The Fox and The Turtle(2)
The Fox and The Turtle(2)
A lot of money had been spent in order to keep all of this secret, and it all paid off now.
At first, Larry was speechless, but seeing no changes around him, he scoffed, saying, "Humph! Nice try! Pfft, I can't believe you would stoop to posturing without doing anything."
Liz had turned back to face the tables after giving Larry that statement about what's going to happen.
Hearing him say this, she just smiled and waited without saying anything.
Seeing this, Larry scoffed even more, telling himself that this was all just an act.
"So you're not willing to accept defeat gracefully? Fine! I'll wait with you! Let's see what will happen!"
"Suit yourself."
As soon as Liz replied casually in this way, Keren laughed merrily again, while Larry's face started to swell up with anger.
Dammit! What the hell were they waiting for!
He had set his phone on silent so that no one would spoil this 'moment of victory' of his, so he didn't notice that he was being bombarded with calls.
Imitating the two women, Larry also kept staring at the tables which could seat at least 500 people, and the various cartons of food that were waiting to be served.
10 minutes went by with no change, and by now, Larry was quickly losing his patience.
After 15 minutes, a few people started trickling in, but they were wearing normal clothes, which made Larry think that they were just passerby who had come to see what was going on.
However, when he saw that they sat down on the tables, Larry frowned, unable to understand.
Yet, the next moment, he heard a loud buzz of conversation from somewhere.
What the heck was going on?
Slowly, the sound of many, many footsteps also started to be heard, and that buzz started to grow louder, while Larry looked around with panic, trying to identify just where the hell it was coming from.
Finally, a few seconds later, he saw the source.
It was a large sea of people who were surging toward the area where they stood.
When Larry focused his eyes, he saw that these were people from all walks of life. Some were wearing bargain clothes, while others wore branded outfits.
One thing was common between all of them: all of them had their eyes set on the tables, and many were even licking their lips in anticipation.
Those from the press, whom Larry had called casually in order to heighten the embarrassment of Luke's Diner, were also puzzled, but they quickly focused their cameras on the people.
In a flash, 500 people filled the tables, and the most shocking thing happened next.
Servers swooped in and started to serve them all!
What?! Wasn't the food supposed to be only for the critics and foodies? Why was everyone being served?
As the cartons of food started to be uncovered, the aromas even made Larry's mouth water.
Fat steaks cooked for a long time in the perfect broth, vegetables tossed in the leftover spices, roasted chicken with special gravy, extra-large signature pizzas loaded with meat, fresh vegetables and tons of cheese…
The list went on and on, with each item smelling more spectacular than the next.
"W-why…"
Stuttering, Larry watched as the normal people of New York started to tuck in, with expressions of extreme satisfaction on their faces.
"You've gone crazy!"
As Larry turned to Liz and Keren to say this, he realized that they had disappeared at some point.
Looking around, he was unable to find them, but he finally took out his phone to check the numerous messages and calls that were waiting for him.
Puzzled, he immediately called his secretary, but he had to hold the phone a little farther away as the man had started to shout in panic.
"Sir! We were duped! Their plan to call the critics and foodies was a decoy! Their real objective was to call all the people of New York to eat! There are ads all over the city now which are instructing people to head to Central Park to eat for free and try out the dishes of Luke's Diner! They are using this to increase the popularity explosively! Our only chance now is if the food doesn't taste good! If its good, sir, then we are doomed! People will want to go back, and word of mouth will make the diner a huge success!"
His jaw dropping, Larry looked at the expressions of the people who were eating.
Their only chance was if the food didn't taste that good?
That wasn't possible in the slightest! Hell, even he was tempted to go try out all those succulent dishes that smelled SO DAMN DELICIOUS!
By now, it was clear that from the next day onwards, Luke's Diner was going to be the talk of the town.
Everything he had worked for, all that money, all that effort: had all been wasted with one masterstroke.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him.
"What do you think now, Mr. Larry?"
Anger clouding his expression, he turned around and exclaimed, "Elizabeth Redmaine! You-"
"Oh, so you remember my name now? I thought you would. You forgot one very important thing about restaurants: customer is always King. You make the customer happy, you don't need to care at all about what the critics and websites say. Sure, we will face a large loss today. But we will gain so much more, so much so that the profits cannot even be compared with the losses. Don't you agree?"
Interrupted in this way, Larry raised a finger to point at Liz, but he could only shake it weakly, unable to think of anything to say.
Seeing his expression that made him look like his ass was on fire, Liz felt waves of satisfaction crash through her mind.
As she smiled wide, Larry finally said, "This isn't over!"
Laughing, Liz said something that really would be branded into his mind, forever.
"Oh, but it is, Mr. Larry. I already told you that the moment you unshackled my hands using those dirty tactics, you lost. If you continue to try and tussle with me, I swear that you. Will. Regret. It. I can stoop even lower. For example, someone might turn up with proof that it is your restaurant chain which targeted us. In cases like these, the underdog always gets the benefit of the doubt, especially when this underdog has fed New York for a night for free. Now, get out. And, oh, be sure to grab a meal: I'm sure you must be famished after all that failure."