When The Rich Son Falls

Seventeen

With two days left, Topher was starting to become slightly anxious, especially when the person he had to talk to and ask a favor from had clearly been avoiding him. Topher didn’t notice this in the beginning, even when James would quickly turn around and make an exit whenever he’d see Topher in the area. It only became obvious to Topher when he visited his office to talk to him—under the pretense of thanking him for helping him out at the pool during the children’s swimming event—and James, who was clearly just reading a book, suddenly “remembered” he had something to do and walked out.

Topher couldn’t even blame him for running in the other direction after the teasing he received about his hickey. The man had turned beet red then and had been seen to keep his collar buttoned to cover up the bruise ever since, so it was clearly something he found to be extremely embarrassing. But even if that entire ordeal was causing Topher a more difficult time, he barely regretted poking fun at him. He would just have to work extra hard, he thought. He was going to catch James at some point and finally ask—no, not ask, but impose that he should let him stay at his place for a few nights.

Continuing with his unbridled determination, Topher decided to hang out by the lobby to wait that noon. James, the manager and owner of the hotel, would eventually have to pass by him at one point or another; and this time, Topher’s going to go pester him like the relentless man he was.

“How’s it going?” Mandy asked when he stood by her desk. Behind her, Bruce nodded from where he sat to acknowledge him; while Nicki, who had been dusting around, stopped what she was doing and hurriedly walked towards them to ask, “Have you found a place to stay yet?”

“No,” Topher sighed. “James has been avoiding me like the plague, so I haven’t had the chance to bring it up.”

“What did you do?” Bruce asked accusingly.

Topher was taken-aback at his reaction. “How is it that you are just assuming that it is I who did something? Can’t it be that it was your boss that did something?”

Mandy crinkled her nose and did not answer, while Nicki and Bruce exchanged looks as if Topher had just said a joke. “No,” Bruce answered him with a scoff, making Topher roll his eyes. “So, what is it? What did you do?” Bruce asked with a look of interest as he leaned forward from his chair.

“Okay, I may have… teased him a bit about something,” Topher answered, making it sound like it was nothing notable, “so now, I think he’s a bit embarrassed whenever he sees me.”

“That’s what you get,” Bruce shrugged and went back to reading his magazine. By the way Mandy and Nicki kept quiet, they were clearly siding with their boss.

“You guys have to help me out,” Topher pouted. “He’s like Batman with the way he just disappears whenever he sees me. Come on, please?” He put his hands together and looked at the three of them one by one with his puppy dog eyes. Bruce simply ignored him, Mandy shook her head and shrugged, but Nicki… he could tell by the way Nicki looked hesitant that she would be the one to cave. So, he leaned closer and really gave his best in summoning his most pitiful look.

“Well,” Nicki finally gave in. “I can tell you where I’m sure he’ll be later tonight.”

“Nicki!” Mandy disappointedly called her name, while Bruce announced he was going to put on his earphones so he could deny liability.

“It’s somewhere that’s not his house, where you can stage a casual run-in so you don’t end up looking like a stalker,” Nicki continued.

“Yes, yes, that sounds amazing!” Topher exclaimed. “I’ll give you anything. Money? My watch? Just not my sunglasses, but anything!”

That was how Topher ended up making a quick video of himself greeting Nicki’s sister, under the promise that it would never be posted anywhere online nor sent to anyone else. After that deal was made, Nicki accomplished her part of the deal.

“Okay, so every third Thursday of the month, he goes to visit his godparents, and they love a good blueberry cheesecake. James makes it a point to have one reserved so he could just pick it up on Wednesday nights. The third Thursday of this month will be tomorrow, so by 5 pm, he’ll probably be at…”

Mama’s Bakery.

Topher found the name to be somewhat ridiculous, but by 4:50 in the afternoon, he was seated inside Mama’s Bakery in his sunglasses, a newly bought face mask, and bohemian hat—which was the outfit he chose to be “incognito”, even though his distinct fashion sense and height still garnered him a few odd looks on the streets.

Since he was already inside the bakery, he decided to order something as he sat in wait for James to appear. Around 4:59, with a slice of turtle pie and a slice of blueberry cheesecake in front of him, he stared at the door like that would magically make the man show up.

