Becoming the Richest Man Alive

Casper noticed that there was a distinct pallor on her face. However, the radiant smile that had

suffused her face distracted him from her otherwise sickly appearance.

The woman was Candace, the wife of the owner of the restaurant. Candace was familiar with Elena,

including the fact that Elena always came to eat supper alone. Despite Candace’s prodding, Elena had

never hinted at being in a relationship or even displaying interest in any male.

Today, however, Elena’s bearing, along with the way she looked at Casper, was different than usual.

Having once been a young woman in love, Candace had a keen eye for the budding of young

romance.

“He’s my boss,” Elena mumbled shyly as her face turned pink.

“Your boss? You look very young indeed,” Candace said, appraising Casper with a look of surprise and

respect. Then, a twinkle appeared in Candace’s eye, and she gave Elena a conspiratorial wink.

“Remember to seize every opportunity you get!”

I’m not buying your silly excuse! That wink declared.

The moment Candace left Casper and Elena alone to browse the menu, Elena said earnestly, “Mr.

Simpson, please don’t take Candace seriously! She was only joking.”

She was terrified that Casper would have mistaken Candace’s words as Elena’s own feelings.

“Only joking? I thought she made quite a bit of sense. Is she sick, though? She looked rather pale,”

Casper remarked casually.

He turned and fixed his dark gaze on Elena, deciding to put her at ease by steering the conversation

away towards a less awkward topic. Besides, Casper had already set his heart on Giselle. He was

determined not to be distracted.

One unrequited love was more than enough for Casper. If Elena, too, developed feelings for him,

Casper knew that things would get considerably trickier.

Focus! Casper reminded himself, making up his mind to pursue Giselle wholeheartedly and win her

over as soon as he could.

Elena had been dreading Casper’s reply. Seeing that he had breezily glided over it and changed the

subject, Elena heaved an inward sigh of relief.

“The owner of this restaurant is Larry, but everyone calls him Mr. Langston. His wife’s name is

Candace,” Elena informed Casper. “She indeed has an illness of some sort, but the Langstons aren’t

too well-off. They’ve also got two children to put through school.”

As they waited for their food to arrive, Elena quickly outlined the moving love story of Candace and

Larry with a few brief sentences.

Larry and Candace had come from their village to the city seeking work. As they were both

uneducated, Larry and Candace worked as laborers on a construction site. The site chief turned out to

be a nasty pervert who had frequently harassed Candace. Larry’s strong sense of justice made him

unable to stand by idly. One day, Larry had pummeled the site chief to a pulp.

The encounter had landed Larry squarely in prison. Candace had had to sell off several pints of her

blood to accumulate the funds necessary to pay off the charges levied against Larry.

Larry and Candace had then conferred and concluded that construction work was tiring and paid

poorly. They thus slogged hard for a few years, earning barely enough to rent a space of their own.

When they had finally saved enough, the Langstons then poured their life savings into their restaurant.

However, the numerous blood transfusions that Elena had undergone left her body permanently

weakened. Visiting the clinic or the hospital cost too much, and Candace insisted on reserving money

for their children’s education. She’d thus never received any form of medical treatment since.

As regular patrons, Larry and Candace had come to recognize Elena as a familiar face. Upon

discovering that she was also from the village, an immediate kinship had blossomed between Elena

and the Langstons.

They naturally felt more comfortable discussing matters of a more intimate nature with her.

“Young man, Elena is a lovely girl. You’re the first man she’s brought here for supper! You must be

flattered,” Candace exclaimed as she came over to Elena and Casper’s table bearing their orders.

Candace gave Casper a nod of affirmation and winked at him.

“Since it’s such a happy occasion, here are two bottles of beer on the house! Have a good time!” Larry,

too, had emerged from the kitchen both out of curiosity and to give Casper a nod of acknowledgment.

He now set the beer bottles down gleefully onto the table, as if he was presiding over Casper and

Elena’s wedding already.

The simple but delicious fare went delightfully well with the refreshing beer.

Casper, however, could read the anticipation sparkling in Larry and Candace’s eyes. The beer was not

just a gift. The Langstons had deliberately sent it to provide Casper and Elena with the final boost of

boldness.

Bemused, Casper found himself wondering how he could gracefully dodge this bullet.

“The Langstons are kind folk. It’s no wonder that you brought me here. Did you plan on using me to

fend off their questions about your dating life?” Casper joked. He gave a polite nod to the Langstons,

then raised a slice of chicken to his mouth. Even before he could taste it, the savory aroma of the

chicken was already making his mouth water.

Elena stared down at her plate in embarrassment. The Langstons’ eager matchmaking attempts had

entirely confounded her original intention to enjoy a simple supper treat from Casper.

Casper had not helped matters, either. His attempts to put Elena at ease had backfired and only served

to increase her awkwardness.

All of Elena’s concerns, however, were eclipsed at that moment by her hunger. Her belly growled with a

low rumble, reminding her that it had been hours since she’d last eaten.

“I can’t finish all of this. Please eat,” Casper said between mouthfuls of food. He had been starving as

well and had already gobbled up half the food on his plate.

Casper and Elena thus ate for a long while in silence, both of them filling their stomachs intently. Elena

had abandoned her usual disciplined diet for that night and ate to her heart’s contentment.

While Casper and Elena were eating, several rascals had slunk into the restaurant. Each of them had

stiff, bleached hair, and their cruel, shifty eyes darted around the restaurant as they approached Larry.

“I say, Mr. Langston, didn’t you say that you’d pay up two days ago? Why haven’t you?” One of them

demanded in a nasal tone.

Upon hearing the unusual voice and its unreasonable demand, Casper picked up his bottle and turned

in the direction from where the sound came. Casper’s eyes rapidly took in the gold chains the group of

youths had draped around their necks, their ripped jeans, and the cigarettes dangling from the corners

of their mouths.

The Firewolf Chamber of Commerce tattoo emblazoned on their leader’s arm caught Casper’s eye

instantly.

“My dear fellow, my restaurant isn’t doing too well now. I’m not running a corporation. If I have to pay

you five thousand a month, what will we have left to feed ourselves?” Casper heard Larry protesting.

Larry clearly knew what the group of youths were here to do, and the look on his face was one of

tremendous fear.

“That’s none of our business! Let me tell you, Mr. Langston, if it wasn’t for Stallion’s protection here,

you’d have been set straight a long time ago!” Another of the youths stepped forward and yelled hotly.

He looked both eager to threaten Larry as well as flatter Stallion.

“Hand us the money now! It had better not be a single cent less than the five thousand we’re

demanding. That’s the rules, and you know it. If you continue to refuse, I’ll have to take action. Believe

it or not, I won’t have a second thought before destroying this place!” The thug who had been referred

to as Stallion now appeared. With an arrogant look on his face, Stallion bared his yellowed teeth as he,

too, confronted Larry.