Chapter 4 - The Billionaire at Table TwelveThe following morning, Daniel returned to the sidewalk.
His shoe-cleaning stand had been removed.
A security guard approached him.
“You can't operate here anymore.”
“Why?”
“Management complaint.”
“Whose?”
“You know I can't tell you.”
Daniel smiled.
“Vanessa Whitmore?”
The guard looked uncomfortable.
That was answer enough.
Daniel picked up his battered wooden box and moved thirty feet down the sidewalk.
Technically, that portion belonged to the city.
At 8:14, Vanessa arrived.
She saw him.
Stopped.
Then walked directly toward him.
“I thought I made myself clear.”
“You did.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because your authority ends about six feet behind you.”
Vanessa stared at him.
Daniel pointed toward the pavement.
“Public sidewalk.”
For the first time, something beyond contempt appeared in her face.
Suspicion.
“You think you're clever?”
“No, ma’am.”
She stepped closer.
“Stay away from Emily Carter.”
Daniel’s expression did not change.
“Why?”
“She stole confidential company documents.”
“I thought she was fired for insubordination.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
“With what?”
“People who involve themselves in things they don't understand sometimes discover consequences they didn't expect.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Is that a threat?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Advice.”
She entered the building.
Daniel watched her go.
At 9:03, an elderly janitor named Samuel Brooks came outside.
Samuel had worked for Global Tech for twenty-seven years.
Daniel knew his name from employee-service reports, though Samuel had no idea who Daniel was.
“You're back,” Samuel said.
“Apparently.”
Samuel handed him coffee.
“You irritated somebody important.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Samuel sat beside him.
“Vanessa?”
Daniel glanced over.
“You know her?”
“Everybody knows Vanessa.”
“What do people say?”
Samuel sipped his coffee.
“Depends whether cameras are around.”
Daniel waited.
Samuel lowered his voice.
“Company changed after your—”
He stopped.
“After what?”
“Nothing.”
“Samuel.”
The janitor stared at him.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“So does everyone keep telling me.”
Samuel looked toward the tower.
“After Mrs. Mercer died.”
Daniel froze.
“You knew Elizabeth Mercer?”
Samuel smiled sadly.
“She knew me.”
Daniel’s mother had died fourteen years earlier.
“What do you mean?”
“She remembered everybody. Security guards. cafeteria workers. janitors. Birthdays too.”
Daniel swallowed.
That sounded exactly like her.
Samuel continued.
“Mr. Mercer became different afterward. Not cruel. Just distant. Started trusting executives to run things.”
“And Vanessa?”
“Arrived five years later.”
Daniel stared at the entrance.
Samuel stood.
“Your coffee's getting cold.”
Before leaving, he added quietly, “Your friend Emily wasn't the first person to ask questions.”
Daniel looked up.
“What happened to the others?”
Samuel walked away.
At noon, Daniel called Emily.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
He went to her apartment.
The door was open.
His stomach dropped.
“Emily?”
He entered carefully.
The living room had been searched.
Drawers open.
Papers scattered.
Laptop gone.
“Emily!”
A sound came from the kitchen.
Daniel rushed in.
Emily stood there holding a frying pan like a weapon.
“Daniel?”
He exhaled.
“Are you okay?”
“Someone broke in.”
“I noticed.”
“They took my laptop.”
“The files?”
Her expression changed.
“I made another copy.”
“Where?”
She hesitated.
Daniel stared at her.
“Emily.”
“At the hospital.”
He almost smiled.
“Good.”
“I put a flash drive inside Mom’s old paperback.”
Daniel looked around.
“They weren't looking for valuables.”
“No.”
“They wanted the evidence.”
Emily lowered the pan.
“I’m scared.”
It was the first time she had admitted it.
Daniel wanted to tell her everything.
Instead he said, “Pack a bag.”
“What?”
“You can't stay here.”
“And where exactly am I going?”
Daniel considered his options.
He couldn't take her to the Mercer estate without exposing himself.
Then he remembered an apartment his father’s company maintained downtown for visiting consultants.
“Somewhere safe.”
Emily folded her arms.
“Daniel, you're a shoe cleaner who suddenly has safe houses?”
“Apartment.”
“That doesn't improve the explanation.”
“I have friends.”
“What kind of friends?”
“Complicated ones.”
She stared at him.
“You're hiding something.”
“Yes.”
Her eyebrows rose.
Daniel had not meant to admit it.
“At least you're honest about being dishonest.”
“I’ll explain soon.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
Because tonight Vanessa Whitmore was dining with Richard Mercer.
And Daniel planned to be there.
Hours later, Daniel entered his father’s mansion through the private garage.
He showered.
Shaved.
Changed into a charcoal suit tailored on Savile Row.
The transformation was almost absurd.
At 7:30, he descended the staircase.
His father looked up.
“You clean up reasonably well.”
“Very funny.”
“Vanessa arrived ten minutes ago.”
Daniel adjusted his cuff.
“Does she know I’ll be here?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Richard studied his son.
“You're enjoying this.”
“Not anymore.”
Daniel told him about Emily’s apartment.
His father’s amusement disappeared.
“Police?”
“Emily doesn't trust them yet.”
“Daniel—”
“Give me tonight.”
Richard nodded reluctantly.
They entered the dining room.
Vanessa stood beside Andrew Pierce.
Her back was turned.
Andrew saw Daniel first.
“Daniel Mercer.”
Vanessa turned.
Her smile remained for exactly half a second.
Then vanished.
Daniel watched recognition hit her.
The hair was clean.
The clothes were different.
But the face was unmistakable.
Her champagne glass slipped slightly between her fingers.
Richard approached.
“Vanessa, I don't believe you've met my son.”
Silence.
Daniel extended his hand.
“Good evening, Ms. Whitmore.”
She stared at it.
Then at him.
Daniel smiled politely.
“You look surprised.”
Vanessa recovered quickly.
“Not at all.”
“Really?”
He held her gaze.
“Because yesterday you seemed very certain you knew exactly what kind of man I was.”
Andrew frowned.
Richard said nothing.
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“Mr. Mercer—”
“Daniel.”
She swallowed.
“Daniel. I believe there has been a misunderstanding.”
“No.”
Daniel took his seat.
“I understood you perfectly.”
Vanessa remained standing.
Daniel unfolded his napkin.
“Please.”
He gestured toward the chair opposite him.
“Sit.”
She did.
Daniel looked across the table at the woman who had thrown money at him twenty-four hours earlier.
She no longer saw a poor shoe cleaner.
She saw the billionaire’s son.
And for the first time since the experiment began, Daniel understood something disturbing.
May you like
Vanessa was not ashamed of what she had done.
She was only afraid that she had done it to someone powerful.
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