Chapter 3

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."