table with both of our eyes locked in a heated staring contest.
I honestly thought she would refuse to attend to me because I am sure she knew my purpose for coming here was to humiliate her and ultimately get her fired but it seems she respects this particular boss more than she did the one at the hotel.
Very good. I am going to use that to my advantage to humiliate her even more.
"What would you like for me to get you sir," she said, trying to act professional though I could still hear the hidden resentment in her voice.
"How will I know? I don't know what you sell in a place like this," I said, my tone having a slight degrading note to it.
I don't know if the old man and his family were able to pick it up as they were still smiling and looking happy but Amelia surely did take note of it and that caused her to frown.
"That's why a menu is provided so you can see for yourself," she said calmly but there was an underlying hostility in her tone.
A soft smile formed on my face at her reaction as I was happy I was able to get underneath her skin. I reached for the rather large menu on the table; picking it up I barely gave it a glance before..
"Why don't you read aloud the menu to my hearing instead so I can decide on what I want," I said with a sly smile, stretching out the menu to her.
My aim was to test her patience to see how far of my taunts and insults she can take before she snaps just like she did in the hotel and it seemed not very much as she was practically boiling in anger were she stood. She is going to explode anytime soon I am sure of it.
"That's a very good idea, Mr Liam." Her boss, the old man, suddenly said though he was completely oblivious to my gimmicks.
"Amelia please read out the menu to him," he further added and Amelia faked a smile, visibly repressing her anger.
"Okay. Very well then," she said, taking the menu a bit forcefully from my hand and she started listing out the dishes they have to my hearing.
I wasn't listening to what she was saying and I made it obvious for both her and all of them to see as I brought out my phone and pretended to be engrossed in it even laughing at an imaginary joke. Seeing I wasn't paying attention Amelia stopped half way and when I noticed she had stopped listing out the dishes in the menu I raised my head up to face her.
"Why did you stop?" I asked with a raised brow and my expression turning serious.
"You are clearly focused on your phone," she said.
"So? Do I listen with my eyes, huh?" I asked and she just stared at me, her anger visible in her eyes.
"Continue. I am listening and don't stop until you are done listing every dish in that menu," I further stated and she frowned tightly.
It looks like she was about to snap but she paused then inhaled and exhaled sharply. It Seems she was trying to calm her nerves. Yeah that's exactly what she did as she resumed listing out the menu without any complaints shortly after that.
Of course I made sure to show her I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying, repeating my initial gimmick; which was pretending to be engrossed in my phone. However this time she didn't stop, she kept at it until she was done listing out every dish on the menu.
"...I am done, so which of these dishes would you want me to serve you?" She said, preparing to take my order but I pretended like I didn't hear what she said as I kept my focus on my phone.
Though I wasn't looking up at her I could feel her blazing gaze on me like an angry hawk and I couldn't help but smile.
My plan of frustrating her is working perfectly.
"I am waiting to take your order, sir!" She raised her voice slightly but I kept on ignoring her.
The old man, perhaps thinking Amelia wasn't loud enough, decided to help her echo it louder.
"Mr. Liam. She is trying to take your order," he said and his voice was quite loud but I ignored him as well and I am sure that would have left him and his family members puzzled.
I could hear their whispering conversations..
"Can't he hear us?" The old man had asked.
"I don't know. It seems so. Maybe he has some hearing disabilities," his wife said naively.
"Do you know anything about this?" The old man asked his daughters and they shook their heads.
"No. I haven't heard or read anything about him having any disabilities," the older of the daughters said.
"Maybe it's a new development," the younger one concluded.
"Oh poor thing," the old man's wife said sympathetically and I couldn't help but smile inwardly at their stupidity.
Amelia finally lost her patient.
"Did you come here to mess around or what?!" I could feel the venom in her tone and weirdly I found it satisfying.
Finally I raised my head up and there she stood glaring at me like she wanted to slap my face off my neck. Behind her the old men and his family stood looking on, their expression a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
"Mess around? What are you talking about?" I said, feigning ignorance.
"You know pretty well what I am saying. I know why you are here!" She said, her frustration clearly written on her face.
"Okay then, tell me. Why am I here?" I asked with a smug smile and it seemed she wanted to blurt out her mind but then she paused.
"Why don't you tell me, huh? Why are you here?" She redirected the question back to me and I smiled softly.
"Why would anyone come to a restaurant if not to eat?" I raised a brow at her.
"Then why are you refusing to order anything?" She said furrowing her brows.
"When did I refuse? I was merely trying to decide on which dish to order since you didn't give a proper description on the menu. The least you could have done was to wait patiently until I decide on what I want rather than keep rushing me to decide," I said, indirectly pointing out that she is inadequate and that didn't go unnoticed by her.
A soft smile formed on my lips as I saw her palms clenched into tight fists below her waist.
It seems she had reached her final elastic limit and would tire up in rage...
"You are right Mr Liam. We are at fault for not giving you enough time to decide. Please accept our sincere apologies," the old man suddenly said, pleading and seeking my forgiveness.
"Yes, like my husband said. Please don't be annoyed with us. We didn't mean to rush you. We are just excited to have you here in our restaurant, that's all,' the wife added.
I don't know if I should call this man and his family daft or are they just super excited to see me that they are failing to decipher that I wasn't here for their disgusting food at all but to cause trouble?
"It's alright. I wasn't expecting premium customer service from a place like this anyways but in any case I will have number 7 on the menu," I said, throwing a more than subtle jab at their establishment.
Ignoring my tone. "Pasta and chicken wings. That's an excellent choice Mr Liam. It's one of our very best dishes, it really shows you took your time to decide well," the old man said flatteringly while in truth I just called a number at random.
"Would you like any other time with that?" The cleaning lady asked calmly but her face held no smile.
"No. That will be all…for now," I said, smiling just to annoy her further and she sighed.
"We will have your order ready in no time Mr Liam," the old man assured and he and his family started working passionately and energetically in the kitchen to please me.
Such a waste of time and enough it will prove to be…
After some minutes the cleaning lady came to my table with a food tray.
Dropping the tray on the table "This is your order, sir. Hope you enjoy your meal," she said what I assume is their restaurant formalities and greetings though she said it in a slightly sarcastic manner.
Initially I just planned on leaving the food untouched thereby wasting the time and effort it took in preparing the meal but as she was about to leave a more brilliant idea came to my head that brought a smile to my face.
"Wait." I called out to her.