The poor Billionaire novel (Ethan) novel Chapter 52
He then turned to look at Horace who was sitting in the backseat and asked, "Mr. Warren, we have arrived at the restaurant. Do you want me to go in with you?"
"No, thanks, Uncle Farris. There would be no need for that." After saying these words, Horace waved at Farris and got out of the car.
"Oh my God! Is that a Rolls-Royce?" A girl standing at the corner of the road pointed at Farris's car and screamed excitedly.
"Yes, it is! And it seems to be a Phantom. A Rolls-Royce Phantom. What a sight to behold!" the other girl standing beside her said with admiration as she stared at Farris's car.
It was at this moment that Horace got out of the car.
When she saw him, her eyes widened in shock. She nudged her friend and asked in a confused tone, "Lucinda, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Look! Isn't that Horace?"
The two excited girls at the corner were Horace's former classmates and also Laila's roommates. Lucinda was the girl that mocked Horace yesterday at the fundraiser, and the other one was Macie Ramos.
"It seems to be Horace!" Lucinda rubbed her eyes and looked at Horace again before she nodded slightly.
Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that a pauper like Horace would get out of a Rolls-Royce. This was why it was hard to believe now that they saw him with their naked eyes.
Macie was stunned after the confirmation. "Isn't Horace poor? Why did he just get out of the Rolls-Royce? Jeez! Did he rent a car with the donations we made yesterday?"
"Renting a car isn't the only issue here. It seems he also hired a chauffeur. Didn't you see that he got off the back seat?"
"This is unbelievable! If someone had told me that Horace rented a car with the money we donated for his mother's medical bills, I wouldn't have believed the story. Worse still, he rented an expensive Rolls-Royce. How can he be so wasteful?" Macie looked at Horace with inestimable disdain, as if he had committed the gravest offense.
"Yes, you are right. We shouldn't have donated money to a poor man like Horace in the first place. Most poor people lose their senses whenever they get a huge amount of money at once. It's the same thing Horace is doing now. He's squandering our money!" Lucinda snorted and added, "About sixty thousand dollars was donated to him yesterday. He also spent nearly ten thousand dollars for the dinner. This means he only has about fifty thousand dollars left. Renting a Rolls-Royce costs an arm. There's no way he would afford to rent it for several days with just fifty thousand dollars."
"Alas! In all these, I pity Horace's mother the most. She's so unlucky to have such a dumb and unfilial son. She's fighting for her life in the hospital and can't get all the treatment she needs. But her son, who was given some money, has chosen to squander it just to act rich. There's no one I hate in this world than this guy!" Macie said with a ferocious expression.
"That's right. Horace has no sense. It doesn't pay to live a fake life. It's pointless to brag about a car when it's not even yours. The act of showing off should be left to those trust-fund babies like Addy and Averi, who actually have luxury cars."
"Laila is so annoying. She behaves so weirdly. Why did she invite this loser here today? Phew! Birds of a feather flock together. Poverty is like a strong glue holding them together!"
"Let's not conclude just yet. It's possible that Laila wants to deceive Horace and get the money we donated to him yesterday. You never can tell!"
The two girls stared at Horace as they chatted. Both of them harbored great resentment for him and Laila in their hearts. Their hatred showed on their faces and in their words.
Horace had no idea that Lucinda and Macie had just seen him, so he didn't know they were backbiting. Standing in front of the restaurant, he waved at Farris again. "Uncle Farris, thank you so much. You can leave now. Bye!"
"Okay, Mr. Warren. You are most welcome. If you need anything, just call me!" Farris nodded and drove away.
"Macie, did you just see that? Horace is really good at pretending to be rich with our money. Look at his poise and manner of talking. The chauffeur he hired even served him a servile manner. Bah! He's so poor that he doesn't know fifty thousand dollars would finish in the blink of an eye. Just wait and see. He would stop acting rich after the money finishes in three days."
Even though the girls were standing at a distance, Lucinda had sensitive ears. She had heard Farris's statement clearly. His words made her start complaining about Horace. She also predicted when he would run out of cash.
"Did you say three days? Well, I predict that the money wouldn't last until then. Horace would walk home today if he continues to squander money in this manner!" Macie scowled in Horace's direction as she gossiped. She then added, "Isn't he the one that would foot the bills for Laila's birthday party today? We need to seize this opportunity. Let's force him to spend all the money we donated before he leaves here today!"
The corners of Lucinda's mouth raised slightly after she heard Macie's suggestion. A second later, she replied, "Macie, you have gotten a point there. We can't watch him squander the donation without having our share. Horace shouldn't be the only one to spend fifty thousand dollars. It's a waste if we don't have a hearty meal today. It should be our reward for attending a loser's birthday party too!"
"Yes, it's a good thing the party will be held at the Country Music Restaurant. I heard the food here is delicious and expensive. Horace did well in choosing this place. I give him that!"
"Ha-ha! He set himself up for humiliation. Come on, girl. Let's eat to our fill and make him broke today!"
"It seems poor people know their places and are calculative about so many things including relationships. Horace is a little self-conscious. He knows he doesn't have money and sophisticated girls wouldn't even spare him a glance, so he settled for someone in his league. Laila is almost as poor as him. She's practically the only girl that would give him an audience. Talk about a poverty relationship!"
"Ha-ha! They are both poor, so they are a perfect match!"
The girls were whispering, so their words didn't get to Horace's ears. He also didn't see them. He just walked into the restaurant.
The moment he stepped foot inside, one of the waitresses came to meet him and said apologetically, "Good day, sir. I'm sorry. Our restaurant is fully booked this noon. Please go to another place for lunch. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you don't know where to go, we can recommend several good restaurants for you."
"Miss, it might interest you to know that I'm the one who booked the entire restaurant for lunch." Horace chuckled after he heard her dissuasion.
"Eh? You are the one?" The waitress looked at Horace with great suspicion. She squinted her eyes and shook her head doubtfully.
Horace was still wearing shabby clothes just like yesterday. Everything on his body cost less than one hundred dollars. More so, the clothes had already faded due to repeated washing. Some threads were even hanging out. No one in his or her right mind would believe that Horace was the one that booked the entire restaurant for lunch.
It was common knowledge that booking the entire Country Music Restaurant was extremely expensive. Such a thing happened once in a blue moon. Even some trust-fund babies usually became strapped for cash after booking the whole place. This was to say that there was no chance that a poorly-dressed man like Horace would be able to afford it.
Despite the waitress's doubt, she was well-mannered enough not to drive Horace out immediately.
She finally said, "Sir, please wait here a moment. I will go to invite our manager to confirm your booking right away. Excuse me."
"Okay!" Horace nodded and sighed.
'There are still good employees in the service industry. Edna did a good job in hiring a respectful waitress. She looked confused and doubted my words, but she didn't chase me out like I was some dirt to be gotten rid of.'
Horace was pleased with the customer service here. The waitress didn't treat him harshly like the attendants in the BVLGARI shop.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The poor Billionaire novel (Ethan)