Chapter 140

A group of five middle-aged men in suits—chefs from Evermore Diner—were offered jobs at Gastronova Ventures. The general manager, Ms. Patterson, wanted to meet them.

"Where is she?" one of the chefs asked impatiently. Another added, "Are you toying with us?"

Winona, an assistant, replied, "No, no. Ms. Patterson will be here in a second."

I turned to Roland, a chef in a dark brown suit, and said, "Ms. Patterson loves your cooking. She considers you the best chef at Evermore Diner and wants to invite all of you to join Gastronova Ventures, with an annual salary of $200,000."

He was trying to lure the Evermore Diner chefs with a lucrative offer. He had tricked them into coming. Although their current pay was good, $200,000 was tempting. However, Ms. Patterson wasn't there when they arrived.

As the chefs grew suspicious, Winona entered from the other side of the door.

"Winona? Are you with the chefs?" a voice called.

Winona's eyes lit up. "See, Ms. Patterson is here!" She opened the door, and greeted Ms. Patterson respectfully, "Ms. Patterson."

Carol Patterson entered, smiling. She identified the five men (Roland, Max, Ryan, Zachary, and Aaron) from Evermore Diner. Winona confirmed their identities. The chefs stood and nodded when they learned Carol was the general manager of Gastronova Ventures.

"Please have a seat," she said cordially.

After everyone sat, she ordered food. The table was soon covered with delicacies. They chatted while they ate.

After the meal, Carol said, "Chefs, I believe Winona has told you of my interest in hiring you."

They agreed to work for her. She then took five bank cards from her purse and asked Winona to give them to the chefs.

The chefs looked confused. "Ms. Patterson, what's this?" Roland asked.

"Each card contains $10,000. Consider it an advance payment," she replied.

Roland said, "But we haven't done anything yet."

"Speaking of which," Carol smiled, "there's something I need your help with."

"What is it, Ms. Patterson?" Roland asked.

"Ruin Evermore Diner's reputation," she answered.

The chefs were shocked. Roland immediately objected, "We can't do that." The others agreed.

"You can keep the $10,000 now. When it's done, I'll give you another $10,000 as a thank you," Carol offered. "There's nothing to worry about. Just blame the ingredients. Worst case, Evermore fires you, and you can work for us."

Seeing their hesitation, Carol pretended to change her mind. "Of course, I won't force you. There are others who might take this opportunity." She told Winona to retrieve the cards.

Winona urged them, "Chefs, this is $10,000 you're throwing away! Nothing bad will happen! This is easy money! Even if Evermore fires you, you'll still get $200,000 at Gastronova! What are you waiting for?!"

The chefs seemed tempted. Roland asked, "Ms. Patterson, why do you want us to sabotage Evermore Diner? Was this Mr. Palmer's idea?"

Carol nodded. "It's Mr. Palmer's idea. Help us, and you'll be heroes at Castronova Ventures, with many rewards from Mr. Palmer."

The chefs agreed. Winona left. Carol went to another room where Benjamin Palmer was having dinner alone.

"Mr. Palmer, they agreed," Carol said.

He answered without looking up, "Good. That's everything." He took another bite of his food and took a sip of wine, appearing pleased.

(The remaining text appears to be non-English and unrelated to the story.)