As for Elliot, I had made myself pretty clear when he visited the Moore Residence last time. I assumed a seasoned investor like him wouldn’t shoot himself in the foot.
“Enough about me. It’s Monday morning. Instead of slaving away in your own office, you’re here to bug me. What’s going on?” I tried to change the topic.
“Don’t you remind me.” Finally tossing the magazine away, Emery sighed. “It’s Hunter. He’s been following me everywhere and pestering me to reconcile with him. It’s so annoying!”
“You can’t hide from him forever. Maybe it’s time to consider applying for a restraining order, given the harassment he’s causing you. You two are already divorced, there’s no need to hold back.” Emery had her fair share of pain and grief from this marriage. She deserved to have a better life, not being entangled in this mess from her past.
“Forget about him, I’ll deal with it later,” she said while shaking her head as her attention shifted elsewhere in the next moment. “By the way, I’ve taken over The Jade. Some fresh seafood has arrived from overseas yesterday. Will you be my guest?”
“Of course!” I agreed readily, and we left my office in tandem.
Although Ashton had made up the mutation of the poisoned cells in my body to make his story more believable, they changed my treatment plan and made me stick to a strict diet regimen at the Stovall residence. I had enough of their nonsense.
As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, Emery asked for their most prestigious private room.
“My apologies, Ms. Moore. The room is occupied at the moment.”
I knew The Jade only had one VVIP room. It was almost as exclusive as a five-star hotel’s presidential suite. Guests who could afford such a room that came with an outrageous price tag were not ones to mess around with.
“It’s just the two of us having a meal. There’s no need for such extravagance. Let’s just go to any private room.”
Emery thought for a brief moment and finally nodded in assent. “Alright then. But I want you to bring us your best wine available. We’re here to celebrate my venture into a new business. Lead the way then.”
“This way, please,” the manager said politely while leading us down a long corridor to the left.
Even though this was not my first visit to the restaurant, I was still in awe looking at all the opulent private rooms that lined up on both sides of the corridor. A few familiar faces could be spotted along the way when the waiters flitted in and out of the rooms. They were all prominent businessmen and politicians in K City.
The VVIP room was at the end of the corridor. The manager stopped at the room right across and said to us, “We’re here. Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable while I bring over the menu and your wine, Ms. Moore.”
“Don’t worry about the menu. We’ll have all your seafood specials today. Bring me your best wine. You can leave us to attend to the VVIPs next door. Just get another waiter to serve our table,” Emery said to the manager as she waved her hand and led me into the room.
Despite being the new owner of the restaurant, she was not one of those pompous, self-absorbed snobs who would insist to be served by the manager himself. Her gesture only reflected her belief in excellent customer service.
With a standard smile on his face, the manager retreated from the room courteously.
Not long after, a young waiter came in with trays of grilled salmon and butter codfish. In addition, the manager had taken upon himself to send in some foie gras and A5 wagyu beef.
For the past few weeks, I had to follow the nutritionist’s approved diet strictly. Now that I had the opportunity to dine outside, I quickly dug in without caring so much about the poison in my body. As the first bite of foie gras melted in my mouth, I could feel myself being enveloped in a world of happiness.
Emery was sipping on her wine from the DRC. Then she looked at me quizzically with one raised brow. “How long has it been since you last had meat?”
“I can’t remember.” I shrugged and placed my glass of wine under my nose and took a whiff of the fermented aroma before putting it down with satisfaction. “Not much since I came back from M Country.”
