Rich Girl Mocks The Single Dad Waiter’s English—Then Her Father Calls Him “Boss”
Chapter 5
Daniel drove faster than Amelia had ever seen anyone drive.
She sat beside him gripping the seat.
“Your daughter is there?”
“My sister is.”
“And Emma?”
“She was supposed to be at the library.”
“Supposed to be?”
“She left with her school group.”
“Are they safe?”
“We don’t know.”
His voice remained calm.
But his knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
Amelia watched him.
For the first time, she understood that the calm man from the restaurant could disappear in seconds.
He was a father first.
Nothing else mattered.
When they reached the house, police were already there.
Emma was safe.
Daniel got out of the car and ran inside.
His sister met him at the door.
“She wasn’t here.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Thank God.”
Amelia stayed back.
This wasn’t her house.
Her crisis.
Her family.
But Daniel turned.
“Come inside.”
She followed.
He checked every room.
A drawer had been opened.
A laptop was gone.
Nothing else.
“Why would they break into your house?”
“They weren’t looking for money.”
“What then?”
“My files.”
“About Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Amelia frowned.
“Someone knows you’re investigating.”
Daniel nodded.
“They know everything.”
His daughter appeared in the hallway.
“Daddy.”
Daniel crouched.
“You okay?”
Emma nodded.
She looked at Amelia.
“Are you the lady from the restaurant?”
Amelia smiled.
“Yes.”
Emma frowned.
“The one who was mean to Daddy?”
Silence.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Emma.”
“What?”
Amelia laughed nervously.
“I was.”
Emma studied her.
“Why?”
“I thought I knew everything.”
“Do you now?”
Amelia looked at Daniel.
“No.”
Emma nodded.
“Good.”
Daniel almost laughed.
Amelia smiled.
“I think I like your daughter.”
“She has opinions.”
“She does.”
Emma looked between them.
“Are you friends?”
Daniel and Amelia answered at the same time.
“No.”
“Yes.”
They both stopped.
Emma smiled.
“Okay.”
That night, Daniel stayed at Richard’s estate with Amelia.
They were safer there.
Amelia couldn’t sleep.
She found Daniel sitting in the kitchen at two in the morning.
“What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
“About Emma?”
“Yes.”
He looked exhausted.
She remembered the three words he had said the first night.
“You look tired.”
He smiled.
“Maybe you were right.”
She poured herself water.
Then sat across from him.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“My behavior.”
He shook his head.
“You’ve already apologized.”
“I mean it now.”
“I know.”
“I judged you by your English.”
“Yes.”
“That was cruel.”
“Yes.”
She smiled sadly.
“At least you’re honest.”
“You asked.”
She looked at him.
“Can I ask something?”
“Sure.”
“Why did you become a waiter?”
“To learn who I could trust.”
“And?”
He smiled.
“I’ve learned a lot.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did you learn?”
“That you’re not as arrogant as you wanted people to think.”
She stared.
“That’s almost a compliment.”
“It is.”
“What else?”
“That you care about your father.”
She lowered her gaze.
“Of course.”
“You fight with him because you want him to see you.”
She went quiet.
“That isn’t fair.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s true.”
Daniel smiled.
She looked at him.
“What about you?”
“What?”
“Why do you hide?”
He thought.
“Because people treat you differently when they know you own everything.”
“You mean because you have money.”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t that get lonely?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then why stay hidden?”
“For my daughter.”
“How?”
“If people think I’m just a waiter, they leave me alone.”
She nodded.
“Except me.”
He laughed.
“Yes.”
A silence settled between them.
Then Amelia asked,
“Would you still have forgiven me if you weren’t the owner?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew you were wrong before you did.”
She smiled.
“That sounds arrogant.”
“Maybe.”
Their eyes met.
The tension was sudden.
Unexpected.
Real.
Amelia looked away.
Daniel stood.
“I should sleep.”
She nodded.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
He walked away.
Amelia watched him go.
For the first time, she didn’t see a waiter.
She saw a man.
A father.
A businessman.
A lonely person.
Someone who had learned to hide behind work.
And she didn’t know what frightened her more—
that she had begun to admire him,
or that someone was getting closer to destroying everything he had built.
