Meanwhile, Gideon remained completely unaware of the conclusions the manager was drawing. After Ashley finished placing the order, he merely lifted his hand slightly, signaling for the manager to retrieve the tablet and leave the private room.

The manager immediately stepped forward respectfully, carefully taking the device before quietly retreating, not daring to linger any longer, but before he left, he turned back and asked.

"Sir, we have also recently acquired a bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Would you perhaps like to add it to your order?" the manager asked carefully, though his voice still carried a slight stammer from nervousness.

In truth, he only dared to bring up such a legendary wine because the person sitting before him was Gideon Augustus Walker. Someone of Gideon’s status was more than capable of affording a bottle of that caliber. More importantly, if he successfully sold it, the commission alone would be enough to make his heart race.

After all, the bottle had originally been acquired at an auction for an astonishing 812,500 dollars and was considered one of the prized possessions of the restaurant owner himself.

Normally, it would never be offered so casually to guests. However, the boss had personally instructed the manager that if Gideon ever showed interest, they could sell it to him without hesitation.

There were only around six hundred bottles of that quality left in existence, making it something that even wealthy collectors could not easily obtain, no matter how much money they possessed.

Because of its rarity and prestige, the restaurant could comfortably increase the price by another forty percent and still have countless people dreaming of owning it.

Yet the manager knew very well that the real objective was not the 1,137,500 dollars the bottle would bring in. To people at their level, money alone was never the true goal. What the boss truly wanted was an opportunity to build goodwill with Gideon while he was still establishing his foothold in the city.

Once a figure like Gideon firmly secured his standing, countless businesses would scramble for the chance to attach themselves to him. Compared to that kind of future benefit, a million-dollar bottle of wine was insignificant.

"Bring it on," Gideon answered simply, his tone calm and indifferent as though he had not just agreed to purchase a bottle of wine worth over a million dollars.

"Yes, sir!" the restaurant manager responded almost immediately, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

At that moment, he was already eager to report the good news back to the restaurant owner. In his eyes, Gideon’s agreement was not merely about buying an expensive bottle of wine. It also meant that Gideon had understood the hidden intention behind their gesture of offering such a rare collection in the first place.

People at their level rarely spoke directly when it came to favors, alliances, or goodwill. Sometimes, a single transaction was enough to express mutual understanding.

Trying hard to suppress his excitement, the manager respectfully bowed before carefully stepping out of the private room and pulling the door shut behind him.

Coincidentally, at that exact moment, another man happened to be walking along the hallway nearby. He had originally intended to head toward a secluded corner to briefly escape the exhausting business gathering he was attending.

However, the moment he noticed the usually tightly guarded private room opening from the inside and saw the notoriously arrogant restaurant manager personally treating someone with such humility, his interest was instantly piqued. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

’Who exactly was inside?’

Almost instinctively, the man glanced toward the partially opened doorway. Unfortunately, he only managed to catch sight of a tall man seated within the room, his broad back exuding an overwhelming presence even without showing his face. Beside him sat a woman whose figure and silhouette looked strangely familiar.

The man unconsciously slowed his steps.

For a brief second, his gaze remained fixed on the woman’s back as though trying to confirm something, but before he could see more, the private room’s door completely shut before him.

Only then did he snap out of his thoughts, just in time to meet the restaurant manager’s hostile glare. The same manager who had been practically groveling before Gideon moments ago was now staring at him with furrowed brows and clear displeasure, almost as though warning him not to pry into matters he should not be looking into.

"What are you looking at?" the restaurant manager snapped immediately, his temper flaring without restraint.

Now that he was no longer standing directly in front of Gideon, the obsequiousness and caution he had been forcing himself to maintain instantly disappeared. The tension that had gripped his heart since earlier finally eased, allowing him to breathe properly again.

After spending the entire time walking on eggshells in fear of offending someone like Gideon Augustus Walker, the manager was already mentally exhausted.

So when he stepped out only to find someone openly staring toward Gideon’s private room, irritation naturally surged through him. The last thing he wanted was for some ignorant fool to accidentally offend Gideon or anyone accompanying him.

If trouble really broke out inside his restaurant, he would be the one suffering the consequences.

However, the man who had been caught peeking did not seem bothered by the manager’s hostility at all. His attention remained fixed on the closed private room door, his brows faintly furrowed as though still thinking about the woman he had glimpsed sitting beside Gideon earlier.

"Manager... who was that inside the private room?" the man finally asked.

Although he had just been yelled at, he barely reacted to it. Clearly, his curiosity had already shifted entirely toward the mysterious woman seated beside Gideon.

"Why are you asking?" the restaurant manager shot back immediately, his expression darkening with annoyance. "And don’t even think about going inside to disturb them. The person in that private room is Mr. Walker. I know you’ve heard about his personality and temper, so unless you’re trying to dig your own grave, don’t offend him."

His warning carried genuine urgency. After what had happened earlier, the manager had no intention of allowing another interruption to occur.

If Gideon’s meal was disturbed several more times, there was no doubt in his mind that Gideon would eventually hold him responsible for failing to manage the situation properly.

"Oh?" The man raised his brows with clear interest instead of fear. "Then what about the woman beside him?"

The moment he asked that question, his expression subtly shifted into one filled with curiosity and intrigue, almost like someone catching the scent of a juicy gossip.

"The woman?" the manager repeated before briefly thinking it over.

Seeing the interested look on the man’s face, he instantly misunderstood his intentions and assumed the other party had taken a liking to Ashley after catching only a glimpse of her figure earlier. His expression immediately turned warningly cold.

"Don’t even think about it," the manager said bluntly. "She’s Mr. Walker’s wife, so don’t try anything stupid."

After delivering that warning, the manager snorted dismissively and walked away without another glance, leaving the man standing alone in the hallway.

The man who was left standing alone in the hallway stared thoughtfully at the restaurant manager’s retreating back for a moment before letting out a faint and somewhat absent-minded response.