Chapter 2

The bill glared at me in bright red—well over a hundred thousand dollars still unpaid.

I drove straight to the restaurant and called in the manager and staff to verify it.

I could barely keep a lid on my anger, and it bled into my tone as I asked, "Why is there over a hundred thousand dollars in unpaid bills on the books?"

The manager looked uncomfortable. He stammered for a long while before he finally worked up the nerve to say, "Well... the last few times, it was Miss Harding who brought Mr. Simmons in. She made a point of telling us that you'd given orders for all of Mr. Simmons's meals to be comped from then on."

I was so angry I actually laughed. "Does what she says count as my decision? Since when does anyone get to overrule me and comp somebody else's meals?"

The manager's smile was worse than tears.

"It's just, I figured Miss Harding and you would be family sooner or later, so I—"

The manager was nearly crying. "But Mr. Simmons kept coming so often that it didn't sit right with me, so I did tell someone to make Mr. Simmons settle the bill."

As he spoke, he pushed a slim, good-looking waiter forward. "Why didn't you get Mr. Simmons to pay?"

The waiter, holding the card reader, had red rims around his eyes. "I... I didn't dare. Miss Harding gave orders."

I felt my migraine threatening to flare up again, but I didn't want to give my own employees a hard time.

I rubbed my temples and was about to say a few words when Georgette came bouncing in.

She was carrying a gift box with a watch in it. "What's going on? The mood in here is so tense."

The sight of her killed whatever good temper I had left.

I threw the bill down in front of her. "Who gave you permission to overrule me and comp Merlin's meals?"

Georgette's smile stiffened for only an instant before she beamed even wider. "Is that all? What's the big deal?"

Just as I was about to blow up, she set the watch down in front of me.

"I only said that for the sake of appearances, but not talking it over with you first was truly my fault. Let me give you a watch to cool off, okay?"

The watch ran somewhere over three hundred thousand dollars—more than enough to cover the meals.

But there was still this odd feeling in me, like a thorn lodged in my heart.

Looking at Georgette, her eyes full of affection, I understood her even less. What was she after?

Still, what she and I had was no longer simple feelings; the marriage was also a strategic play between our two families' companies.

For every reason, personal and practical, I couldn't afford to sour things too badly with her social circle. I took the watch and went along with it. "Georgette, I hope you understand that even though we're a couple, you still need to keep some sense of boundaries."

Georgette immediately gave an apologetic smile. "Of course, of course. It won't happen again."

She apologized profusely and said all kinds of things to smooth me over, and then, offhandedly, she added, "You've got so many businesses under you. No need to keep such a close eye on one restaurant, is there?"

But I was still turning over why Georgette had done all this, and didn't catch what she said.

Before long it was Merlin's birthday. I hadn't gotten an invitation, but he'd booked a table at our restaurant.

Still, I was only Georgette's boyfriend, not part of her circle, so it was reasonable enough that no separate invitation came for me.

So I went ahead and prepared a birthday gift, thinking I'd also set things straight with him in person.

I could give a discount, but I couldn't keep comping everything.

What I didn't expect was for Georgette to see me carrying the gift bag and look so troubled.

"Robin, you don't need to go today."

That one line left me frozen where I stood. "What do you mean?"

Georgette looked pained. "No one sent you an invitation, and everyone going is from our circle, so there's no need for you to go mooch that meal, right?"

I flared up on the spot and demanded sharply, "What do you mean? What do you mean, 'mooch that meal'? Am I short on a meal?"

"No, it's just—they didn't send you an invitation, did they? I figured it would only be awkward for you to show up."

I asked, sour with anger, "So when your other friends had birthdays, didn't I attend as your partner without getting a separate invitation then either?"

But then Georgette pulled out her phone and held it up for me to see.

Once I made out what was on the screen, my eyes went wide with shock.