Chapter 2

Hazel cut in immediately. "What exactly makes you think you have the right to stop someone from leaving?"

Jocelyn didn't look at Hazel. She stared at me. "Mr. Johnson, I know you're here for a blind date. And I'm sure you don't want this lady to misunderstand you because of all this, right?"

That really pissed me off.

Of course. She'd known from the beginning that I was here on a blind date. From the moment she walked in, she'd deliberately repeated words like "wife", "family matter", and "pretending to be single" in front of Hazel.

She was never trying to reason with me. She wanted to embarrass me badly enough that I'd pay to end this.

I asked, "Who told you I was here for a blind date?"

Jocelyn's gaze wavered for a second. "Your wife did."

"And what's my wife's name?"

"Diana."

"Then what's her ID number?"

Jocelyn paused. "That's protected client information."

I nodded. "Fine, then tell me what she looks like."

Jocelyn frowned. "Mr. Johnson, are you seriously asking me what your own wife looks like?"

"I don't have a wife," I said, turning on my phone's camera and placing it on the table, aimed right at her. "Keep going."

Jocelyn's face fell when she saw the camera. "Mr. Johnson, why are you recording this?"

"Keeping evidence," I replied.

"We haven't done anything guilty."

"Then what are you so afraid of?"

Jocelyn was left speechless.

The two assistants behind her exchanged glances. One of them whispered, "Jocelyn, maybe we should let it go."

Jocelyn glared at her. "Let it go? No way."

She turned back to me. "Mr. Johnson, I've been trying to handle this politely.

"If I really wanted to make a scene, I could post your wife's bill online right now and let everyone see how a man can go on blind dates while refusing to acknowledge his wife's expenses."

Hazel looked up. "Go ahead and post it."

Jocelyn let out a cold laugh. "Wow, you really have his back, huh?"

Hazel replied coolly, "I'm only sticking to the facts."

Jocelyn's face darkened more.

I picked up the bill and examined it closely.

The paper looked freshly printed. The only signature on it was Diana's. There was no ID number, no phone number, no payment method, and no signature from the staff member who provided the services.

Most absurd of all, the transaction time was listed as 2:47 p.m. today.

I snapped a photo of the bill and showed it to Hazel. "At that time, I was in a meeting at work."

Hazel asked, "Do you have the meeting records?"

"Yes," I replied.

I pulled up the meeting records on Microsoft Teams, including the attendance log, meeting notes, and photos from the conference room.

From two o'clock until four-thirty this afternoon, I'd been in a remote meeting with a client at the office. The session recordings were still saved.

After Hazel checked everything, she said, "Then you have nothing to worry about."

Jocelyn jumped in. "Mr. Johnson, what difference does it make if you were there or not?"

I looked at her. "Then on what basis are you demanding payment from me?"

"It counts as a shared household expense," Jocelyn replied.

Hazel laughed. "Interesting. Didn't realize med spas were handing out legal opinions now."

Jocelyn caught the sarcasm in Hazel's voice, and her expression darkened immediately. "I'm not wasting time arguing about this. Mr. Johnson, you're paying whether you like it or not."

Right then, the restaurant manager, Robert Wright, came over. He glanced at us, then at Jocelyn. "Ms. Stanley, what's going on here?"

Jocelyn looked like she'd finally found backup. "Mr. Wright, Mr. Johnson's wife spent 100 thousand at Flora Med Spa downstairs, and now he's refusing to pay and called the cops."

Robert glanced at me, looking a bit embarrassed. "Sir, maybe we can—"

I cut him off. "I'm only paying for the meal. As for the 100 thousand at Flora Med Spa, whoever racked up that bill can deal with it themselves.

"And if you try to stop me from leaving, I'll file a complaint against you guys as well."

Robert quickly raised his hands. "Sir, we won't stop you."

Jocelyn suddenly said, "Mr. Wright, you know Flora Med Spa and your restaurant are on the same floor, and we work together all the time. If Mr. Johnson leaves without paying, who's supposed to deal with our loss?"

Robert looked more awkward. He whispered, "Ms. Stanley, that's not fair."

Jocelyn ignored him.

She picked up her phone and made a call. "Come over to Lunaris Restaurant. Yeah, Mr. Johnson is refusing to pay up. Don't let him leave."

When I heard her say that, I couldn't hold back my anger anymore.

I stood up. "Jocelyn, do you know what you're doing right now?"

Jocelyn lifted her chin. "I'm protecting the legitimate rights of our spa."

"You're trying to detain me," I shot back.

"Oh, please, are you threatening me?" Jocelyn snapped loudly. "Eric, your wife spent 100 thousand, and here you are, on a date with another woman, pretending to be the victim."

"Let me tell you. If you don't pay up, everyone in this restaurant is going to find out what kind of man you are."

As soon as she finished, two guys in black suits showed up at the restaurant entrance. They didn't look like professional security guards. If anything, they looked more like hired muscle from the spa itself.

One stayed by the front door while the other stood in the aisle, basically cutting off our exit.

Hazel pulled out her phone and started filming, too.

Jocelyn saw it and said coldly, "Go ahead and film. Even if this ends up online, we're not the ones who'll look bad."

Hazel looked at her. "Careful. You may end up regretting this."

Jocelyn smirked. "I've been running this place for five years. I've seen all sorts of people.

"Guys like you are the worst. Your wife saves money at home to treat herself once in a while, and meanwhile, you're out here spending money on other women."

I glared at her. "You'd better watch your mouth."

Jocelyn didn't flinch at all. "What, did I hit a nerve?"

I held my phone, and it was all clear to me now.

This wasn't some random mistake. They knew my name, my phone number, and that I was on a blind date tonight, and which restaurant I'd be at.

This had been planned specifically for me.

I didn't know yet who was feeding them information.