Veronica's mom, Carol, had been running a hair salon for years. She had some savings—not a lot, but definitely five figures.
Still, that money was something she'd scraped together bit by bit for retirement…
Handing it over so Kevin and Veronica could renovate the Alibi Room?
That wasn't an easy decision. It needed serious thought.
So Carol decided to come in person—partly to talk things through with Veronica, but more importantly, to meet Dexter, the guy investing in the Alibi.
Kevin got Carol settled, then went straight to find Veronica and explained the situation.
The restaurant was slammed at the moment. Fruit platters were flying out, and Veronica really didn't have time. She hurried over to Carol and said, "Mom, the owner and I are both busy right now. Can you wait a bit?"
Carol had heard about this restaurant and wanted to try the food anyway. She smiled and nodded. "Sure—but you're buying. I can't afford to eat here."
Veronica laughed. "What do you want?"
"You order for me," Carol said. "I've never had this kind of food. I don't even know what's good."
"Okay," Veronica replied without hesitation. She brought over a fruit platter first and set it in front of Carol, then headed into the kitchen to talk to Dexter.
"Kevin and your mom—two people, right?" Dexter asked.
"Just make food for my mom," Veronica said awkwardly. "Kevin doesn't need any."
"That'd make me look cheap," Dexter laughed. "Relax—just wait."
Back at the table, Carol picked up a piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth. She looked around at the packed restaurant again, clearly amazed.
"food this expensive, and it's still this crowded? How much do you make in a day?"
Kevin smiled. No jealousy—just genuine admiration. "At least a few thousand. Maybe ten grand."
Carol had run a business herself. She'd already done the math.
A hundred-plus dollars per entrée. Sixty-eight bucks for a fruit platter. This many customers…
Just lunch alone was probably five or six thousand.
A full day? Easily over ten thousand.
She couldn't hide her envy. "Kevin, your friend here… he's impressive."
Kevin grinned. "That's why I told you—Veronica and I really need to grab this opportunity. If this works, we might finally live a decent life."
Carol's eyes sparkled with a different kind of excitement. "I'm looking forward to that day. And when it comes… you and Veronica should have a baby, don't you think?"
Kevin loved kids. "That's not something I can decide on my own. I've gotta talk to V."
Carol wasn't letting it go that easily. "Speaking of talking—when are you two getting married? You proposed days ago. Why hasn't anything happened yet?"
Kevin looked a little embarrassed. "We've just been crazy busy. We'll do it soon."
"That's more like it," Carol nodded approvingly.
They chatted for a while.
Svetlana, with nothing better to do, had been quietly eavesdropping. Sitting so close, she'd picked up a lot and glanced over at the busy Veronica.
Looking at her, Svetlana was genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected Veronica to be on the verge of marrying a tall, built, good-looking white guy like Kevin.
Damn, she's lucky, Svetlana thought, then looked back at Kevin.
Kevin noticed and turned slightly, flashing her a toothy grin in greeting.
They'd met before, but nothing formal.
"Hi, I'm Svetlana," she said with a smile. She had a pretty good impression of him.
"Kevin," he replied.
That was it. Svetlana went back to eating her fruit.
Karen, who was also at the table, had zero interest in any of this. More accurately, she had no interest in the three people sitting next to her.
After all, they were broke.
She was, however, very interested in the other customers.
People who came all the way from other neighborhoods to eat here? Those were the ones with money. And some of the guys were pretty good-looking, too.
Karen's mind wandered.
—
Time flew by.
Karen finished a basket of soup dumplings with obvious enjoyment, wiped her mouth, and casually strolled into the kitchen like she owned the place, smiling as she said goodbye to Dexter.
When someone that fake suddenly starts acting extra sweet, there's always an agenda.
Dexter had already figured it out. Without hesitation, he said with a smile, "Tell Vivian to pack you a fruit platter to take to school."
"Thank you, boss! You're the best," Karen said happily. Earlier, Svetlana, Kevin, and Carol all had fruit platters, and she didn't. It had definitely bothered her.
Dexter smiled. "No problem. Go—don't be late for school."
"Okay, see you next time," Karen replied brightly and left.
The kitchen door closed.
Dexter glanced over and found it kind of amusing.
It's easy to go from having nothing to having everything—but once you're used to the good life, going back is brutal.
Someone like Karen—fake-sweet and addicted to pleasure—once she got used to nice things…
What would she become?
Dexter was genuinely curious.
After finishing her food, Svetlana also went into the kitchen and said goodbye.
She acted completely natural.
So did Dexter.
The morning BJ was nothing more than a tiny, meaningless side note.
"Boss, if you ever need me, just call," Svetlana said with a smile before leaving.
Dexter smiled back. "Will do."
Before he knew it, it was 12:30.
They'd made over thirty dishes at lunch. Dexter was a bit tired. He stretched, stepped out of the kitchen, and walked over to Kevin and Carol.
"Nice to finally meet you," he said with a grin. "Now I know why Veronica's so beautiful—it runs in the family."
Carol lit up instantly. Compliments worked on her like magic.
"Boss, you sure know how to talk. If I were younger, I'd probably fall for you."
Oh wow.
Hard pass. Way too old.
Dexter laughed. "Come on—you look like you're in your twenties. Still young."
Carol bloomed like a flower.
Kevin was stunned. Wait… something feels off here.
Was Dexter hitting on Carol?
If this kept going…
Would his buddy turn into his stepdad?
Veronica was shocked too. She was genuinely worried that if Carol kept getting praised like this, something weird might actually happen.
That would be beyond awkward.
After all, Carol was single.
Veronica panicked and rushed over, cutting in quickly. "Mom, stop laughing—everyone's staring. Come on, let's talk business."
She wasn't wrong.
Almost everyone left in the restaurant really was looking at Carol.
Which made sense.
These customers came from other neighborhoods and had a certain level of class. They wouldn't laugh hysterically in a restaurant like Carol had been doing.
Carol cared about appearances. After Veronica's reminder, she felt embarrassed and immediately toned it down.
"Alright, alright," she said. "So, boss—when you have time, let's talk about what Kevin mentioned."
"Sure," Dexter said, taking a seat.