Second Chance His Unending Love (Calista Hartwell) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Lots of Money in the Bank

Inside one of New York’s landmark buildings, the three of

them took the elevator straight to the top floor.

The floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped around the entire space in a full 360 degrees. People could see all of New York’s glittering nighttime skyline spread out below.

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Evander gestured around them. “The seafood and steak here are both pretty good. What sounds good to you?”

Olivia beamed, “Mr. Hayes, this place is amazing! This is the

most expensive Michelin restaurant in New York!”

He smiled warmly, “Eat as much as you want. I’ve got

coupons.”

Olivia just stared at him. She might be young, but she wasn’t

stupid.

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Places like this didn’t have coupons. People had to book reservations way in advance just to get a table!

The three of them sat down. The waiter respectfully opened36

< Chapter 12 Lots of Money in the Bank

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After all, she wasn’t wearing any makeup and her clothes were pretty plain. Everything about her screamed that she didn’t belong in a place this fancy.

She couldn’t remember exactly when it started, but at some point, Killian and Austin had started complaining that she wasn’t presentable enough, that she was an embarrassment to take anywhere.

Eventually, she’d just stopped going to nice restaurants

altogether.

She hadn’t known Evander would bring them somewhere like

this today. Was he embarrassed to be seen with her?

“Don’t overthink it.” Evander’s gentle voice interrupted her spiraling thoughts. “Just think of it as keeping me company

for dinner. Relax.”

“Okay.” Calista nodded.

Calista and Olivia looked through the menu, and each ordered a serving of A5 wagyu.

The waiter launched into a detailed description of the purebred black-haired wagyu cattle, how they were raised ander strict conditions, and how this particular beet had

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New York just half an hour ago.

It would be prepared by a chef with 30 Michelin stars, perfectly seared so it would be silky smooth and melt in your

mouth.

Olivia kept gasping in amazement.

It wasn’t like she’d never been to expensive restaurants

before, but nothing this luxurious. This was a first.

Olivia said, “Mr. Hayes, thanks to you, Mom and I are having

steak for the first time in years.”

Austin couldn’t stand the smell of beef. He wouldn’t eat it

himself and wouldn’t let anyone else eat it either.

After a while, she and Calista had both forgotten what steak

even tasted like.

But now they were free. They could eat whatever they

wanted.

Evander’s eyes flickered with something complicated as he looked at Calista. His voice came out rough and low. “Whenever you want to eat here again, I’ll bring you both.” 3/10

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Olivia remembered what her mom told her about being

polite and not crossing boundaries, but she was way too

curious.

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“Mr. Hayes, what exactly are you saying?” She tried to hold

back but couldn’t. “Are you single? Do you have kids? What do you do for work? How much money do you have?”

Calista’s face turned bright red. Her toes curled against the

floor, and she wanted to just disappear into the ground.

Oh, sweetie, those questions are killing me right now.

Olivia was putting her in such an awkward position!

But Evander acted like he’d been waiting for exactly those

questions. He sat up straighter and answered seriously, almost eagerly.

“Never been married, no kids, I own a house and a car. I work for the government, so it’s stable, and I’ve got a pretty good amount saved up… I haven’t really counted it all.”

Now it was Olivia’s turn to go quiet.

Well… that’s actually pretty impressive. 4/10

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She’d once been engaged to him through their families when they were kids, and she’d been the one to walk away. She felt guilty about it.

She’d heard he left New York after that and built his career

somewhere else.

Now finding out he’d stayed single all this time made her feel

even worse. She couldn’t sit still.

The warm light caught his handsome face and perfect bone

structure and made him look almost ethereal.

His long lashes cast shadows over his deep eyes as he spoke quietly, “Yeah. I’ve been waiting for someone to take

responsibility for me.”

Olivia slapped both hands over her mouth, and her eyes went wide, blinking like crazy.

Oh my god, do middle-aged guys really just say stuff like that? He’s been waiting for Mom this whole time!

Calista froze too. Her lips parted slightly but she was too shocked to make a sound.

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She had no idea what to say and definitely couldn’t respond?

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something like that.

She stiffly turned her head away and pretended she didn’t understand.

“Mr. Hayes, why are you only showing up now?” Olivia kept asking questions.

Under the table, Calista kicked at Olivia’s foot over and over.

But her daughter didn’t notice at all. She was too excited about finding her mom a second chance at love.

Evander stayed honest. Even talking to a 16-year-old, he

wouldn’t just brush her off with some vague answer.

“I joined the military right after college, and I’ve been in the service for twenty years. I only get limited leave time each year to visit home. But Olivia, I still remember your fifth birthday party at the Grand Hotel in New York. And when

Frost Group’s headquarters opened in 2015, your mom wore a pink dress.”

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He couldn’t share too many work details, so he just stuck to the important stuff.

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livia looked like she was watching her favorite ship come

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Love and indifference both showed up in the details.

Killian probably couldn’t even remember what color clothes Olivia wore tonight, let alone what happened 10 years ago!

Olivia wanted to keep asking questions, but Calista cut them off decisively, “Olivia, drink some water.”

Olivia sighed.

Luckily, the waitstaff came over with the food cart right then,

and Calista grabbed onto that like a lifeline to break the

weird tension at the table. “Food’s here. Let’s eat.”

Evander let out a quiet sigh and went back to his usual calm,

composed demeanor.

Dinner was quiet.

Every now and then, Evander would ask what Calista’s plans were and whether she needed any help.

Calista thought about her current situation.

She had no savings, no job, no property in her name, and no family backing her up. Things were pretty bad.

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life would get a lot easier.