A Japanese visitor named Higashi walked into the restaurant expecting a hot lunch.
However, an experienced waiter named Andy had a clever strategy for dealing with foreign clients who could not speak English. He robbed Higashi and handed him the warmed-up leftovers. This time Andy was horribly wrong in his belief that he would get away with it.
Dinner was in full swing at Sizzling Steak. Louise, the new waitress still settled into her routine, smiled practically as she moved between tables.
At that moment, she noticed a middle-aged Japanese man who was impeccably dressed in a coat and kimono.
He looked around the room and chose a table in the corner. Louise rushed in with a menu in hand. She said, “Welcome to Sizzling Steak,” with warmth. Higashi, the guy, smiled back, his eyes crinkling with pleasure.
He pointed to a picture of a juicy steak and spoke in rapid Japanese. He said again, “Steak” and then, “With rice…rice bowl!”
Louise, whose knowledge of Japanese was limited to simple greetings, understood the difficulty. She replied plainly, “Of course sir, we have a delicious steak!” “We don’t have rice bowls, but would you like fries with your steak?”
Higashi nodded emphatically. “Fries! Good, good!”
Louise felt sick to her stomach as she turned to leave. A half-eaten steak lay on the counter, cold and disgusting. She frowned and grabbed the plate to remove it.
A gruff voice suddenly said, “Wait, boy! What do you think you’re doing? Why throw away delicious food?”
There was Andy, the main server, with a perpetual scowl on his face. He looked at the plate and then at the gullible customer, his lips curling into a smile.
“Waste not, want not!” he said grabbing Louise’s plate. “Serve it to him!”
Louise’s insides shuddered. She argued, “We can’t, Mr. Miller!” “It’s cold and…”
Andy interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Calm down.” “New guy in town, probably won’t know the difference.
“But that’s wrong!” Panic starting to creep in, Louise raised her voice. “What if he complains?”
Andy laughed and tilted his head, attracting unwanted attention. He said, “Come on, Louise,” “He’s just a visitor. He doesn’t speak English at all. You have to admit it’s easy.”
Louise’s jaw clenched. Serving leftovers went against everything she loved. But the thought of losing her job was a cold, heavy weight in her stomach, and Andy, now her only ally, was putting pressure on her.
“But I can’t! I can’t give him trash.”
“That’s not allowed!” she exclaimed.
“Look at it this way: you’re saving food from wasting it,” Andy replied.
“I have the power to expel you if you disobey my orders. No one will be able to tell you that you stole the steak because it was ruined.”
Louise felt a burning shame on her cheeks. She took the plate with shaking hands and handed it to Higashi.
Higashi pointed to the food and remarked, “I didn’t order this,” “No, I don’t want this.”
Andy’s face darkened and he appeared next to the table before Louise could answer.
He said, “What’s going on here?”
He grabbed the plate from Louise’s hand and slammed it back down, ignoring her pleading expression.
He yelled at Higashi, “Wait a minute, Jackie Chan. “Did you order that? “Eat it!”
“Mr. Miller, stop it!” She was silent, Louise said. “He’s a client! Be respectful.”
Andy ignored her and continued to use racial slurs to get Higashi to eat the cold steak. Confused and insulted, Higashi rose from his seat, clearly eager to get out.
However, when he turned around, there were hundreds of dollars in the wad that fell out of his wallet. After placing a hundred dollars on the table, he began to leave. Andy’s eyes flashed briefly with greed. Leaping forward, he prevented Higashi from leaving.
His voice was greasy now as he called, “Hey, hey, hey, hold on!” “That’s… that’s a lot of dough you got there, dude!”
As Andy spins a web of deceit to keep Higashi and his money, Louise watches in knots. Louise was aware that all his promises of a better dinner and a rich experience were lies. Louise was forced to take part in Andy’s ruse after he thrust $100 in cash into her hand.
The situation was becoming unmanageable.
Louise needed to figure out how to defend Higashi, her career, and her own ethics. However, she wasn’t sure what to do next as Andy’s urgency grew.
*** A look of relief appeared on Higashi’s face as he looked at the warm food that Andy had brought. In contrast to the cool, warmed steak, the air was filled with the aroma of teriyaki chicken and grilled fish. The surprise feast ended with a bottle of sake, the beautiful label of which referred to his native country.
“Free for our valued guest!” Andy said with a false sense of joy in his voice.
“A proof of our appreciation!”
Higashi blinked. “Release?” he asked.
“Absolutely!” Andy let out a loud roar. “Not a penny out of your pocket, my friend.”
Andy’s fingers shook as he reached for the delicious sake mug to pour himself, causing a splash of rice wine to land on Higashi’s immaculate coat.
“Oh no!” Andy’s face contorted in a mock apology as he cried out. “I’m really sorry mate.
I’ll clean it up quickly, so don’t worry. Here we provide excellent dry cleaning services.
He grabbed his coat, but Higashi flinched and held on to it.
“No…okay,” he said hesitantly. “It’s okay!
Good!”
“We can’t have you walking around in dirty clothes. Andy said, ‘Come on, let me handle it.’
His movements were jerky as he went for the garment again.
Louise noticed the conflict and entered.
She screamed, “Mr. Miller, stop it!” “The executioner dries up.
“Shut up girl!” Andy hissed. “It’s none of your business!”
Higashi grabbed Andy’s coat before Louise could react and disappeared through a revolving door that said “Employee Only.” Higashi looked behind him, his confusion turning to fear.
