Get me your Manager

**CHAPTER 4**

**Jason POV**

This is just a business transaction to them. They know very well that I'm not currently dating anyone, which is why they imposed this condition.

How am I expected to find a woman and get married within a month? That only happens in movies and novels, not in real life.

They want me to marry Diana to strengthen business ties, but have they considered my feelings about this?

I've always known my parents expect me to do whatever they want, but not this time.

As I sat in the car heading to my restaurant, my thoughts wandered. I was here to check on my business and see how it was faring, but I guess I’ll have to add finding a wife to my agenda.

I picked up my phone and called my P.A.

"Mr. Wilson," Bryan answered the phone, sounding breathless. He must be enjoying his mini vacation, I thought to myself. Since there wasn't much work to do at the restaurant, I had given him some time off.

“Get to work and find me a woman who's ready to sign a marriage contract lasting one year. She will be offered a substantial amount of money as compensation,” I explained over the phone.

“A marriage contract?” I heard him question, his voice uncertain.

“Yes. You have just two weeks to find her. I need to take her to see my parents then,” I said.

“Alright, Boss. I’ll start right away,” he replied.

I disconnected the call and let out a sigh of relief. At least any woman would do. It's for just a year.

The car came to a stop, and as I looked out the window, I realized we had arrived at the restaurant. So absorbed in my thoughts and conversation, I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings.

I stepped out of the car and walked toward the entrance. As I approached, I heard voices that sounded like an argument.

“I said get me your manager right now! What sort of customer service is this? Don’t you interview your waitstaff before hiring them?” 

“Take a look at my white dress! You just got it stained because of your careless and useless self, and all I get is 'sorry.' Sorry, my foot!” 

“GET ME YOUR MANAGER!” the woman, a disgruntled customer, roared at the server, who stood calmly throughout the ordeal.

The other customers had stopped eating, watching the scene unfold.

“What’s going on Nelly?” , the manager, asked the waitress.

At that moment, I looked at the waitress and recognized her as the woman I had a one-night stand with.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask me about my welfare?” the sassy customer interjected. “If nothing is done about my expensive dress, I’ll make sure to rate this restaurant poorly online once I leave.”

“Sir, when she arrived, Sugar came to serve her, but she insisted that I be the one to attend to her,” Nelly explained. “I approached her for her order, and she said she wanted hot coffee, jollof rice, and chicken.”

“I left to get her order. Upon my return, as I was arranging them on her table, she suddenly knocked the coffee out of my hands, claiming I didn’t bring her the hot coffee she requested.”

“The coffee ended up spilling on her dress, and now she’s insisting that I did it intentionally. I refuse to take responsibility for something I didn’t do,” Nelly insisted.

“Why should I pay for the dress when I’m not at fault?” Nelly's voice rose in defense.

“You know, everything you just said is rubbish and baseless! I didn’t knock your hands over. Do I look like a whining child to you?” the sassy customer replied.

Gasps and whispers erupted from the other patrons, who began to point fingers at Nelly.

“She must be lying!”

“Yes, that’s how they all behave. They do something wrong and won’t admit it but instead try to shift the blame,” another customer mentioned.

“I pity the lady with that expensive dress,” someone else remarked.

The manager stared at Nelly as if searching for answers in her expression. She gazed back at him, shaking her head to indicate she wasn’t lying.

“I’m telling the truth; I didn’t do it,” Nelly persisted.

“And you did. Do you have any evidence?” the sassy lady smirked smugly.

Nelly looked back at the woman, smiling. “Well, this is a five-star restaurant, and we have CCTV cameras everywhere. We can check the footage and see what happened.”

“Yes, we should do that,” another customer chimed in.

“Exactly! The cameras can't lie, can they?” someone else added.

The sassy customer's face suddenly turned pale.

“Ma'am,” the manager turned to the customer, “if you don’t mind, let’s go to the security room and check the CCTV.”

“Are you calling me a liar, manager?” she shot back.

“No, I’m not. What we’re trying to say is that we should—”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” she cut him off. “To hell with you and this restaurant!” She stood up, grabbed her bag, and stormed toward the exit, where I stood.

She brushed past me as if I weren’t there.

That was when the manager and Nelly noticed my presence. I nodded at them and headed toward the office. 

“Mr. Wilson,” the manager began, but I interrupted him, lost in my thoughts about the unfolding chaos.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I didn't realize you were here."

"I also apologize for what happened earlier."

"Get me, Nelly," I said. The manager raised his head, looking at me in alarm. "I want to speak with her."

I would be lying if I said I didn't admire her, which is surprising for me because I rarely admire anyone who speaks so highly of a woman.

The way she remained calm during the situation, patiently waiting for the manager while the other lady kept ranting, is a rare quality in a person's character.

Then, how she presented the evidence was impressive; it was as if she had known how to handle the sassy lady all along but chose to remain composed.

“Sir, you called for me?” I heard the voice that had been echoing in my mind, and emotions I didn't recognize began to surface.

Memories from that night crashed over me the moment my gaze landed on her.