“Let us go; I will treat you two to lunch,” Carter said as they stepped out of the police station. Ophelia looked at her father; she moved closer to him and pressed her face forward. She was tempted to check his pulse as well as her temperature but stopped herself because of the eyes around them.
“You would treat us to lunch?” she asked, stepping back because of the glare that her father had on his face.
“That is just what I said,” Carter said, and she nodded.
“Dad, if anything is going on, you need to tell me immediately or my mind will wander too far and I will think about things I should not,” Ophelia said with a concerned look on her face.
“What is so strange about me treating my daughter and her husband to lunch?” Carter asked. Ophelia was overreacting; if anyone else heard her, they would think he had never bought her a meal in his life.
“You mean to tell me that you are taking at least an extra hour out of your busy Saturday to buy us a meal?” Ophelia followed. Cade tugged on her hand to stop her from the interrogation she had suddenly put her father under, but she was not going to back down. Except he suddenly confessed that he had a motive; none of what was happening was realistic to her.
“Are you going to come for lunch or not?” Carter asked. “Should I not buy it?” he asked, walking away.
“Wait,” Ophelia said, rushing to grab onto his hand. He turned to her with a questioning look. Ophelia could not let this opportunity slip out of her hand like that. She could not lose it; this was her father offering to buy a meal for her. How could she refuse?
“Why are you so haughty?” she asked and he gave her a straight lip smile.
“Why are you so full of questions?” he asked, and she nodded. Cade was in wonder; they were truly related. Ophelia was exactly like her dad in all ways. Just a female version of him. Maybe that was why they did not get along.
“We would come; where is it?” Ophelia gave in. She wanted her dad to ask again but she might have lost that opportunity if she waited so she asked him instead.
“Just follow my car closely, and we will be there soon,” Carter said before walking to his car. His driver, who was waiting, opened the door, and Carter slid in.
Cade and Ophelia got into their car and followed Carter’s car closely until they got to a restaurant. Ophelia looked at the name multiple times; she was not familiar with the name, so she thought it might be a hidden gem that her father found. Somehow the furniture inside was new as they walked in; it smelled like fresh paint.
“What do you think of this place?” Carter asked as they sat in the empty restaurant.
“Are we here to work for you?” Ophelia asked. To her, it seemed like the owner here was seeking an investment with Carter, and he was searching for a way to scope them out.
“Work for me? We are here for lunch. I am just asking if the place fits your young vibes,” Carter said. Cade felt that they might start going back and forth like they had been doing all morning.
“I think the vibe here is so good; the interior too is beautiful,” Cade said, looking around. Maybe his replying instead would stop their bickering. “Sir,” he added when he noticed that Carter was staring him down.
“Do you think so?” Carter asked. “I do not think it would be a good restaurant,” he added.
“Is this a business exam?” Ophelia asked, taking out her phone to take pictures. “This place would do well as a dating spot. I wonder why it is not popular yet; maybe when they open fully,” Ophelia added.
“So you both think it would do well.”
“Dad, just invest if you want to; why do you keep bombarding us with questions?” Ophelia said, telling him off.
“You caught me; you seem to be grown now,” Carter replied.
“You have done this so many times with me that I now know it all too well,” Ophelia said. “When do we get to pick out what we want to eat? When do we see a server or the owner?” she asked, getting impatient. She had breakfast, but it was time for her to have lunch already, and knowing herself, she knew that not getting to have lunch soon would cause her to get cranky.
“The chef will come out any minute now with our order.”
“But we haven’t ordered yet.”
“He is making a sample of everything on his menu.”
“You are making a poor guy do all that work himself?” Ophelia scoffed; she could not believe what her dad was doing.
“I have to make sure the food is good enough to serve the public and a man who wants the free money of the public must be willing to show his works, isn’t that so?” he asked, turning to Cade.
“Yes, sir,” Cade said.
“You do not have to agree with him if you think he is wrong,” Ophelia said, nudging Cade’s side.
“I think he is right,” Cade replied.
“Of course you do,” Ophelia added, still scoffing. The owner must be going through a lot, and then he has to prepare his entire menu for free just to get a few million to open up. Life was tough anyway.
“When they open up, let us come here too,” Ophelia said to Cade.
“Come here?” Cade asked, shocked at her suggestion.
“We can come and take pictures; it would be good publicity for him. You know people are interested in what we are doing these days. It is like we are influencers,” Ophelia explained.
“And why do you want to do that for free?”
“Because I can,” Ophelia said. She managed to convince Cade, and they agreed to be back once it opened. The food finally made it out, and Carter gestured that they eat.
“That reminds me, Cade,” Carter said, looking up from the bowl of soup in front of him.
“Yes, sir,” Cade said.
“When are you going to be appointed chairman?”