Diary of a Poor Billionaire

CHAPTER 4: Miss Tina Smith

-Erick’s POV-

I stood there, feeling ashamed especially when most people looked at me with disgust.

How could I be so stupid to be here, of all places? This restaurant was known for its grandiosity and only those belonging to elite social class could afford it here. I coming here was a joke for them. Even so, I was determined to eat here because I couldn’t hold my hunger anymore.

I may be the richest person in this place, but the way I dressed showed how poor I was. Penelope who knew me too well would surely point out my poverty.

“I’m here for a lunch. What has it to do with you if I eat here?” I said nonchalantly and walked straight to an empty table.

“Stop! Who do you think you are to eat here? Are you delusional? People like you can’t even afford a cup of coffee here,” Penelope said with contempt while holding my arm to stop me.

“I don’t care. Just let me go,” I said, irritated.

“Woah, he’s not just poor. He’s ambitious too,” the blond guy said suddenly. Everyone in the room was now focusing on us, some of them even suppressing their laughter.

“Penelope already told us about how poor you are, fella, so how come you have the guts to eat here?” the blond guy added.

I stood rooted there, suppressing my anger. At the same time, I could hear other people in the restaurant speaking behind my back.

“How thick-skinned he is. Didn’t he know what place is this?”

“Yeah. How come he wants to eat here if he has no money?”

“Even if he has the money, would it be a waste if he uses it in one go? Tsk. Teenagers nowadays bragged shamelessly just to fulfill their vanity.”

“I thought this restaurant is for rich people. Why do I see people like him here?”

Penelope, who also heard the murmurs of people around, seemed to be more elated. She even laughed at me.

“See? Even strangers can judge how poor you are. What a shameless bastard!”

At this moment, a waiter approached us.

“Hello, may I know what’s going on?” the waiter asked the group, ignoring me.

“Can you drive that man away? It’s so disgusting to eat here with him around,” said the girl beside Penelope.

The waiter turned at me and stared at me with scrutiny. The gentle expression he had earlier turned into mockery. Even so, he turned back at them and said professionally, “I’m sorry but there seems to be no problem if he eats here, Madams and Sirs. We can’t just drive a customer away.”

“Customer? You call him a customer? To tell you, we already know how poor he is. He even had to work day and night just to afford a cup of coffee here. Am I right, Penelope?” a guy who wore earrings said.

“Yeah. I knew him ever since when we’re in high school.” Penelope added a fuel to the fire.

With this, the mockery grew intensely on the waiter’s face. “Well, in that case, you should get out now.” The waiter didn’t hesitate to push me away.

“Wait! I can afford to eat here. Who are you to shove me away?” I said indignantly.

“I’ve heard enough. Either you get out now or I’ll call the police,” the waiter replied. “Before you come here, you should look at yourself in the mirror first.”

‘How unreasonable these people are?’ I thought.

“Who says he can’t afford to eat here? I’m afraid he can even buy this restaurant if he wants to.”

Everyone was stunned at this comment, even me. They looked at the direction where the voice came from. A woman, slightly older than me, walked slowly towards my direction and bowed slightly. Her body figure was too alluring and she looked so beautiful that the girls inside the restaurant suddenly looked ugly. But the maturity emanated from her suggested that she was older than me.

‘What the hell is going on?’ I asked myself. ‘Who is this woman anyway?’

At the same moment, another waiter approached me and gave me a bottle of wine. The crowd gasped even more and gossiped excitedly. They seemed to be convinced by this woman.

“Who knew the poor boy has a strong background? I wish he didn’t hear what I said earlier.”

“Who is she? She seems to be powerful and the poor boy must be powerful too.”

The chatter died down when the woman spoke again, “I hope Mister Erick doesn’t mind when I meddled his affair now. Take the wine as my apology for not recognizing you.”

I had no idea what to do. How come she knew me, and she even respected me. There’s only one person who addressed me that way—the mysterious caller earlier. Does that mean she . . . she works for my father as well?

I shook my head to express that I didn’t mind. I was still speechless, not knowing what to respond.

“I-Is that the Romanee-Conti?” the blond guy suddenly asked, looking aghast. Everyone was looking at the wine as well.

“What’s that, Justin?” Penelope asked curiously.

“My dad owns the newly-opened Grand Jewel Hotel. He used to serve it to famous personalities during the first week of the opening. Do you know how much it cost? At the time the hotel was newly opened, we were able to buy them for 50,000 dollars for each bottle. But right now, we were lucky enough to purchase 10 bottles for 200,000 dollars each,” the blond guy named Justin said.

“What?!” Everyone was astonished to hear the price of the wine.

The waiter who mocked me suddenly looked less enthusiastic. He kept on looking at me apologetically.

“Wait. Who are you to cause such a scene? If I know, you only save this poor beggar here, right?” Penelope blurted out suddenly. “Or maybe he is your toyboy.”

“Erick, tell me, are you really that desperate? You find a sugar mommy after you broke up with Irah,” Penelope’s remark had caused another stir inside the restaurant. “I know you’re poor. But is it necessary to drop your dignity just for the sake of money?”

“How dare you slander him? You b***h,” I felt enraged at her words. But it was the woman who took the action and slapped her fully in the face. “You don’t know who you’re talking to.”

“Who are you to slap her?” Justin, who was dazed earlier when looking at the wine, suddenly said furiously. “Did you know who I am? I am Justin Young, the son of Lowie Young who owned the Grand Jewel Hotel. If you dare to cross lines here, I will make sure you can’t escape Washington alive.”