Louise felt a knot of dread in her stomach. She hurried after him and excused herself from the table without hesitation.
Andy entered the room and vacuumed Higashi’s coat pockets. When he took a large amount of money out of it, he was startled.
“What are you doing?” Louise came to him. “This is against the law, the money cannot be taken from him.
“Get out!” Andy shouted.
Don’t stress about it either.
Everything is fine. This money has the power to change our lives, you know.
“No, Mr. Miller. Louise advised you to return the money.”
“Are you serious? Louise, this is your chance to change your life. Andy was wrong.”
“Come on, take the money!”
“No, I won’t!” Louise objected.
“He won’t even know we stole the money. Jack Samurai is rich. He has a lot of money. A few lost dollars won’t change a thing. Trust me, Louise.”
“Take the money!” Andy replied handing Louis a wad of money.
She took his money under duress. “Okay, I’ll take it,” she said.
“It’s a ghost!” Andy cheered. “Just make sure he eats his food quickly, okay? I’ll go fix his coat.”
Louise pulled the clip out of Andy’s hair as soon as he left the staff room and unlocked her locker. She was unable to give him the stolen money. She wanted to give Higashi all his money back.
*** “Excuse me, sir?” Louise ran to the table and blurted out. She took a deep breath before holding out the wad of money.
“Please accept it. You own the money. Accept it.”
He muttered, “I don’t understand,” “I’m sorry.”
“That money is yours.” She pointed at him and said, “Your money.” “They stole it from you.” Mr. Miller, my head waiter, stole your money.
Higashi’s face was impenetrable as he looked at her. The uncomfortable wall between them was the language barrier.
Instead of giving up, Louise pulled out her phone and sent a message using a translation app. When Higashi realized what had happened, he was taken aback.
The awkward silence was broken when the door to the restaurant suddenly slammed open. Andy followed the policeman as they entered.
Andy pointed at Higashi and Louis and was literally jumping for joy.
He shouted, “There they are, officer!” with a scream. “Perpetrators! My money was stolen. I have proof.”
Louise felt her heart pounding in her chest.
She tripped, “No, officer, that’s not true!”.
“That’s the one who stole!”
A mischievous smirk flashed across Andy’s face when Andy pulled out the phone before she could explain. When he tapped the display, the video came to life.
With her back to the camera, Louise slipped the money from the locker into her purse.
Louise’s face was bleeding.
“She took money out of my locker and gave it to this man!” Andy told a fib. “He’s a criminal!”
“Officer, it’s not what it seems!” she screamed, her voice shaking.
The officer watched the video without comment.
When it was over, he turned to Louise. “Please step aside. You have some questions to answer.”
“No, officer,” Higashi said in a firm voice.
“Not her. You should ask the man.”
His eyes burned with silent rage as he turned to face Andy. “Because he’s the real thief, not us!”
As it happened, Higashi had excellent communication skills in English. He was still aware of what Andy had said earlier in the restaurant.
He took a business card out of his pocket. “I’m not who you think I am.
As a journalist, I am here to write about this particular restaurant.
“I can also prove that the money is mine. “I have proof that Andy took it from me,” he declared.
“I have blue marks on my currency. To show the mark, simply submerge it in water. Could you show me one of the stolen bills?”
“I didn’t steal anything!” Andy countered in a shaky voice. He was aware of his predicament.
Andy heard the officer remark, “Do what he says!”
Higashi immediately dipped one bill into the water after Andy handed it to him, revealing a blue stain. “Look, officer. That’s what I was talking about.”
The officer was now certain that Higashi was not at fault.
“How’s this waitress doing? As this video shows, she’s taking money.”
When Louise said, “I didn’t steal anything,” “Please accompany me so I can show you the full footage from the CCTV crew. Before I could enter, Mr. Miller came in to get the money out of Higashi’s coat. He just wanted to give it back to our client.
It was obvious that Andy was to blame. The officer hastily cuffed Andy’s wrists and escorted him out of the cafeteria.
“Thank you very much, sir!” Louise thanked Higashi.
“Louise, thank you for your honesty and courage,” Higashi smirked. “I have an offer for you.
“If you’re ever looking for a job, I might have a place for you in our New York office,” he said. “You are a trustworthy worker and our company needs individuals like you. If you are interested, please visit our website or contact me.” He gave Louise his business card.
“I’m grateful. It really touched me,” Louise commented.
“Consider this a reward for your bravery!”
Higashi blinked. “You deserve it!”
Louisa’s decision to stand up for what was right ultimately brought her both justice and newfound opportunity. Despite pressure from her senior colleague Andy, who tried to take advantage of a vulnerable customer for personal gain, Louise decided to act honestly. Her actions not only exposed Andy’s dishonesty but also helped clear her name when the truth came out. By returning the stolen money to Higashi and refusing to participate in Andy’s plan, Louise showed great courage even at the risk of losing her job.
Grateful for Louisa’s honesty and bravery, Higashi offered her a chance at a new career that would not only reward her hard wor but also place her in an environment where she could continue to grow. This unexpected twist of fate gave Louis a sense of validation and hope for the future. It also served as a reminder that doing the right thing even in difficult situations can lead to personal growth and opportunities that previously didn’t seem possible.
Ultimately, Louise’s journey teaches us that standing up for what is right, regardless of the consequences, can have a lasting impact on both personal integrity and the lives of others. Her willingness to speak out against injustice not only freed her from a toxic situation but also earned her a well-deserved reward, proving that honesty and courage really do pay off.
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