Vol. 3: Chapter 27
Kael drove toward the neighborhood he used to call home.
Years ago, Zoe had made a small fortune investing in Bitcoin. She’d cashed out when it hit $150,000, buying two properties outright. She lived in one and rented out the other.
By day, she was a marketing director for a major corporation. Her trip last month wasn't a "vacation" as she'd claimed; it was a month-long market research expedition to a planet in the nearest solar system.
Kael pulled up to the entrance of a mall parking garage. The digital sign flashed "FULL." He sighed, preparing to find another spot.
Just then, a valet saw Kael's SUV and jogged over, speaking respectfully. "Ma'am, we have a space for you right this way."
Ma'am?
Annoyed, Kael rolled down the window and shot the valet a glare. The young man froze, did a double-take at the license plate, and then his professional smile snapped back into place.
"Sir, my apologies. We have a dedicated VIP space available. Please, follow me."
Kael nodded.
After parking, he took the elevator to the sixth floor and walked toward a Korean barbecue restaurant. The host at the entrance bowed slightly. "Sir, how many in your party? Do you have a reservation?"
Kael pointed inside. "My friend is already here."
He walked past the host and scanned the room. Sure enough, sitting at their usual table by the window was a woman with long, golden hair.
"Hey, Zoe. Long time no see," Kael said, moving to sit across from her.
Zoe immediately slid her designer bag onto the empty seat opposite her and glared at him. "Over here."
She shifted over in the booth, patting the space beside her. Kael was a little confused but slid in next to her anyway.
"What's up with you today? Who pissed you off?"
Zoe huffed and turned her head to stare out the window.
Seeing that she was giving him the silent treatment, Kael just grinned to himself and sipped his lemon water. After a few minutes, Zoe's mood seemed to stabilize. She turned back and studied him for a long moment.
Suddenly, she burst out laughing. "It must be true, you really are with another woman. You don't even try to cheer me up when I'm mad anymore."
Kael couldn't see the logical connection between his lack of effort and her accusation of infidelity. He was about to explain when she cut him off.
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"I need you to act in a little play for me tonight."
He scratched his head. "A play? What kind of play?"
Zoe rolled her eyes. "My mother thinks if I'm not married by thirty, I'm going to turn into a crazy cat lady. She set me up on a blind date, and I only said yes so she’d stop sending me links to dating apps."
"So..."
"The plan is for you to pretend to be my boyfriend. I was even going to take you shopping to buy some decent clothes to look the part, but I have to say, what you're wearing isn't half bad."
"It's alright, I guess," Kael mumbled. The suit he was wearing had been custom-tailored for him by one of France's top designers. Of course it wasn't bad.
Zoe handed him a menu. "Let's eat first. You can walk around with me for a bit afterward."
"Aren't you supposed to be on a date with a stranger?"
"It's still early. The guy said he had an 'important event' and might be late."
"I'm starving. I'll order then." Kael waved a waiter over. "Excuse me." He ordered a few of the restaurant's signature dishes.
Zoe took a sip of her water. "Alright, spill it. What's the deal with this other woman?"
Kael grinned mischievously. "What if I told you I'm being kept by a sugar momma? Would you believe me?"
Zoe scoffed right in his face, her expression one of total disbelief. "You? A sugar baby?"
Kael scoffed right back. "What? Why not me?!"
Zoe smirked. "You're not afraid your sister will hear you talking like that?"
That hit a nerve. "Zoe, come on. I was just kidding," he said quickly.
"We'll see. It all depends on how well you play your part today."
"Don't worry," Kael said, snapping a mock salute. "Mission accepted."
"My sister told me you're doing pretty well for yourself in Godpath."
"Haha, you could say that. You play, too?"
"Yeah, I played a bit while I was off-world. My character is still on a galactic cluster, though. I haven't figured out how to transfer it back to the Earth server."
"You're on the Thaloria server, right?"
"Yeah. Wait, how did you know that?"
Kael's heart skipped a beat. Sometimes he still mixed up knowledge from his past life with present reality. "You, uh, told me you were going to Thaloria for your business trip before you left last month," he said quickly.
"Did I? I thought I said I was going to Vesperia."
"You must be misremembering, haha... This barbecue is amazing, you have to try it," Kael said, desperately changing the subject.
Zoe didn't press the issue. Thinking back to what they were just discussing, she asked, "What did you mean just now? Is there a way for me to get back to our server?"
Kael nodded. "It's tricky, but not impossible. I'll figure something out."
"I'll be waiting for that good news, then."
They chatted casually for a while longer, eating until it was past 10 PM. Zoe checked her watch and scowled. "This guy has some nerve. It's this late and he's still not here."
Kael nodded emphatically. "Exactly! Standing up a beautiful woman on the first date? Unforgivable. The moment he gets here, you should throw your drink in his face, and then…"
Kael's words trailed off. His expression froze.
Walking toward their table was a stunning woman. She wore a chic skirt and black stockings, paired with elegant high heels—a look that was both sophisticated and dangerously alluring.
Kael shot to his feet, stammering. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
The woman was Lila. Her style today was a world away from her usual sharp, professional attire. This was pure knockout.
Lila glanced at Kael before taking a seat directly across from him. Then she turned her head and looked at Zoe with an amused curiosity.
Zoe was completely bewildered by Lila's sudden appearance. But the more she looked, the more a sense of familiarity nagged at her, until it clicked. She stood up abruptly.
"You're… you're Lila from the Whitmore Group!"
Lila's smile never faltered as she nodded. "That's right. I'm Lila."
Zoe's body went rigid as she slowly sank back into her seat. Her eyes darted from Lila to Kael, who was still standing beside her. She could not wrap her head around it. This broke kid she used to help pay rent was somehow with the heiress to the Whitmore fortune.
So, he really is being kept by a sugar momma, she thought, stunned.