Chapter 49: A Seat Worth More Than Gold

The waitress maintained a professional smile as she politely turned Tyler down.

“Sir, you may be mistaken. Our boss never accepted your deposit. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”

Tyler’s confidence wavered. “What? That scoundrel Zack Smith isn’t trying to back out of our deal, is he?”

The waitress blinked, confused. “Zack Smith is not our boss.”

Tyler’s stomach dropped.

Cloud Cafeteria doesn’t belong to Zack?

His phone buzzed. Seeing Zack’s name, he quickly answered.

“Mr. Collins, sorry for the delay. I’ve set up everything for your proposal at Sunny Restaurant. Will you be arriving this afternoon or in the evening?”

Tyler hesitated, swallowing hard. “Uh… about that, plans changed. My girlfriend wants to eat somewhere else. Sorry for the trouble.”

Zack sighed. “Understood. I’ll refund your deposit.”

Hanging up, Tyler forced himself to smile. He glanced around Cloud Cafeteria, scanning the decor until his eyes landed on a luxurious private dining area.

An artificial stream flowed through the middle of the second floor, decorated with delicate floating petals. A private dining room sat right by the water, its retractable roof allowing guests to enjoy an open-air experience under the night sky.

Perfect.

Striding over, he announced, “I’ll take this room.”

The waitress hesitated. “Sorry, sir, but that room is already booked for $15,000. A singer will be performing here tonight, so it’s in high demand.”

Tyler smirked, pulling out a $1,000 gift card from his wallet.

“Give me the customer’s number.”

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The Proposal Setup

By 7 PM, Tyler pulled into the Cloud Cafeteria parking lot in his BMW 7 Series, his fingers tightening around the Tiffany & Co. ring box in his pocket.

Hailey sat in the passenger seat, her red dress hugging her figure perfectly. She gazed at the bustling restaurant entrance in awe.

The first five floors were already packed. In contrast, Sunny Restaurant—which was supposed to be the city’s top dining spot—sat empty.

Hailey turned to Tyler, impressed. “Wow, this place is incredible.”

Grinning, Tyler took her hand and led her inside.

On the second floor, he gestured grandly to the private dining area.

“Hailey, I spent $90,000 to book this spot just for us!”

Her eyes widened. “$90,000?! Isn’t that too much for a meal?”

Tyler laughed. “It’s nothing. To me, $90,000 is like nine bucks. This is the VVIP experience—front-row seats to Travis Scott’s performance!”

Hailey smiled, clearly impressed. “Even if you’re rich, you shouldn’t waste money like that.”

Tyler took her hand. “After we get married, you’ll be in charge of all my money. My hundreds of millions will be yours to manage.”

Hearing hundreds of millions, Hailey’s heart fluttered.

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A Familiar Face

Just then, Jordan, Victoria, and Ashley entered the second floor.

Tyler spotted them first. “Hey, Jordan, Miss Clarke, Miss Rose—what a coincidence!”

Jordan and Hailey locked eyes for a split second but quickly looked away.

Tyler smirked. “Miss Clarke, which room did you book?”

Victoria answered, “307.”

Tyler frowned. “Third floor? The view won’t be great from there. I booked this room for $90,000. Why don’t you guys join us for the performance later?”

Victoria chuckled. “No thanks. Jordan and I originally planned to sit here too, but I don’t like the song Travis Scott is performing tonight, so we decided to go upstairs instead.”

Tyler froze.

Jordan and Victoria were offered this seat but turned it down?

Unbeknownst to him, Jordan—as the owner of the restaurant—had first pick of the seats but didn’t care for the performance.

Hailey, still under the impression that Jordan loved her, softly said, “Jordan, you can sit with us later.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed slightly. Why was Hailey inviting her ex-husband?

Still, he forced a smile, pretending to be generous. “Yeah, Jordan! I’m sure you’ve never been this close to a famous rapper before. Maybe I’ll even let you take a picture with Travis Scott for your Instagram. Hahaha!”

Jordan ignored him.

Instead, he turned to Hailey and said flatly, “You two enjoy.”

Without another glance, Jordan headed upstairs.