The Rise of David
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 32: Massage
Finally, the moment everyone was afraid of had arrived. Excuses and complaints soon followed.
“I ... I only have a thousand with me.”
“I don’t have money! I haven’t even paid my personal bills!”
“I have ten thousand, but that’s far from enough!”
They could barely pitch in eighty thousand, so there was no way they were going to pay up the sum.
While they were scrambling around, David sat comfortably on a couch in the lobby. He was served with refreshments by the staff as soon as he sat down.
“If you guys don’t pay up, we can’t let you leave.” The cashier was getting fed up while waiting for the payment. She then announced on her walkie-talkie to request for the hotel security guards. “To the security department, please be informed that we have a situation at the payment counter. There are customers who can’t pay for their meals.”
Upon hearing that, Lincoln and the others jumped in fright.
Within a few seconds, they were surrounded by more than ten armed security guards.
Their knees were wobbling in fear because they had never been in such a tense situation before.
Under the dire circumstances, everyone’s eyes were glued to Lincoln. If they were ever going to get free, he was their only hope.
However, Lincoln’s face turned pale when he saw the murderous looks the security guards had on their faces.
“Lincoln, you came in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, right? Why don’t you just tell them you’ll leave your car here as collateral?”
“That’s right! Just leave your car here. Once you’ve received the money you mentioned, you can just come back and pay.”
“Exactly. Unlike you, Lincoln, we aren’t rich. I’m sure a million means nothing to you!”
The others came up with the idea and showered Lincoln with compliments again.
At that moment, Lincoln’s face had embarrassment written all over it. “The car ... The car is rented. I’m supposed to return it after dinner. I can’t leave it here.”
Lincoln’s words left everyone absolutely appalled. Michelle gaped in astonishment as well.
Everyone felt utterly embarrassed because they didn’t believe David when he said that Lincoln had only rented the car.
At that moment, everyone panicked because if Lincoln was a fraud, that would mean they had to fork up for the bill themselves.
“Since none of you could pay, we’ll have to detain all of you!” the cashier said in annoyance. She then instructed the guards, “Bring all of them to the office. The
manager will deal with them. They’re cramping the place up!”
The guards then proceeded to drag all of them away by force.
Suddenly, Lincoln yelled out, “I ... I’ll pay my own share. Let me go! You can keep the rest of them.”
Due to the devastating situation, Lincoln had decided to abandon the rest and save himself.
Everyone was stupefied when they heard Lincoln say that.
Michelle grabbed his hand and begged, “H-How about me, Lincoln? Are you not going to pay for me?”
“Get lost! I don’t have that much money!” Lincoln shoved Michelle away aggressively. I must get away now! Otherwise, I might even get beaten up!
Michelle was at a loss for words. She had never thought that Lincoln would be such a heartless man.
“No. That’s not possible. Unless the bill is cleared entirely, none of you is allowed to leave.” The cashier rejected Lincoln coldly.
Lincoln was stunned. So we’re all doomed unless we can pay off the outstanding of more than a million.
“Why did you act all high and mighty when you’re just a poor bloke? How ridiculous!”
“It’s all your fault! Why did you order brandy when you’re penniless?”
“More than a million! What are we going to do now?”
Everyone turned livid and didn’t hold back on their remarks directed at Lincoln and Michelle.
“David, please have some mercy! Help me get out of this, and I’ll pay you back later,” Yvonne begged David.
Out of a sudden, everyone realized that the question around David’s identity didn’t matter anymore. He must be someone important. Otherwise, why would he have the
privilege of having free meals at Glamor Hotel? It seems like only he can help us.
Then everyone started gathering up around David and begged for his help.
“Please help us get out of this. After all, we’re Hilda’s friends!”
“We’re such a bunch of fools for believing in Lincoln and Michelle!”
“Lincoln is a fraud! We now know that he must’ve extorted the money from Hilda! No wonder she broke up with him.”
“Please, David. I’m begging you!”
David stood up and took a glance at all of them. He grinned and exclaimed, “How audacious of all of you to call yourselves Hilda’s friends! I can get all of you out of this with just one word. But that’s not what I’m going to do. Every one of you deserves this!”
Upon hearing that, everyone was remorseful for what they had done.
“Bring them away!” Since David wasn’t going to help them, one of the staff at the payment counter gave the order.
“Hey! No! Let me go...”
“Please help me!”
Some of them had even started sobbing when they were being brought away by force.
“Don’t touch me! I ... I am a close friend of your boss’ daughter! If you touch me again, I’ll get her to fire all of you!” Lincoln instinctively threatened the security guards.
Faced with the possibility of losing their livelihoods, the security guards stopped in their tracks. The staff at the payment counter were also stunned. After all, they were the ones who gave the order.
Lincoln felt relieved after finding out that his threat worked.
He then said arrogantly, “I’m a close friend of Ms. Sullivan. Initially, I didn’t want to tell her that I was dining here. Otherwise, she’d have come with me. But if you touch me again, you’ll leave me no choice! I can give her a call right now and get all of you fired. Now, let me go and I’ll let it slide.”
Instantly, all the staff turned to look at David. They knew of the relationship between David and Josephine. If Josephine was really a close friend of Lincoln, David would have known. Hence, they wanted to find out if Lincoln was telling the truth.
David furrowed his brows. Just when he wanted to question Lincoln, a voice echoed through the lobby.
“So, you said you know Ms. Sullivan?”
The voice came from the entrance of the hotel. David turned around and saw Josephine walking through the door.
While staring coldly at Josephine, Lincoln nodded and said, “Yes, I do. In fact, we’re close friends. We’d always dine together!”
Upon hearing that, Josephine burst into laughter.
David, too, was laughing his head off. So Lincoln was bluffing! He almost got me there!
The hotel staff started chuckling among themselves as well. Josephine was right in front of him, and yet Lincoln wasn’t even aware of who he was speaking to. Just a few seconds ago, he had even arrogantly claimed that he was a close friend of Josephine.
“Hey, idiot! Do you know who the person standing right in front of you is?” David smiled mockingly.
Lincoln looked at David and felt uneasy, as though something embarrassing was about to happen to him.
As he was staring at David in puzzlement, the latter continued, “The person standing right in front of you is Ms. Sullivan, your close friend!”
Suddenly, chuckles turned into waves of laughter. The staff couldn’t contain themselves any longer. On the other hand, Lincoln wished that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
“What are you doing here this late at night?” David asked Josephine.
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