“Would you like anything else, sir?” one of the servers came by his table for what seemed like the third time since he sat. “Some water? Ice? Napkins?”

“An iced americano, please, no sugar,” Topher politely replied, amazed at how great the service was even though they didn’t know who he was with his “disguise”.

It was right after they served him his drink that James finally came in. Topher sat up in his chair and for some reason, began poking at his untouched dessert, as if that would make him—a man wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask—look anything more like a regular customer casually dining in, and not someone who was deliberately waiting for James to come and notice him.

His blending in seemed to work well—too well, in fact—because James didn’t notice him and went straight to the register instead, greeting the woman behind it with a nice smile and a, “Good afternoon, Rosa. I hope you’ve had a great day.”

Rosa, a young woman who seemed very much glad to see James, replied, “Good afternoon, James, and uh, thank you,” while she self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ears. “I-I have the cheesecake for Harry and Jo. I’ll get it right away,” she eagerly let him know, then she rushed to the refrigerator and did as she said.

Topher watched from a distance, not hearing a word they were saying, but trying to guess the content of their conversation through their body language. James had yet to notice him, and he was beginning to wonder if he should pretend to accidentally drop his fork just to make a small scene.

“By the way,” Rosa whispered as she placed the cake into a box and began to wrap a ribbon around it. “I think we have a celebrity here.” She glanced at Topher’s direction, giving Topher an entrance. “Isn’t he the son of that businessman and senator? The youngest who’s always involved in scandals?”

James turned to see, and his lips immediately turned into a straight line upon recognizing who she was talking about. Meanwhile, Topher smiled under his mask, unaware what was being said about him.

“Really?” James asked in a flat tone, “I don’t think he’d be in a small town like this. Yeah, I don’t think that’s him. He’s shorter than the celebrity kid.” He turned back to Rosa, wishing her wrapping would finish quickly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she agreed, finally pushing the box towards him, when she noticed Topher waving at them from across the room. “Oh,” she muttered, looking curiously at James, “he’s waving at us. Do you know him?”

James turned to look at Topher, only to see him waving his hand to gesture that he should come over. Left with no choice, he replied, “He’s a guest at the hotel.”

“Go on, then. I’ll keep this in the fridge for you while you chat,” Rosa said, and even though she meant well, James couldn’t help but take a deep breath so he could force a smile.

“Thanks,” he managed to say, before he walked towards Topher’s table.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, letting his face show how unamused he was, since his back was turned towards Rosa.

“I was just getting some dessert,” Topher innocently told him, pointing at the uneaten slices of food on his plate. “You want some? I heard they make good cheesecakes here.”

“Nicki,” James knowingly said with a sigh.

Topher’s smile didn’t falter, despite the look on the man’s face. He pushed the chair in front of him with a foot, and gestured for James to sit. Despite looking like he really didn’t want to, James sat down.

“Now that I have you here, I have a proposal for you,” Topher began, intertwining his fingers on the table.

“I already told you a million times that I can’t do anything about the hotel rooms being booked. I can’t just cancel reservations. Even I have to follow the policies.”

“That’s why I’m not going to ask that you do that.”

James’s flat expression disappeared as his eyes slightly furrowed. “You’re not? Are you going back to your home?”

“Not doing that either, but I’m not planning to stay in the hotel anymore after my week’s over in two days,” Topher replied. “I’m planning to stay at your place.”

“What?” James blinked a few times, wondering if he misheard or misunderstood for a second, then followed it up with a high-pitched, “No!”

“You haven’t even heard what I’m about to say!” Topher complained, matching his tone.

“No,” James said, firmer this time. “I don’t need to. That’s final. Whatever crazy idea you have, my answer is no. Go back to where you belong, with your—your fancy cars and expensive foie gras.”

Topher’s face scrunched in distaste. “Number one, I do not like foie gras. Number two, why not? I’ll double the rent. No, I’ll triple it!”

“My place is not for rent.”

“Quadruple,” Topher said with more eagerness. “Just for a few nights. Please. I’ll be good!”

“The answer is no,” James coldly said with finality as he stood. “Go home, kid. You know you don’t belong here.”