Chapter 1

After finding out my family owned an upscale restaurant downtown, my girlfriend's male best friend started coming by to eat every single day.

But he only ate; he never paid. For three straight months he ordered meals that ran three thousand a head, and he never paid a single cent.

For the sake of my girlfriend's pride, and because she kept smoothing things over and giving me little gifts, I held my tongue.

But on Thanksgiving Day, my girlfriend's male best friend called me and launched straight into a stream of accusations.

"Robin Henson, your family's food is really high-class. Today's Thanksgiving family dinner cost me forty-three thousand eight hundred. I didn't like the sound of that number and wanted to round it off, but you wouldn't even let me do that."

"And after I've been supporting your business every day. If you don't want my business, you should just say so."

Hearing that, the veins on my forehead stood out.

For the past three months, he hadn't settled the bill for a single meal.

A full three hundred thousand in meal charges was still sitting on my books, and he had the nerve to say he was supporting my business.

I was so furious I pulled up the bill and sent it to him, then recorded a voice message with a cold laugh and asked, "Is supporting my business your way of saying you dine and dash every single meal?"

After a long silence on his end, he pulled up his own payment records and sent them to me.

Three months of meal charges, plus the forty-three thousand eight hundred for this Thanksgiving family dinner, all paid, down to the last cent.

"Mr. Henson, you'd better look into this carefully. When did I ever fail to pay for a meal? What's the point of slandering me with nothing to back it up?"

I stood there frozen, my fingernails nearly digging into my palms, and I didn't even feel it.

If he'd paid, then why hadn't my restaurant account received a single one of those payments?

...

The first time I met Georgette Harding's male best friend, Merlin, was when he'd just gotten back from studying abroad and set up a group dinner.

My first impression of him was actually pretty good, especially after he heard the dinner was at my family's restaurant.

Merlin couldn't stop praising the food and the atmosphere, and he even said he'd come by to eat there every day from then on.

That night I flat-out refused to let him pay the bill, and in the end everyone pulled me aside and talked me out of it.

"That's just how Merlin is. If you won't let him pay, he'll get upset with you."

Even my girlfriend Georgette urged me, "Merlin hates owing people. Just give him a discount next time he comes."

So I stopped trying to stop him.

After he'd paid, he came back grinning and said, "The prices are reasonable and the food's great. I'm definitely going to come eat at your place every day."

I just thought he was good-looking and easygoing, nothing like the demonized male best friend you read about online.

I made a point of telling my staff that from then on, Merlin would only be charged the cost price for his meals.

But that same night the restaurant's system ran its monthly reconciliation, and once the report came through to me,

I froze. Merlin's charge was the one thing missing.

A full fifty thousand in meal charges was showing as a deficit on my restaurant's books.

I called the manager to verify it, and he was just as baffled.

"That bill really wasn't paid. I saw you with them and figured it was going on your tab."

I stood there stiffly for a long time before I could push down the wave of disgust in my chest.

It wasn't that I couldn't afford a fifty-thousand meal, but I couldn't stand someone playing the generous saint while doing the opposite.

To think Merlin clearly hadn't paid, yet put on that magnanimous act in front of me, claiming he had.

And everyone that night simply assumed Merlin was the one treating.

Now, after the books were reconciled, it turned out he hadn't paid at all. He got the good name, using my money.

Right then, I was furious enough to call Georgette.

"What is Merlin playing at?"

Georgette's voice still had the nasal grogginess of someone just out of bed. "What's the matter, baby?"

I sent her the bill, keeping my tone as calm as I could. "Didn't Merlin say he paid? Why didn't I receive it?"

Georgette read it and let out a low laugh. "I thought it was something serious. It's only fifty thousand. Just do it for me, as a favor."

I was so disbelieving I couldn't get a word out, then snapped, "Do you think this is about the money?"

Georgette's tone took on a note of impatience. "It's only fifty thousand, it's not like you can't afford it. Can you please stop making a scene?"

That one line was enough to make me laugh coldly. "Fine. Fifty thousand's no big deal. Then I'll go get it back myself."

With that, I posted the bill straight to the group chat. Just as I was about to tag Merlin, the group admin, Georgette, deleted my message.

Then she kicked me out of the group chat.

I felt the blood rush to my head, my temples throbbing with anger.

Georgette called right back, and this time she softened her tone.

"Robin, I was out of line just now. That's on me. But you can't just post the bill in the group like that. There could be some misunderstanding, right?"

Not a single thing Georgette said was anything I wanted to hear.

I laughed coldly right then, my voice edged with anger. "So I just deserve to eat this loss and keep quiet?"

Georgette kept coaxing and reassuring me. "Hang on, I'll go get an explanation."

And with that, she hung up.

Barely ten minutes later, she sent me a voice message and, along with it, sent a small $52 gift, which didn't even cover the loose change on that meal.

"Merlin's family really hasn't been doing so well financially these past few years, and you know men, they care about pride, that's why he did it. Baby, just take the hit for me. This fifty-two is my way of making it up to you."

Looking at that $52 transfer, I felt not a trace of warmth or happiness.

I wanted to ask how this was fair. Merlin took over fifty thousand of my meal money and turned it into his own goodwill, and I got fobbed off with fifty-two.

But since Georgette and I were about to get engaged, I didn't want to make things too awkward within her social circle.

So I only gave Georgette a warning, telling her to pass a message to Merlin that this was the one and only time.

I thought that was the end of it. But when the next month's restaurant reconciliation came through to me, I froze.