Chapter 404
The Secretly Rich Man
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 404
Cindy giggled.
âOf course!â
Stony-faced, Leila snapped, âCindy! Have you forgotten what you came here to ask about? And, andâ¦
werenât you so worried about Gerald, just a moment ago? Arenât you curious why heâs unscathed?â
âOh, right! Gosh, in my excitement I quite forgot. Gerald, tell us. How are you still in one piece? And are all those guys outside your people?â
âIndeed⦠how am I still in one piece?â Gerald answered dumbly.
âWeâre asking you!â Leila frowned, glaring at Gerald.
Then Gerald clapped a hand to his forehead. âOh, I remember now. Just as I was about to come to blows with Louie, the patrons from next door burst into the room, and maybe they had some kind of grudge against Louie, because everyone started fighting on sight! In all that chaos, I managed to slip away.â Gerald finished with a laugh.
Leila was so mad that words failed her.
Gerald was obviously lying. Slipped away? Like, out of the karaoke bar⦠and into the restaurant next door, for a spot of fine dining? Whoâd believe you!
Ah, forget it! She was too angry now, too agitated!
âWhy donât the two of you stay for dinner, too? Itâll be my treat, okay?â Gerald said pleasantly to Leila.
To be honest, seeing the mouth-watering feast that had been served, Leila felt extraordinarily tempted.
All girls are gluttons, arenât they?
But with the way things were between Gerald and her, how could she accept?
What about her pride?
âHmph! No needâif we wanted to eat, weâd order something ourselves!â Folding her arms, Leila glanced towards Douglas.
Oh, how she wanted to order something.
Douglas peeked into his wallet. A thousand bucks per pax⦠heâd started the night with a thousand five hundred on each person. Heâd picked up the tab for karaoke earlier, to the tune of a whopping one thousand and two hundred dollars. There was no way he could afford to whip out another couple thousands for an impromptu feastâ¦
His family held influenceâbut not so much affluenceâ¦
âUm, well⦠Perhaps next time, Leila. My treat! Itâs just⦠Iâve had too much to drink tonight!â
âYouâ¦â Leila could also tell that it was beyond his means.
She sighed wretchedly. Douglas felt the same.
They stood up to leave, but as they turned to go, they ended up knocking over a vase of flowers on a side table.
With a crash, the vase shattered on the floor.
Ah, crap! Douglas froze. A moment later, a waitress hurried into view, having heard the noise.
âSir, this vaseâ¦â she began in a whisper.
âJust a bunch of lousy flowers, barely worth looking at. Iâll pay for them, alright? Here, one hundred. Is that enough?â Fishing out a hundred-dollar bill, he slapped it down on the table.
Howâs that for cool?
He glanced at his woman. âLeila, letâs get out of here!â
Swooning for him all of a sudden, Leila nodded submissively.
âHold a moment, sir!â
âWhatâs the matter?â
âThat was an artistic flower arrangement⦠Rather than a hundred dollars, itâs worth a thousand five hundred!â The waitress declared with a smile.
Douglas was paralyzed on the spot. âWhat? A thousand five hundred?â