The Billionaire Left the Same $10 Tip Every Morning… Until She Finally Asked Why
Chapter 5
The dinner was simple.
No expensive restaurant.
No private room.
Daniel took Clara to a small Italian place downtown.
She was nervous.
He wasn’t.
Or at least he looked like he wasn’t.
“You’re very calm,” Clara said.
“I’m terrified.”
She laughed.
“You don’t look terrified.”
“I’ve negotiated with people who wanted to destroy my company.”
“And?”
“This is worse.”
She smiled.
“Why?”
“Because I care what you think.”
Clara lowered her eyes.
They talked for hours.
About family.
Work.
Failure.
Money.
Regret.
Daniel told her he had once believed success would make him feel safe.
“It didn’t?”
“No.”
“What does?”
He looked at her.
“People.”
She smiled.
“That sounds almost healthy.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
When he drove her home, he didn’t kiss her.
He simply said goodnight.
Clara stood on the sidewalk watching his car disappear.
For the first time, she wondered whether the billionaire at her café was becoming something more personal.
The next morning, he left his ten-dollar bill.
Clara picked it up.
“You know,” she said, “you don’t have to do this forever.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I know.”
“Then when will you stop?”
He smiled.
“When it stops meaning something.”
She placed the bill beside his coffee.
“Maybe it already means something different.”
“What?”
“You don’t come here to remember your father anymore.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then why do I come?”
Clara smiled.
“You tell me.”
He didn’t answer.
But he didn’t leave immediately either.
