Do I need a woman to pay the bill? Who does she think she is? Lance's face darkened, feeling demeaned by the offer. Immediately after Addison left, he pressed the button to call the waitress. The waitress outside heard the ring from this private room and jumped; the man's icy expression earlier had stuck in her mind. She was genuinely scared, so now when she heard that ring, it unnerved her a bit. She had just seen the elegant woman leave the room. Now, only the stern and icy man remained inside. His presence seemed to chill the air itself. She did not want to face him again. To avoid going back in, the waitress pretended not to hear the bell. She grabbed an empty plate, trying to look busy, hoping other waiters would handle the VIP in the room. However, before she could sigh in relief, she encountered the manager, a bulky man in a crisp suit. He eyed her skeptically. "Selena, where are you going with that empty plate?" Caught off guard, she stammered, "I-I'm going to serve dishes." The manager's confusion grew. "Serve dishes? With an empty plate? Where are the dishes?" Selena hesitated for a brief moment, then it dawned on her. Wiping the sweat from her forehead nervously, she said, "Ah, I got mixed up because I was so busy. I thought the dishes hadn't been served yet, so I was taking these empty plates to the kitchen to bring the food!" she explained. The manager looked at her doubtfully. "Really? You seem distracted today. What's going on?" "No, no, I'm just really swamped right now." Selena quickly explained. This manager had a reputation for being quite strict. Last time Selena was merely two minutes late, and he had docked her a whole month's pay. She could not afford to give him any reason to complain this time."Uh, the bell from the private room rang, I need to go check on that." Despite the dread of dealing with the demanding customer in the private room, she set down the plates, did not wait for the manager's response, and hurried inside. Her paycheck is crucial, so she had to secure her job first. Inside the private room, Lance raised an eyebrow at the harried appearance of the waitress. Such service standards ... If this were Johnston Enterprise's, she would have been dismissed already. "You ... " he began, his brow furrowing, but before he could complete his thought, Selena quickly adjusted her uniform, her expression smoothing into a professional smile. "Hello, how may I assist you?" Seeing Selena's shift in demeanor, Lance's brewing irritation simmered down slightly. He spoke in a subdued tone, "I want to settle the bill." He was not one to let a woman pay for him. "Of course, let me just total that up for you," Selena responded, moving to the table next to him, where she picked up a digital pad and a small device.She tapped a few buttons, checked the private room's bill details, and then looked up. "I'm sorry, Sir, but the lady earlier has already paid, and she mentioned if you needed anything else, just put it on her tab." Lance was aware. His annoyance grew, his voice stern. "I said I would pay, didn't you understand?" "But she's already taken care of it ... " Selena was at a loss. Seeing Selena flustered, Lance took a deep breath, reigning in his impulse to scold her. Lance, accustomed to his leadership role, could not help but feel a need to address the waitress's hesitancy and sluggish pace. He clenched his jaw slightly and said, "Then issue a refund to her. I will take care of the bill myself." "Refund?" Selena echoed, puzzled. Lance stared at her and sharply questioned, "What? Is there a problem with issuing a refund?" "Yes, of course, I can do that," Selena stammered, obviously intimidated by Lance's authoritative gaze. She quickly grabbed the device to initiate the refund. "I'll process the refund immediately." Watching the waitress finally spring into action, Lance checked his watch. Noting that it had taken her five minutes from the moment she entered the room until now, his patience thinned. Clearly frustrated by the slow service, he loosened his tie, took a black card from his wallet, and handed it to her. "Please use this card and hurry."