“Gerald, did you come here to have lunch?” Morgana enquired, with no small amount of disbelief.At the table sat Morgana, her boyfriend, Cameron, and several others. Everyone was smiling his way.Mead Hall was unmistakably an upper-crust establishment, and you paid by the head here, from a starting minimum of thirty dollars per pax. After accounting for drinks and so on, each meal could easily cost hundreds.Everyone knew Gerald wasn’t rich, so this was a fairly peculiar circumstance.Gerald smiled back at them. “That’s right! I’m meeting with some friends, and I thought I’d treat them all to lunch here! Who would have thought I’d run into you guys here, too!”“Pfft! We eat here all the time!”“Ah, Gerald… It’s nice that you’re treating your friends to something, but do you know they charge at least thirty dollars per person here? Are you sure this is a good idea?” This was coming from a girl seated beside Morgana, who had also gone to the same high school with them.Sully was h
He couldn’t very well go around telling everyone that he was rich, like some fool who’d just won the lottery, and try to show up everyone, right?Feh. What would that achieve?“Heaven have mercy! Gerald’s actually found himself a girlfriend?” One of the guys exclaimed. “Holy hell, this is big news! We’ve got a high school reunion coming up in a few days, right? Everyone will be floored when they hear about this!”“Gosh, what sort of girl would take a fancy to him? Oh, no… who’s grandma is it?” Sully shook her head, and took a sip of her juice.This elicited a round of merry laughter from everyone at her table.Morgana watched Gerald with a growing sense of disquiet. Then she said, “Gerald, today we’re actually celebrating my promotion at work—to the Reserve Department, no less. Cameron’s my guest here today. How many friends of yours will be coming? I’d be glad to have them join us.”“No, I can’t accept that. There may be seven or eight of them!” Gerald said with a laugh.So Mor
“Hmph! Gerald, don’t you even know how to wait for us outside once you’ve got a table?” When Tammy reached him, Giya was by her side. The first thing that spewed out of her mouth was abuse.Gerald put down his phone and smiled faintly. He’d been preoccupied with reading investment reports coming in from Zack Lyle.Meanwhile, Sully and the others were staring as though their eyes might pop out of their sockets. “What? What! These are the friends Gerald was going on about?”Cameron still stood there, phone in hand, his face now turning blue.They ignored him, but yet, they were so friendly to Gerald? Blast! It was indeed a vicious slap across the face!“Huh? Gerald, happen to know those people at the next table?” Giya had taken a seat beside him, and she now wondered why everyone at the adjacent table seemed to be gawking strangely in his direction.“Hey, hey! Gerald, why don’t you introduce your friends to us? When I went up to welcome them, those ladies just brushed me off, you
“What grade will you select today?”Across all tables, all eyes turned to Gerald.“Give me your best. A hundred per pax!” It was what he’d been planning for all along, anyway.“Pfft!” Cameron and company tried to hold in their laughter.What an imbecile! A hundred dollars per head, plus drinks—the final bill would add up to a thousand dollars!Tammy’s side of the table was equally shocked by the turn of events. They reached the same conclusion: Gerald was a complete fool. Anyone could see that Cameron was up to no good, provoking him intentionally. Yet, Gerald walked straight into his trap. Really?Gerald’s lack of affluence was hardly news to Tammy. She’d already agreed with Giya not to allow Gerald to foot this meal’s bill.Now, Gerald was going for the most expensive option available? Argh! May the heavens help her!“I beg your pardon—that’s not what we want. Something simpler will do just fine,” Giya interceded.“Nope, a hundred it is. Go on, then!” Gerald was losing his
“Mr. Lourdes…” Cameron murmured. He suddenly felt silly for waving his watch around earlier. He stood at attention, much like a misbehaving student before the discipline teacher.“Cameron, which Mr. Lourdes did you mean?” the girl beside him wondered aloud.“Who else could I have meant? Louie Lourdes, scion, and heir to the Lourdes family mining conglomerate! The big kahunas!”“So, it’s that guy!”“I didn’t know he was that handsome in person!” Morgana, Sully, and the other girls gazed with ardent admiration at the legendary character.The guys, meanwhile, seemed afraid even to breathe too loudly.Not mentioning the cashier, who was already on her feet, displaying the most professional smile she could muster.Louie had a handful of people with him, not even bothering to look at Gerald or his guests as he cut in front of them.“My bill!” Louie barked.The cashier’s smile didn’t falter. “Of course, Mr. Lourdes. Your bill this time comes up to one thousand, two hundred dollars.
Louie’s father had even told him that he deserved to be beaten up. His father explained that the person who had beaten him up was none other than the extremely rich and humble heir, Mr. Gerald Crawford from Mayberry. Hearing that, Louie felt chills run down his spine. He had almost brought great trouble upon himself that day. Perhaps like his father had said, being beaten up was a good thing after all. Maybe it could even get Mr. Crawford to invest in his company. Thus, with that possibility in mind, Louie was faced with a cocktail of surprise, fear, and joy at the same time the moment he saw Gerald. “Gerald! So you were eating here as well!” said Louie with a chuckle as he patted his hurt bottom. ‘What.’ Cameron and the others were all thinking the same thing. They had all been eager for some drama but Louie’s reaction only left them stunned. ‘What? Why does Louie know Gerald? He even addressed Gerald in such a familiar way!’ ‘How is that possible!’ “That’s right
The little cousin’s surprise turned into a sneer. “Who is this ‘most beloved’ Mila? Doesn’t he like you most Giya? Let’s see who she is!” Giya couldn’t react fast enough and before she could stop her, the little cousin had already answered Mila’s call. “Hello? Who is this?” asked the little cousin. “What? You’re definitely not Gerald’s girlfriend. Stop spouting nonsense!” Even though she said that, the little cousin was stunned. She then looked toward Giya before saying, “Giya! This girl’s saying that she’s Gerald’s girlfriend!” “That’s quite enough, Felicia! Hand me the phone immediately!” Giya then snatched the phone from her and hung up immediately. Giya, for one, definitely knew who Mila was. She was Gerald’s girlfriend who was in a long-distance relationship with him. However, that was all Giya knew about Mila. She had been quite curious about what Mila was like in person ever since she knew about her existence. Still, it would be inappropriate for her to say a
It definitely took Gerald a while to explain the entire situation properly to Mila. By the time he was done, Mila was no longer angry. Gerald sighed. He had never anticipated for that crazy girl to actually pick up and answer his phone. He was stuck in an extremely awkward position now. “Say, Gerald, do have a seat… I have something I want to ask you,” said Giya as she looked toward him. On her face was a demure smile. “I’m fine standing. What’s your question?” “Do you really like Mila that much?” “Of course I do!” replied Gerald without hesitation. Giya took in a deep breath before continuing. “Then, if that’s the case, why did you give me such an expensive gift in the first place? In case you weren’t aware, when I learned that it was the most priceless gift your family could offer, I was touched beyond compare!” “I’ve never been in a relationship before, Gerald. Though many other men have given me expensive gifts before, those gifts were different from yours. Your g