From Pit to Palace: Charlie Emerged

Chapter 15: Incorrect pin

Chapter 15

Franklin marched forward, enraged. “What was that supposed to mean? A joke or what?” He said, fiercely glaring at the waitress. “Do you know how much I have in that account, huh? Over $50k! And you dare to spout out that bullshit? I guess you want to lose your job.” He lied, exaggerating the amount in his account, attempting to earn more respect.

Everyone's eyes instinctively swung open wide, their hands covering their mouths astonished by the amount Franklin mentioned.

The waitress looked at Franklin, unimpressed.

“I'm sorry, sir, but I think you're wrong here. The payment was in process after you inserted your PIN, but along the line, it stopped, indicating insufficient balance. You can have a look.”

She held up the card reader, showing Franklin the notification. Glancing down at it, he was momentarily taken aback, his eyes wide open.

“T—this? It can't be possible!” He murmured, his voice low, only for him to hear. “Dad sent the money. It's enough to cover up the bills, or….” he paused, wondering if his father truly sent the money, “was he calling me to tell me he wouldn't send it today?” His heart skipped.

At that moment, Charlie, who had been silent, smirking within himself, suddenly moved forward, and uttered, his voice mocking. “Move aside and let the real man make his payment.”

Franklin gave him a fierce stare and scoffed. “Don't think I can't pay! It must be some technical issue on their end. But let's see what you have got. It's not all about ordering extravagant stuff?”

Charlie didn't answer him. He turned to the waitress. "How much is my bill?” He asked, his voice soft.

“Yours is $30k, sir.”

Her answer was as if a bomb had been dropped on the floor. Everyone turned to look at each other in shock. Soon, whispers began to drop.

However, Charlie didn't flinch. He stood there, expressionless, saying nothing.

Megan mistaking his silence as being scared, stepped forward, her expression arrogant. “You were ordering with so much pride earlier, weren't you? Now, go ahead. Hand over the card to the waitress and let's see.”

Charlie's eyes flickered to her, his expression cold. “Take that energy to your new boyfriend. He's got no money to pay for what you guys have eaten and you should be worried about that. You should be looking for a way to help him and not try to mock me because I can pay for what I ordered,” he responded to her rudely, his voice carrying a hint of ridicule.

“You…..poor brat! How dare you talk back to me that way! I'll dare with……”

Megan's face turned red, her hand flying toward Charlie's face to hit him.

“If you dare, I'll make sure to give you triple of it. Try it and see!” Charlie let out.

Megan paused, her hand hanging in the air. She could see the seriousness in his eyes and she flinched, furiously dropping her hand.

“Those days are gone when I usually endure that nonsense from you. You have broken up with a trash picker like me so I'd advise you to stay in your lane. Stop trying to act all high and mighty because I'm not the same Charlie you knew before. I'm a different person now. And you see what you just attempted to do, if you dare it next time, I'll not hesitate to hit you first and you can't do a damn thing.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned back to look at the waitress, his expression slowly softening. Reluctantly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his card. Handing it over to her, he casually instructed. “Charge it, please.”

The waitress took the card, but blinked in surprise. Ever since she had been serving here, she hadn't come across a card like this from any customer. The card was black and sleek, resembling something from the olden days.

It was strange.

She wanted to ask Charlie a question, but, aware of his anger and afraid of being mad at him, she swallowed hard, focusing on processing the payment.

She inserted the card into the card reader, input the amount, then stretched it out. “Your digits pin, sir?”

Charlie nodded and leaned forward, inputting a four-digit pin, then stepped back, anticipating confirmation.

Everyone leaned in to watch, their eyes filled with curiosity. Franklin was only watching, eagerly waiting to see an insufficient balance so he could mock him.

Just then….

Beep!

The device beeped loudly, echoing through the silence.

*Incorrect pin. Please, try again.*