Kaiden glared at the manager and snapped, "My dad is a shareholder in this hotel! How dare you talk to me like that?"
"Kaiden Taiga.... A Taiga family shareholder, huh? Oh… you're the young master of Tiger Real Estate," the manager replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Completely unfazed, the manager continued, his expression turning stern as more onlookers gathered: "Your father does indeed hold 1% of the shares, but if I recall correctly, those shares have already been pledged."
"Yes, your father receives dividends every year, but he doesn't hold a seat on the board of directors. Even if he wanted to fire me, he wouldn't have the authority to do so."
"If he finds out you're causing trouble here, I doubt he'd be too happy about it," the manager said with a calm but cutting tone.
Finally, with a faint smirk, he added, "If you think it's necessary, I can give him a call right now and discuss this with him directly."
"Just you wait!" Kaiden's tough demeanor crumbled almost instantly. He clearly feared his father, and after one last glare at the manager, he turned and grabbed Tina hand, trying to lead her away.
Tina forcefully shook him off, her face flushed with embarrassment. Feeling like she had completely lost face today, she quickly ran back to their table to grab her bag.
"Ryan, let's go too!"
Yana's laughter rang out, cheerful and victorious, as she flashed a smug smile, the very picture of a winner.
Ryan glanced over at Tina, who was now leaving, and Kaiden, who was trailing behind her and trying to coax her. A twinge of unease flickered across his face.
Noticing his lingering thoughts, Yana took the initiative and gently grabbed Ryan's hand.
"Ryan, you've been so good to me. I should treat you just as well in return. I'm so full—let's go check out the mall next door, okay?"
"Sure!" Ryan agreed immediately, his tone enthusiastic. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to the elegant manager and asked, "By the way, miss, I don't think I caught your name."
The voluptuous and charming manager, leaned in closer, pushing her chest forward as she pointed at her name tag with a flirtatious smile.
"My name is Thea Bolt. If you ever need anything, you can add me on WhatsApp. Whenever you visit the Domina Hotel, feel free to reach out to me for anything you need."
She leaned in so close that her chest was just five centimeters away from Ryan's face, fully flaunting her enviable figure.
The subtle fragrance of her perfume enveloped Ryan, leaving him slightly dazed as he felt his heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.
Thea maintained her professional and polite smile, but her intentions were all too obvious to Yana. She cursed silently, "You vixen, as if I can't see right through you!"
Thea then took out her phone and displayed her QR code. Before Ryan could react, Yana swiftly scanned it first, casually saying, "Thank you, Manager Thea. The membership card is under my name, so I'll be the one contacting you in the future."
Both women knew the game they were playing, each trying to assert dominance. The tension between them felt like a battlefield of subtle, green-tea energy.
With a beep confirming the successful scan, Thea realized Yana was no pushover.
She put her phone away and handed over a business card instead, giving one to each of them to appear less deliberate.
Yana, seeing no obvious way to object, could only watch as Ryan tucked the business card into his pocket.
On the other side, Kaiden was still trying to coax Tina, who had completely lost her appetite. "Sweetie, honestly, they're just pretending. Why are you so upset?"
After much persuasion, Kaiden managed to calm her down enough to return to the scene.
Thea furrowed her brows and was about to send them away, but Yana smirked coldly and said, "Still clinging on, huh? Let's see who the real dead weight is here."
With red-rimmed eyes, Kaiden said, "Sweetie, just watch. They definitely can't afford the bill. If they dare dine and dash, I'll call the police immediately."
Tina, still reeling from her emotions, didn't leave. She also suspected that Ryan wouldn't be able to pay and wanted to salvage at least a shred of dignity in the end.
Seeing that Yana had no intention of driving them away, Thea refrained from causing a scene. Instead, she had a server bring over the hotel's custom card machine.
"Sir, this is the total for tonight's expenses. Please confirm the amount."
Yana took the bill with a cold smile and said, "Young Master Kaiden, do you want to check if this bill is fake?"
The receipt clearly displayed the charges: over 40,000 dollars for food and service fees, and an additional 50,000 for Louis XIII.
Kaiden sneered back, "It can't be fake, but do you even have the money to pay? A diamond card only requires a 120,000-dollars deposit to activate."
"Even if you have a diamond card, how do we know the balance isn't already empty? Without money, it's just a piece of worthless plastic."
"Yana, I bet you slept with some old man for this, only to be played in the end."
Yana didn't bother arguing further. She simply pulled out the newly issued diamond card and handed it over. Just as Thea was about to swipe the card—
"Wait!"
The sudden interruption came from Ryan, who had been quiet all evening.
This caught Kaiden's attention instantly. He perked up, his excitement evident as he exclaimed, "See? I told you he was just putting on a show!"
He eagerly explained further, "The card machines at Domina Hotel are directly linked to internal servers. Once a transaction is generated, there's no way to falsify it. The backend is encrypted with top-level security."
"Faking a transaction is absolutely impossible. The system is connected to a private intranet, and even the best hackers wouldn't have access."