Nicki came hurrying toward us in big strides. She heaved a deep breath as her gaze fell on me.

"Stop causing a fuss here, Gene Sherman. You should've let me know before coming here."

Nicki wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Meanwhile, Joseph placed his hand on Nicki's arm and fixed me with a contemptuous gaze. "So, you're Mr. Sherman. For a second, I really thought you were my future brother-in-law since you kept insisting that you're Ms. Surridge's younger brother."

I inhaled deeply. It turned out these two were in a relationship. That explained why Joseph was so rude and brazen.

"What do you think?"

Nicki looked at Joseph. "Why don't you give him a discount?"

My heart sank.

"Nicki, when do we ever have any rule regarding the hotel fining customers over something so trivial? Do you have any documents to support that? Otherwise, what you're doing is against the law!"

Joseph seemed completely unbothered. "Hmph! Ms. Surridge's orders are the rules! Building and maintaining this fancy restaurant costs a fortune.

"You're just sitting here and making use of our restaurant's extravagance to reel in ladies who come from wealthy backgrounds. Do you think you can act all righteous just because I've been staying silent?

"I'm the manager, so I have a say in this! You have to pay the fine!"

I turned to look at Nicki, who had calmed down a little. "That's enough, Gene. Stop messing around and just pay the fine."

I was exasperated. Nicki knew that I came here for inspection purposes. Yet, she implied that I was messing around. I was so furious that I let out a chuckle.

"Nicki, have you forgotten who owns this hotel? You dare talk to me like that?"

Joseph covered his mouth as he laughed scornfully. "The hotel belongs to Ms. Surridge, of course. You can't possibly say that it's yours.

"Ms. Surridge is rich, pretty, and capable. It's no surprise that she has many admirers. However, it's a really foolish move if one tries to cause a scene here while trying to catch her attention."

Joseph slammed the bill down onto the table. "Enough with the excuses. It's either you pay the fine. Or you can shout 'I'm sorry' three times loudly and admit that you're after rich ladies and you're just here to take nice photos of yourself. If you do, I'll forget about what happened.

"This will serve as a warning to other men so that they won't shamelessly throw themselves at Ms. Surridge. I understand that anyone would want a rich, pretty lady as their partner. Still, they shouldn't do it this way."

Joseph's comments were extremely insulting.

The other customers were starting to give me looks of doubt and scrutiny. Luke was irate. "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you even know who he is? He's—"

Nicki cut him off and shouted, "That's enough! Since we know each other, it'll be enough if you just pay one million dollars in fine!"

I was in disbelief upon hearing her words.

Had she forgotten how she had begged me desperately to help her manage the hotel? Yet now, she wanted me to pay the fine?

I stood up. Joseph subconsciously took a few steps backward. "What are you doing? I'm warning you! You shouldn't solve issues through violence."

"I'm not going to hit you. Instead, I'm going to pay the fine. However, you need to provide me with the receipt as I've requested.

"Also, I'm sorry that everyone else has had an unsatisfactory dining experience today. All of you can line up and claim from my assistant ten thousand dollars as compensation for the emotional distress we've put you through.

"I'll also take care of all your bills. Please allow me some time to talk to these people," I said.

The other customers could tell I had deep pockets and that I knew what I was doing. They got up, one after another. Then, Luke transferred ten thousand dollars to every one of them by scanning the QR code of their bank accounts.

The general dining area was deserted once the other customers had left. It was only then that Nicki seemed to have realized something.

"Gene, you…"

"Let's add everything up, then. How much do I have to pay in total?"

On the other hand, Joseph hadn't realized what was going on. He had a waiter total up all the bills, which amounted to 6.2 million dollars.

I paid the money right away. Then, I asked Joseph to give me the receipt. Once everything was sorted, I looked at the receipt and smirked. I pointed my phone's camera at the receipt.

"Everyone, do you see this? I came to dine at our hotel's restaurant and received a bill of 6.2 million dollars. Included in it is a fine of 1.28 million dollars that was imposed on me."

In the meeting room, the members of the board of directors were all frowning. My mother, Patricia Sherman, said furiously, "Nicki, how dare you do something like that!"

