96. You may have heard of him.

That was good money. Kaylee was interested to see if she could get a job there, too, and

Brent was more than happy to go along for the ride. He hadn't seen Olivia in ages.

Neither of them expected to show up and find that Olivia was working as a server in a

small restaurant in some town they'd never heard of. It certainly wasn't the type of job

that most graduates of Westfield were looking for. Even if the monthly salary were twice

as much, Kaylee still wouldn't have considered working there.

She'd never stooped this low. Only poor, uneducated people got waitressing jobs. What

would her friends and family say if they found out? She cringed just to think of it.

To go from Westfield to this dump. Olivia suddenly realized that she'd never introduced

Brent. She turned to Aidan and said, Excuse me, Mr. Dale, I've forgotten my manners.

This is Brent Solomon, Kaylee's boyfriend. He's accompanying her today. Brent and

Kaylee were shocked to hear Olivia talk to this boy with such respect, even deference.

They'd known Olivia for years, and she'd never been one for social niceties or brown-

nosing. And they'd never heard her apologize to anyone. And yet here she was, this girl

who graduated at the top of her class in Westfield's School of Economics and

Management, calling a high school boy, Mr. The whole situation didn't add up.

It was particularly irksome to Brent. Olivia had never shown him this amount of respect.

What was so special about this kid? Olivia, he said in a conciliatory tone.

Listen to me, babe, uh, Olivia. Come back to Springfield with us. He spoke in a hushed,

gentle voice as if he were talking to a child.

With my dad's connections, we can find you another job that pays just as much. Okay?

What do you say? You don't need to stay in this place any longer. We can- That's

enough, Olivia interjected.

She couldn't bear to hear him say one more word. For your information, this place means

a lot to me. I'm sorry it's not grand enough for you, but I happen to like it.

In fact, coming here was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I don't need any

rescuing, certainly not from you. All the tenderness drained from Brent's face.

The atmosphere was tense. Finally, Kaylee stepped in and tried to diffuse the situation. I

think we just have different perspectives on this, she said, looking back and forth

between Olivia and Brent.

But that's okay. We're all still friends. Everyone calmed down a bit and sat down.

Olivia turned to face Aiden and apologized. I'm so sorry, Mr. Dale. This isn't how I'd

planned.Aiden shook his head and held up a hand to quiet her. There's no need to apologize, he

said. He knew that Olivia wasn't to blame.

It was her two friends that should feel ashamed of themselves.

Aiden was able to infer a lot about Brent from his overall attitude and his reference to his

father's connections. He was probably a trust fund kid who'd never worked a hard day in

his life. After graduating from college, he probably didn't even look for a job.

He didn't need to, he could just live off his parents for the rest of his life. These

assumptions were soon confirmed by Brent's own boasting. You see, he explained to

Aiden, Kaylee and I aren't used to frequenting this sort of establishment.

He looked around the restaurant for a moment. So excuse our behavior earlier. Aiden felt

no need to respond to this.

My father never really exposed me to this sort of thing, you know, Brent said. He travels

a lot and only has time to come home once a month. So when we go out, we make it a

real celebration.

He chuckled to himself as if recalling some memory. You know, fine dining, champagne,

that sort of thing. Everyone seemed bored by Brent, even his girlfriend.

But he didn't seem to notice. Funny story, he said. My dad was talking to me about

business the other day.

There's this small project I've been working on, he tells me. And then, get this, then he

says, he paused and grinned, trying to build up the anticipation. This guy's a real

jackass, Aiden thought.

Brent continued. He says this, little project could turn into a deal worth like millions of

dollars. Isn't that crazy? As usual, no one responded.

But Brent was undeterred. Yeah, the guy he's working with is apparently some kind of

child prodigy or something. The top execs at Cold Emerald vouched for him.

Brent clearly expected Aiden to be impressed, but Aiden remained silent. It's crazy the

kind of people my dad meets through work, Brent said smiling, still hoping to win over

his audience. This kid my dad's working with is like, he's like a genius or something.

My dad said if he had that much talent, he'd already be retired. Kaylee was paying

attention now. Brent had finally piqued someone's curiosity.

Where did your dad meet this kid? She asked. Is he a student at some Ivy League school

or something? Brent shook his head. No, my dad says he's still in high school.

A high school student? Kaylee asked incredulously. Really? She shook her head a few

times and then said, Brent, your father must be pretty important if he gets to meet these

sorts of people. Brent waved his hand, feigning modesty.

Kaylee looked up at him adoringly. She felt proud to be his girlfriend, and it felt even

better that Olivia was watching. Even though Kaylee had been good friends with Olivia

for many years, she'd often felt jealous of her.

During college, Olivia always got better grades and had more friends, and even Brent

had been interested in Olivia first. Now it's my turn to show off a bit, Kaylee thought to

herself. I'm the one who has a handsome, powerful boyfriend.

As Kaylee and Brent made eyes at each other, Aiden was still thinking about Brent's

story. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed to him. Some of the

elements were weirdly familiar.

I wonder, Aiden started to say. Where exactly does your father work? Brent puffed out

his chest a bit and said proudly, he's the VP of marketing for Snow Phoenix. Kaylee took

a sip of tea and said, you may have heard of it.

Olivia and Aiden were, in fact, very familiar with the clothing company. There was a

branch of the store on East Street. Coincidentally, they had just visited the store a short

while ago.

Olivia and Aiden exchanged glances. Olivia asked tentatively, Brent, is there any chance

that your father's called David? David Sullivan? Brent furrowed his eyebrows in surprise.

Uh, yeah, he is, he said.

How did you know? After a pause, he chuckled and said, is my father that famous? The

idea of this pleased him. Before Olivia could respond, there was a knock on the

restaurant door. It was Lily.

Mr. Dale, she said. There's someone outside, Mr. Sullivan. He claims to work at Snow

Phoenix and he says he's looking for you.

Oh, and there's a woman with him too. Brent and Kaylee froze.

Is this a joke? Brent asked. Lily wasn't sure how to respond. Why would it be a joke? She

looked at Aiden in confusion.

Aiden coughed and said, it's fine, Lily. Please show Mr. Sullivan in. Yes, sir, she answered

and left through the door.

Brent and Kaylee fixed their eyes on the entrance, anxious to see who'd come through it.

It couldn't really be Brent's dad, could it? Was there another Mr. Sullivan who worked at Snow Phoenix? Kaylee wrung her hands. When the restaurant door opened, a

distinguished man wearing gold-rimmed glasses entered the room.

It was unmistakably David Sullivan, Brent's father. Kaylee almost fainted. This was the

same Mr. Sullivan who Aiden and Olivia had met in the store where Mia had been

working.

He'd been kind and respectful to both him and Mia, so Aiden had agreed to set up a

meeting to discuss a possible business partnership. Today was the day of that meeting.

Brent stood up nervously and stammered.

Dad, hi! What are you doing here? Mr. Sullivan seemed just as shocked to see his son as

Brent was to see him. Brent, what a surprise! I'm here on business. Why are you here?

Brent took in a breath and held it in for a moment, deciding on his next move.

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Aiden. Then he turned back at his dad

and exhaled. Everything had finally clicked into place.

He pointed a finger at Aiden and said, So, is he the high school student you wanted to do

business with? That's right, Mr. Sullivan responded. He was curious to know what his son

was doing there, but first, he had to introduce his companion to Aiden. Mr. Dale, he said,

turning to Aiden.

It's nice to see you again. Allow me to introduce Ms. Shannon Pierce, the CEO of Snow

Phoenix. Kaylee's eyes widened.