“You! I don’t care who you are. Just wait till I make a call.”

The woman picked up her phone and was about to make a call. However, I tried to stop her. I had no idea how extent did the power of my father yet, but I knew that if this woman made her call, it would be the worst for Justin and his father. Our fight today was just a small matter anyway.

“Why did you stop me, mister?”

“Let’s not make it a big deal, please. Just send him away from here.” I said anxiously.

“If you say so,” said the woman dismally and turned to the waiter who gave me the wine earlier. “Can you take these people out? They’re destroying my mood here.”

“Yes, Madam.” The waiter said nervously as he bowed at me and the woman. “Whoever offends this young man here will have to go out and will never be allowed to come back here.”

“Hey, hey, hey! We’re also a customer here. Why do you send us away?” Penelope said furiously but to no avail when three guards were already taking into action. “Justin, please call your dad now. We should not let them get on us.”

However, Justin was inconspicuous to Penelope’s words. He tried to struggle from the guards. He must be furious about the guards humiliating him.

“Come on, Master Erick. We still have matters to discuss.”

I was about to follow the woman when a punch was thrown at my cheeks. I realized Justin must’ve had freed himself from the guards and had the opportunity to punch. I was knocked out from the force, howling with pain. The wine was almost released from my grip.

“Oh my God! You son of a b*tch, how dare you do that?!” the woman said fumingly and helped me get up.

“Remember this day, hillbilly, I will make sure you’ll pay for this. You and your sugar mommy,” said Justin one last time before leaving with Penelope and two others. I could see everyone looked shocked as the events unfold.

“Oh no. I can’t forgive myself,” the woman murmured nervously to herself and picked up her phone to make a call. I wanted to stop her, but she insisted. “I must do this Master Erick. You have no power to stop me now. This is a matter between me and your dad, so please let me.”

“Alright. But only the smallest punishment will do.” I said.

“Okay, okay. I got it,” the woman said then made a call. “Hello, Mr. Albert. The son of Lowie Young of Grand Jewel Hotel had offended and hurt Young Master. You already know what to do. Oh, and by the way, Young Master said only the smallest punishment will do.”

“Alright, I understand. Rest assured we’ll get to the bottom of this.” And the call hang up immediately.

After the call, the woman called the waiter again. “Please serve me the best menu.” She then prompted me to follow her to her table.

“Who are you?” I asked immediately.

“My name’s Tina Smith and I worked for your father. Mr. Albert has instructed me to fetch you this afternoon. I never thought I can see you here, of all places. I’m glad you saved me the trouble to find you.” She smiled after she said that. “Anyways, feel free to ask me questions as long as it’s within my power to tell you.”

At the same time, our foods had been served and I indulged myself without hesitation.

“May I know what will happen to the Youngs?” I asked curiously. Somehow, I felt anxious and guilty when Tina made her call. It would hunt me for the rest of my life if someone was killed because of me.

She just chuckled when I said that.

“Pfft. Of all things. It’s not something you have to worry about. I could have let my men to kill Lowie’s son, but that would weaken our support. Even if my men didn’t do anything, I’m sure Lowie would take the initiative to beat his own son.”

“Eh? How come?”

“Lowie may be prominent in the entire Seattle, but he was far inferior to your dad. The Grand Jewel Hotel would not be standing now without the help of Mr. Moore. As far as I know about Lowie, he would do anything not to tarnish this connection. And now that he was informed of the incident, I’m sure he will be sick to death if the matter was not resolved. He once provoked your dad and it almost cost him his life and his entire family. ”

I nodded. It was at that moment that I had a subtle idea of how powerful my dad was.

I suddenly noticed the waiter earlier who seemed to recoil cowardly when I watched him.

“That waiter, why are they so afraid of us?”

“You’re quite astute Young Master. You must know that this restaurant belongs to you now,” she said.

“WHAT?!” I almost sprayed the water on Tina’s face when I heard that. “I didn’t buy this restaurant. How come it’s mine?”

“Do you know why it’s named E.M. Restaurant? Well, it stands for your name. This restaurant was one of the small businesses that your dad owned. This was temporarily managed by Hansen Kirkwood, one of your father’s subordinates. Starting from now, it will be your power to decide what you want to do with this restaurant.”

I was stunned by the information. I never thought I had already an asset this big. Rumor has it that this restaurant generated millions of dollars every year. So that means my net worth was millions of dollars without even realizing it!

We enjoyed our lunch and when we finished eating, my head almost burst with too much information. There really were so many things I needed to learn. For example, my dad owned one-third of the total assets in the world, making him the world’s richest man. But his wealth was something covert, so his name never appeared in the Forbes’ list of the richest men in the world. Even so, most men included in the list were backed by my dad, including Lowie Young.

I also learned that this restaurant was my dad’s first business. Despite inheriting the Moore’s wealth, my dad refused to give up this restaurant, hence he asked his friend, Hanson Kirkwood, to manage it until the day I would show up here.

After our lunch, Tina offered to send me to my dad’s current living quarters in the Four Seasons Hotel. As I stepped into the car that Tina drove, I was almost short of breath as I engrossed myself in studying its internal structure. This car was a Maybach and it must worth millions of dollars.

“You like it, Young Master? If you want, I can give it to you.”

“What?! No, I haven’t had a license yet,” I refused. If it’s the other case, I would take it. Who couldn’t resist a Maybach, especially if it’s given for free?

“Okay, just tell me if you have one,” she said and started the engine.