At that moment, hearing what Elijah just said to her with such dismissive coldness and outright rejection, Penelope felt like the ground had been pulled out from underneath her feet. She couldn't believe her ears - couldn't believe that she had literally just orchestrated and destroyed a perfectly planned evening that she had worked so incredibly hard to arrange.Penelope's mind raced with devastating clarity about everything she had sacrificed and planned to make this date happen. She knew exactly what kind of effort, what kind of careful preparation, what kind of lies she had constructed to get herself to this point where she could sit across from Elijah at an expensive restaurant and pretend to be the sophisticated, well-connected woman he would want to date.And now Patricia was just stealing everything away from her right in front of her face! Her date, her opportunity, her carefully constructed evening - all of it crumbling because she had made the fatal mistake of involving Pat

At that moment, with his phone safely tucked away and his manager ally on the way, Elijah turned back again to the front desk lady with a vindictive smile that promised severe consequences for her defiance. His voice dripped with malicious satisfaction as he prepared to deliver what he clearly believed would be his moment of triumph.“Well, I literally warned you about this exact scenario,” Elijah said, his tone carrying the smugness of someone who believed victory was already assured. “I warned you not to mess with me. I warned you to literally do what I wanted you to do, but instead you chose to be stubborn and difficult. You were acting as if you're completely untouchable, as if nobody in this entire establishment could do anything to discipline you for your insubordination.”His voice grew more menacing as he continued his gloating monologue. “But here you are now, about to be completely at my mercy, and I want you to understand something very clearly - I'm not going to have any

Elijah couldn't believe that his friend would literally be supporting this employee over him in this situation. His friend should have simply taken his word for what happened and fired her immediately without any questions or investigations, but instead he was insisting on hearing both sides of the story like some kind of impartial judge.This unexpected resistance made Elijah realize that because of his friend's hesitation to act decisively, Patricia might start to think that maybe he didn't have as much influence and connection at this establishment as he had claimed. That possibility made him deeply uncomfortable, since his entire arrangement with Patricia was built on the premise that he could solve her problems effortlessly through his powerful connections.But Elijah forced himself to remain outwardly calm despite his internal frustration, knowing that losing his temper further would only make him look less in control of the situation. He would let his friend conduct this little

Immediately upon hearing what the manager had said and seeing that Elijah's grand display of influence had been completely torn down and rejected, Penelope couldn't help but feel a small smile creeping across her face despite her earlier anger and disappointment about losing her date.Yes, she had to admit that she was genuinely happy that Elijah couldn't deliver on his promises and connections the way he had boasted he could. While she was still hurt that Patricia had accepted his date proposal, seeing him fail so publicly meant that Patricia would show much less interest toward him going forward. This humbling experience was exactly what Penelope literally wanted to see happen, and everything was turning in her favor now in terms of diminishing Elijah's appeal.At that moment, Patricia also shook her head in deep disappointment, her shoulders sagging slightly as she realized that this avenue to reaching Jeremy was completely closed to her. She wasn't feeling disappointed because she

At that moment, upon hearing what the security guard just said and seeing the determined, unwavering look on their faces, Elijah could tell with sinking certainty that these men were absolutely not going to back down any time soon. They were not going to change their minds or show him any special consideration, which put him in an incredibly disadvantageous position that he simply could not bear.The thought of enduring this level of public humiliation right in front of Patricia - right in front of the very woman he was desperately trying to impress and win over to his side - was absolutely unbearable. His entire carefully constructed image of power and influence was crumbling before her eyes, and he needed to do something dramatic to salvage the situation.Elijah straightened his shoulders and addressed the security guards with as much dignity as he could muster under the circumstances. “Fine, we will leave voluntarily,” he said, his voice carrying a warning tone that suggested this