Nicki lunged at me and stared wide-eyed at me. "Gene, how could you…"

"I called for a board meeting. As I've said, there will be serious repercussions if I don't have your resignation letter before the ten minutes are up," I said.

Joseph clearly didn't believe what I was saying. He pulled Nicki away and smiled as he looked at the people shown on my phone's screen.

"You're absolutely shameless. You think you can fool us by hiring a few elderly people to put on this act? Ms. Surridge, why do you even bother talking to him?

"This hotel is owned by Ms. Surridge's family. You want her to resign from her position? That's utterly absurd!"

Nicki was growing increasingly anxious. "Cut that nonsense. That's my mom!"

For a split second, panic flashed across Joseph's face. However, he quickly concealed it by smiling amicably at the phone's camera and said, "So, you're Ms. Surridge's mother! I'm so sorry. I couldn't see your face clearly just now. I even thought you were Nicki's sister!

"It was all this person's fault. He did something really terrible. He ate some bread rolls while he was seated in the general dining area, where there were many other customers around, to bring down our restaurant's standards. That was why I decided to teach him a lesson.

"If he's also a family member, I'll return the money to him right away and consider that none of this has happened."

My mom interrupted him, "That person you're talking about is my son! Nicki, handle this matter properly. You know what the consequences are if you don't.

"That's all for today's meeting. Gene, I'm putting you in full charge of this hotel. We've received the hotel inspection reports that you've submitted. You are to shut down the hotel immediately if similar situations happen again."

Then, Mom ended the call. She also sent me a message. "There's no need to hold back!"

I smiled when I saw her message. There was no way I would hold back. It would take more than a few words to knock some sense into people like Joseph and Nicki.

I needed to get them to experience emotions like fear and regret.

I stared at the pair and knocked on the table. "Did you hear that? I need an explanation. How did you decide on imposing these fines? How many meetings did you have before finalizing it?

"Who were the meeting attendees? Did you keep the meeting minutes? Did you receive approval for imposing the fines? Where are the approval documents? I'll only acknowledge it if it's been properly discussed and reviewed. Otherwise, you know how Mom and Dad are going to react to this."

Nicki was at a loss for words. Sweat beaded her forehead.

Meanwhile, I made a phone call. A while later, Luke informed me, "Mr. Sherman, they're here."

I nodded. "Tell them to come in, then."

Nicki's face was drained of color when she turned and saw the people who were coming in.

"Gene, what's the meaning of this?" she asked.

She finally called my name in a gentle voice after shouting at me so much just now. I scoffed.

"They're here to check the accounts, of course. Do you really have to ask?" I replied.

The headquarters had sent over an accountant, a legal counsel, and several staff members. Their group, which consisted of more than ten people, had arrived inside the restaurant.

Outside, dozens of bodyguards surrounded all of the hotel's exits.

The customers in the private rooms were also informed that their bills had been taken care of, and they were asked to cooperate with the investigation.

The waiters were a little confused. Still, they recognized their company's legal counsel.

However, Joseph didn't. He was flustered when he saw the customers coming out of the private rooms.

He yelled at me, "What the hell are you doing? Gene, right? I don't care who you are or how you're related to Nicki. Anyhow, you can't do this here!

"Nicki, say something!"

I glanced at Nicki, who clenched her fists. She shouted, "Gene, take these people and get out of here this instant!"

As I waved my hand, the legal counsel stepped forward. "Mr. Sherman is the CEO of Hayes Group. He has full authority in managing the hotels belonging to Hayes Group.

"A serious violation has been found committed by the staff of Intercontinental Hotel. From now on, no one is allowed to leave the hotel. An investigation will be conducted by the personnel dispatched by the headquarters.

"For our employees, please line up to the right. For customers, please queue to the left. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation. Once the investigation is over, everyone will receive some money from our headquarters as compensation."

Nicki was in a state of panic at that point. Joseph exclaimed, "What is he saying? The CEO? Nicki, didn't you say that you're the boss' daughter? Why is he in charge of the company instead?"

I smiled faintly. "That's because she's not my parents' biological daughter."