"Sure."
Darius picked up four menus and approached the table. "Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to Aster & Row."
Three men looked up. Wei looked at Darius's nametag, then at his face. "Darius?"
"Yes, sir."
Wei looked toward Thomas. "Could we have another server?"
The question was delivered casually, almost politely. Thomas didn't react. "Is there a problem with Darius?"
"No." Wei looked at Darius again. "I just prefer someone else."
Darius stood quietly. Thomas kept his voice professional. "We're very busy tonight, Mr. Chen. Darius is one of our strongest servers."
Wei paused, then smiled. "Fine."
Thomas nodded and walked away. Darius placed the menus on the table. "May I start you with something to drink?"
Wei ordered still water. One of his companions ordered whiskey. Another asked for wine. The fourth wanted sparkling water. Darius repeated everything back, then walked away. He didn't look upset, but Thomas noticed him when he reached the service station.
"You all right?"
Darius looked at him. "Yeah."
Thomas glanced toward table 17. "If he gives you trouble, call me."
Darius smiled. "I will."
Thomas nodded and left. Darius picked up the drinks. When he returned, Wei was speaking Mandarin to the man beside him. Darius understood him—not just the words, but the tone, the regional pronunciation, the small difference in Wei's accent when he was speaking casually.
Darius placed the glasses down. Wei looked up. "Thank you."
Darius nodded. "You're welcome."
He walked away. Behind him, Wei continued speaking Mandarin. One of his friends said something about the waiter. Wei answered. Darius kept walking. He had heard worse. Much worse.
At the service station, he placed the empty tray down. Another waiter, Evan Brooks, looked at him. "What are they saying?"
Darius glanced over. "You heard them?"