The Cold CEO's Funny Wife

Chapter 3: The Secret Buyer CRA

That night, after her shift at Sunny's Cafe, Savi Laureen Dela Cruz went home to her small apartment. It was a tiny room with one electric fan, a small bed, and three big boxes of second-hand clothes. This was her second job - she sold ukay-ukay online.

She opened her phone and checked her online shop, "Savi's Thrift Finds." She had 12 new orders! She was happy.

But one buyer was weird. The username was "CRA_Buyer". This buyer bought 15 items in 3 days. All oversized t-shirts, all in different colors, all size small - her size, not a man's size. And he paid full price, no haggling, and he always tipped extra.

Savi's inner thought:

*Who is this CRA_Buyer? He bought 15 shirts already! Is he crazy? Or is he reselling my clothes? But why would he buy small sizes if he is a man? Maybe CRA stands for Crazy Rich Addict? Well, as long as he pays, I don't care. I need the money to pay rent. Thank you, Crazy Rich Addict!*

She packed the 15 shirts. She wrote a small thank you note: "Thank you for buying! Hope you like it! - Savi" and included a small free hair clip, yellow, her favorite color.

The next morning at the cafe, Cassian came again. 8:05 AM. Same black suit, same cold face, same Table Four.

Savi was now used to it. She didn't even need to ask his order.

"Black coffee, no sugar, hot, and free bread that you call marketing strategy," she said, putting the coffee down.

Cassian looked at her. Today he had a small paper bag with him. Not his briefcase, a small shopping bag.

"What is that?" Savi asked, pointing at the bag.

"Nothing," Cassian said quickly, hiding the bag under the table.

Savi narrowed her eyes. Her funny, suspicious mode was on.

"Sir Iceberg, are you hiding something? Is that... lunch? Did you finally learn to eat breakfast without my free bread?"

Cassian's inner thought was panicking:

*The bag. She saw the bag. Inside the bag are the 15 shirts I bought from her online shop. I bought them because I saw her online live selling last night and she looked tired and said she needed to sell 10 shirts to pay rent. So I bought 15. But I cannot tell her that I am CRA_Buyer. If she knows I am the secret buyer, she will think I pity her. And she is hard-to-get. She will get angry and say "I don't need your money, Sir Iceberg!" and she will stop giving me free bread.*

He kept his cold face.

"It is documents," he said.

"Documents in a pink shopping bag? Wow, Sir Iceberg, your documents are fashionable," Savi teased, but she let it go.

Cassian drank his coffee. He ate his bread. He left two thousand pesos again.

But that afternoon, Savi got a new order notification. CRA_Buyer ordered 10 more shirts! Total 25 shirts!

She was shocked and a little scared.

"25 shirts? This person is really crazy! I need to check who this is," she said to herself.

She checked the delivery address of CRA_Buyer. It was hidden, only the city: Makati Business District, Alcantara Tower.

Alcantara Tower?

Savi knew that name. Everyone knew that name. It was the tallest building in Makati, owned by Alcantara Holdings. The CEO was... Cassian Reid Alcantara.

Her inner thought stopped:

*Wait. CRA... Cassian Reid Alcantara! CRA! CRA_Buyer! Is it... him? No, impossible. Why would a billionaire CEO buy cheap second-hand clothes? Why would he buy small size girl shirts? Unless...

Unless he is buying my shirts to help me!*

Her heart beat fast. She remembered how he came every day, how he paid extra, how he kept his shopping bag hidden.

That night, she went live on her online shop to sell clothes. She was wearing a blue thrift shirt.

She saw CRA_Buyer join her live. He didn't comment, just watched.

She decided to test him.

"Hello to all my buyers! Especially to my top buyer, CRA_Buyer! Thank you for buying 25 shirts! You are my best buyer! Can you comment if you are watching?" she said on live, smiling.

No comment from CRA_Buyer. But the view count showed he was still there.

After the live, she got a message from CRA_Buyer: "The blue shirt you wore looks good on you. Keep it. Don't sell it."

Savi froze. The blue shirt she wore on live... only someone watching the live would know.

And the message style... short, cold, no emoji. Just like how Cassian talked.

Her inner thought was now 100% sure:

*It is him! It is Sir Iceberg! He is CRA_Buyer! He bought 25 of my shirts! Why? Is it pity? Or... does he like me? No, Savi, don't be delusional! He is a cold CEO! He doesn't like poor waitresses! But why would he buy my clothes?*

The next morning, Savi was ready. She had a plan.

Cassian came at 8:05 AM as usual. Same suit, same cold face, same Table Four. He ordered same coffee.

Savi brought his coffee and bread, but this time she also brought a printed paper. She slammed it on his table.

