Chapter 2 - The Billionaire's Father Wasn't Homeless After All
By the time I reached The Meridian Room, the morning staff was already whispering.
Everyone knew Ethan Calder had come in early.
Nobody knew why.
I walked toward the management office.
The door was open.
Ethan stood beside the desk.
He wore a navy suit this time.
No tie.
His sleeves were rolled to his forearms.
He looked less like a billionaire executive and more like an exhausted man who hadn't slept.
“Lily.”
“Good morning.”
“Close the door.”
I did.
He gestured toward a chair.
“Sit.”
I sat.
He remained standing.
“My father was testing the restaurant.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“He does this sometimes.”
“So he isn't homeless?”
Ethan's mouth twitched.
“No.”
I stared.
“Then why does he dress like that?”
“Because he's stubborn.”
“That doesn't explain the shoe.”
“He destroyed the other pair intentionally.”
I almost laughed.
“He broke his own shoe?”
“He said the new one looked too expensive.”
I shook my head.
“Your father is strange.”
“He's seventy-eight.”
“That's not an excuse.”
Ethan smiled.
Then the smile vanished.
“There is another reason I needed to speak with you.”
He pushed a file toward me.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of a man.
I recognized him immediately.
The night before.
A man in a black suit seated near the investor table.
“Who is that?”
“Marcus Vale.”
“Investor?”
“No.”
Ethan sat across from me.
“He's been trying to infiltrate one of our companies.”
I frowned.
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because he spoke to you last night.”
I searched my memory.
“He asked me where the restrooms were.”
“Did he ask anything else?”
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
I did.
Then I remembered.
“He asked whether Mr. Calder was always here on Thursdays.”
Ethan went still.
“What did you say?”
“That he wasn't.”
“And?”
“That was it.”
Ethan leaned back.
“Did he touch you?”
“No.”
“Hand you anything?”
“No.”
“Say anything unusual?”
I shook my head.
He exhaled.
“Good.”
“What's happening?”
“Someone is trying to access company financial records.”
“And you think he used me?”
“Yes.”
I stared at the photograph.
“I don't understand.”
“You defended my father.”
“And?”
“And my father was carrying something they wanted.”
My heart skipped.
“What?”
“A flash drive.”
I looked up.
“What was on it?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“My father doesn't tell me everything.”
I was beginning to suspect there was much more to the strange old man than soup.
Ethan stood.
“Stay away from Marcus Vale.”
“I wasn't planning on becoming his friend.”
“Good.”
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“You're coming with me tonight.”
I stared.
“I'm sorry?”
“My father wants you at dinner.”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He says he owes you a meal.”
I laughed.
“That is not worth a black-tie invitation.”
“It isn't black tie.”
“Then what is it?”
“A family dinner.”
My stomach tightened.
“You mean…”
“My father. Me. You.”
I pointed at myself.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“No?”
“I work there.”
“That isn't a crime.”
“You're my boss.”
“Yes.”
“And you're a billionaire.”
He shrugged.
“So?”
I couldn't believe him.
“This is weird.”
“I agree.”
“Then don't do it.”
“My father will be disappointed.”
“You really can't say no to him, can you?”
Ethan looked at the floor.
“Not when he asks sincerely.”
I accepted.
That evening, I arrived at the Calder estate.
It wasn't a mansion in the gaudy sense.
It was worse.
It was understated.
Stone walls.
Huge windows.
A lake beyond the gardens.
The kind of place where everything was expensive enough that nobody needed to prove it.
His father greeted me at the door.
“You came.”
“You invited me.”
“Good.”
He smiled.
“Ethan hates bringing people here.”
Ethan appeared behind him.
“Dad.”
“What?”
“Stop.”
The old man chuckled.
Dinner was surprisingly normal.
We talked about Lily's childhood.
Ethan's mother.
His father's love of fishing.
My husband, Mason.
When his father asked about Mason, I smiled.
“We've been married four years.”
“Happy?”
I hesitated.
Ethan noticed.
“Yes,” I said.
But the truth was more complicated.
Mason had lost his job six months earlier.
His applications kept getting rejected.
He had become withdrawn.
Angry.
Sometimes I came home after a ten-hour shift and found him asleep on the couch.
We loved each other.
But love didn't make financial pressure disappear.
The old man watched me carefully.
“You look tired.”
“I work nights.”
“You worry.”
I smiled.
“Sometimes.”
“About money?”
I looked at him.
He shrugged.
“I'm old. I notice things.”
Ethan's phone rang.
He stepped away.
His father leaned toward me.
“Do you trust him?”
I nearly choked.
“Your son?”
“Yes.”
“I barely know him.”
“Good answer.”
I laughed.
Then he became serious.
“Be careful, Lily.”
“About what?”
“You defended me because you believed it was right.”
“Yes.”
“Don't assume everyone who appears grateful is good.”
Before I could answer, Ethan returned.
“Dad.”
The old man smiled.
“Nothing.”
After dinner, Ethan drove me home.
This time, the silence felt different.
“You seemed close to your mother,” I said.
He looked at the road.
“I was.”
“What happened?”
“She died of cancer.”
“I'm sorry.”
“She knew my father wanted to retire.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
I turned toward him.
“Why not?”
“My father built Calder Hospitality with his own hands.”
“You don't have to keep working forever to prove that.”
“He says the same thing.”
“And you?”
“I don't know how to stop.”
There was something sad about the answer.
I looked at him.
“You should.”
He glanced at me.
“Stop what?”
“Running yourself into the ground.”
He laughed.
“You're giving your boss life advice.”
“You're paying me to serve soup, not to care about your sleep.”
“Fair.”
We stopped at my apartment.
Ethan watched me reach for the door.
“Lily?”
“Yes?”
“My father likes you.”
“I like him too.”
“He doesn't like many people.”
“Neither do you.”
He smiled.
“You've noticed.”
“It's my job.”
I stepped out.
That should have been another ending.
But at midnight, my husband was waiting in the apartment.
He wasn't alone.
A stranger stood in our kitchen.
And Mason looked terrified.
“Lily,” my husband whispered.
The stranger turned.
May you like
It was Marcus Vale.
My blood went cold.
Related Stories
