Chapter 8 Paying To Avoid Trouble

• “Not bad, kid! But watch out for Lionel, he's a selfish one. He's the kind who, once he's full, doesn't care if his family starves. He's a notorious rogue around here, and there's no telling how he might retaliate against you!”
• “I got it, thanks!”
• Expressing my thanks, I didn't engage in further conversation with Gavin. I hailed a taxi and headed back to the spa.
• The interruption by Lionel had dampened my spirits. After returning to the spa, there was nothing much to do, and I started to feel a bit weary. Thus, I picked a room and went to sleep.
• I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep when I was roused from my slumber. Upon opening my eyes groggily, I found Matthias standing at my bedside.
• “Mr. Carlson, what's wrong?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
• With his usual expressionless face, Matthias said, “Mr. Hackett is looking for you!”
• Upon hearing these words, I immediately got up. As I followed Matthias out, I glanced at the clock hanging over the third-floor bar. It was already nine in the evening!
• Once we arrived at Tigre's office, I stepped through the door, only to see a man with his head wrapped in bandages sitting on the couch.
• I scoffed, pointing at the man as I yelled at him, “D*mn, your head looks like a wrapped-up giant toilet bowl. Lionel, you've really got guts showing up here!”
• The man was none other than Lionel, the very same guy whose nose I had broken.
• Lionel didn't pay any attention to me. Instead, he turned to Tigre and declared, “Mr. Hackett, I'm showing you respect here! Your friend there has beaten me to such a state, so you tell me how we're going to handle this matter!”
• Tigre, resting his hands on the table, turned to look at me and asked, “Theros, were you the one who beat him up?”
• I openly admitted to it before recounting what had transpired in the arcade and adding one final remark.
• “He was just asking for trouble! Is he that poor he has to snatch game tokens?”
• Tigre scratched his bald head, raising an eyebrow as he asked Matthias, “Matthias, what do you think we should do?”
• Matthias replied indifferently, “Compensation should be given since damage was done. Even though it was Lionel who threw the first punch, his injuries are far more severe!”
• “Lionel, how about this? I'll give you two thousand and have Theros apologize to you. Then we can consider the matter settled. What do you think?”
• Upon hearing this, Lionel glanced at me and said, “Sending me off like this feels a bit shabby. How about this; have Matthias arrange a woman for me!”
• “Don't push your luck!” I snapped, unable to stand it anymore.
• To my surprise, Tigre didn't take my side this time.
• “Theros, apologize to Lionel!”
• Tigre wore a stern expression. As a young and passionate individual, I believed I was in the right, so I clenched my fists in defiance, teeth gritted.
• But then I thought about how good Tigre has been to me, and I decided I could only bear with it.
• “Lionel, I'm sorry!”
• Lionel smiled smugly, satisfied.
• “Kid, in this world, being able to fight means nothing! Even Mr. Hackett here has to show me respect; who do you think you are?”
• “That's enough!”
• Annoyed, Tigre spoke up, then opened the drawer and counted out two thousand.
• Matthias took the money and handed it to Lionel, saying, “Come with me. I'll arrange everything for you!”
• Lionel took the money, his eyes gleaming with unapologetic greed. It was as if the pain in his nose had instantly subsided with the sight of the cash.
• Lionel gave me a cold huff, then followed Matthias out. Meanwhile, I stood rooted to the spot, clenching my fists tightly and remaining silent for a long time.
• Tigre emerged from behind his office desk, dragging me over to take a seat on the couch.
• “What's the matter, Theros? Do you feel wronged because I didn't take your side?” Tigre asked with a smile.
• I shook my head. Even though I was thinking that way, I stubbornly said, “I'm not feeling wronged! It's just frustrating to lose money. Mr. Hackett, you can deduct that money from my salary!”
• Annoyance and frustration welled in me. I hadn't even started working yet, and I was already down two thousand. Essentially, that meant I'd be working two months for free!
• However, Tigre waved his hand, saying, “What are you talking about? That money will come from my own pocket!”
• Tigre paused for a moment, then continued earnestly, “Theros, there are some things you still don't seem to understand! Even though we lost money today, it wasn't because I'm a coward. It's just that there was no need to fuss over it with him! As the saying goes, it's easier to deal with big shots than to deal with despicable people. If Lionel were like the usual folks we deal with, things would have been much simpler! However, he's not. He's a rogue with no respect for rules! If we don't deal with this situation, he'll be here every day, loitering at the entrance of the spa while casually throwing paint or excrement. How can we possibly run a business like that?”
• Upon hearing all this, I was taken aback.
• “Seriously? He would do something like that?”
• Tigre sneered, his face full of disdain.
• “That's about all that he's capable of. He's the type who only disgusts people but doesn't cause actual harm. Even so, what can we do? Beating him daily wouldn't make sense, and we certainly can't kill him, can we?”
• Tigre's words made me realize that a hard approach wouldn't work when dealing with people like Lionel, so what we had just done was basically pay to avoid trouble!
• “Theros, sometimes holding back isn't a bad thing! We're businessmen, so our main focus should be on profit! Besides that, arguing with him is just embarrassing! Even so, remember that we should never allow ourselves to be pushed around. If it had been you who got hurt today, then it would've been a completely different story!”