Cassian looked at the paper. It was his order history. 25 shirts. Username CRA_Buyer. Delivery address Alcantara Tower.

His cold face... cracked. For the first time, he looked nervous.

His inner thought:

*She found out. She knows I am CRA_Buyer. What will she say? Will she be angry? Will she say she doesn't need my help? Will she stop talking to me?*

Savi crossed her arms, trying to be hard-to-get and angry, but her voice was shaking a little.

"Sir Iceberg. Explain. What is this? Why did you buy 25 of my second-hand shirts? Do you have a secret hobby of wearing small girl shirts? Or are you... making fun of my business?"

Cassian was silent for a long time. He looked at the paper, then at Savi's face. Her face was angry, but her eyes were... hurt.

He spoke, his voice low and honest for the first time.

"I was not making fun of you," he said.

"Then why? Why buy 25 shirts? You are a billionaire CEO! You wear suits that cost more than my rent! Why would you buy cheap ukay?" Savi asked, her voice louder now. Other customers were looking.

Cassian stood up. He was close to her. He looked down at her.

"Because you said on your live two nights ago that you needed to sell 10 shirts to pay your rent. And you looked tired. And I... I wanted to help. But I knew if I gave you money directly, you would say no. Because you are hard-to-get. You say 'I don't need help, Sir Iceberg!' So I bought your shirts."

Savi was shocked. She did say that on her live. She said, "Guys, please buy, I need to sell 10 shirts to pay my rent this month, I'm so tired."

She didn't think anyone listened. She didn't think the cold CEO listened.

Her inner thought was confused and soft:

*He... he listened? He watched my live? He heard I needed to pay rent and he bought 25 shirts to help me? Without telling me? Without making me feel like I owe him? He knows I am hard-to-get and I would say no if he offered money. So he found a way to help without hurting my pride?

Is that... caring? Is that... love? No, Savi, don't think that! But... no one ever did that for me before. My ex never listened to my lives. No one ever...*

She tried to stay angry, hard-to-get.

"So you pity me? You think I am poor and you need to save me? I don't need saving, Sir Iceberg! I can pay my own rent!" she said, but her voice was not angry anymore. It was small.

Cassian shook his head. His grey eyes were not cold now. They were warm.

"No. I don't pity you. I admire you. You work in the morning in a cafe, and you sell clothes at night. You work hard. You smile even when you are tired. You give free bread to rude CEOs. You are... strong. And funny. And I... I like watching your live. You are funny there too."

Savi's cheeks turned red. She looked down at her shoes. She didn't know what to say. No one ever called her strong and funny in the same sentence. Her ex called her poor and annoying.

Cassian took the small shopping bag from under the table - the same bag from yesterday. He gave it to her.

"These are not for me. They are yours. I bought them, but you keep them. Or resell them. I don't need them. I just wanted you to reach your sales target," he said.

Savi opened the bag. Inside were the 15 shirts she packed, with her thank you note and the small yellow hair clip still inside. He didn't even open the package.

He bought them and kept them packed.

Her inner thought was now definitely crying inside:

*He didn't open them. He kept my thank you note. He kept the free hair clip I gave. He... he really just wanted to help me pay rent. Without me knowing. He is cold on the outside, but... inside he is... warm. Like his coffee review. Warm.

Okay, Savi, you are hard-to-get. You cannot cry now. You cannot say thank you and hug him. Be hard-to-get! Be funny!*

She looked up, trying to be funny again, even though her eyes were a little wet.

"So, Sir Iceberg, you are my secret rich fan? You are my number one fan? Do you want my autograph now?"

Cassian almost smiled. That almost-smile again.

"No. I want one more bread roll. For free. Marketing strategy," he said.

Savi laughed, and a small tear fell, but she wiped it quickly and pretended it was sweat.

"One free bread roll for my crazy rich buyer! Coming up! But you still owe me rude tax! Two thousand per day!"

And she went to get his bread, her heart beating so fast, her hard-to-get walls shaking a little.

Cassian sat back at Table Four, his heart also beating fast. He was relieved she was not too angry.

His inner thought:

*She found out. And she didn't kick me out. She laughed. She is still giving me free bread. She is still hard-to-get, saying she doesn't need saving, but she accepted the bag. She is crying a little but pretending it is sweat.

I can feel it. Even though she says she doesn't need me, she felt cared for. Even though she is hard-to-get, she knows I care.

And I will keep buying her shirts. Every time she needs rent.*

That morning, the cheap cafe with the wobbly fan felt a little less cheap and a little more like home for a cold CEO and a funny, hard-to-get waitress who refused to admit she was touched.