Right after she placed the order, the lobby manager came by and noticed she was still there.
With a frown, he raised his voice and said, âWhy are you still here? Move these things aside quickly; donât block the lobby!â
Ariana, already frustrated, grew angrier at his insistence.
She snapped back, âWhy are you rushing me? Iâm working on it!â
Randell quickly came to Arianaâs defense, pleading with the lobby manager, âLook, you didnât mention this rule to us earlier.
Itâs our first time dealing with this.
Could you please give us a little more time? Weâre getting help now.
â
âMore time? Do you realize the potential harm to our BRD Groupâs image?â The lobby manager refused to budge and yelled, âSecurity! Throw all their things out!â
âWhat? These are my personal items.
What if something gets damaged?â
Ariana realized the lobby manager was picking on them deliberately because he looked down upon them.
This made her even less inclined to back down.
Randell quickly intervened, saying, âPlease, just give us a bit more time.
Our help is on the way.
Itâs not crowded here right now, so this shouldnât be an issue.
â
The lobby manager shot Ariana a furious look and shouted, âYou canât cover the losses to the BRD Groupâs image.
Who do you think you are?â
Ariana was fuming and clenched her teeth.
âFirst off, weâre not bothering anyone here, and secondly, weâre not blocking any emergency exits.
Plus, we wouldâve cleared the way earlier if you hadnât stopped us, leading to this mess.
Why is this our fault?â
âAriana, try to stay calm,â Randell said.
Taking a deep breath, Ariana looked at the lobby manager.
âJust ten more minutes.
The crew I called will be here shortly.
Weâve rented half the garage from the BRD Group, and our contract allows us lobby access.
â
The lobby manager gave them a mocking look, clearly unimpressed by their lack of designer attire, and sneered, âYouâre cluttering the place and causing a ruckus.
Itâs irritating.
Not just anyone is allowed in our BRD building.
Iâm merely enforcing the rules.
â
Ariana felt a sneer rise in her heart.
What were the rules of this BRD building anyway? It seemed like they made them up as they went along.
The lobby manager, noticing Arianaâs silence, scoffed, âLooks Like youâre new around here.
Donât get it twisted.
Just because you rented our garage doesnât mean you have any real ties with the BRD Group.
Your company had to rent space to use; what can you even achieve anyway?â
Arianaâs anger boiled over, giving her a headache.
It was clear to her that the lobby manager looked down on her.
Despite their efforts to keep a low profile, including avoiding the main entrance of the BRD Group, the lobby manager had confronted them, causing a scene that drew the whispers and glances of many passersby.
Just then, a group of well-dressed professionals emerged from the elevator, clustering around one person.
The lobby manager instantly changed his demeanor at this sight, stepping aside to greet them.
Meanwhile, Ariana, now cornered by him, called the workers in frustration to check how much longer they would need to come here.
Holden, at the center of the group, was moving forward while listening to updates from his team when a familiar female voice caught his ear.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look, spotting the woman he had been thinking of just moments ago, cornered and visibly upset.