Richest Man: It All Started With My Rebate System-Chapter 49: Resolve

Steven had just driven out of the underground garage when his phone started ringing and it was an unknown number. He parked beside the building and picked the call.

He heard a familiar female voice on the other end.

"Hi. Steven. It’s Lena," the voice said.

"Lena," Steven said, with genuine surprise in his voice. "That was fast."

"I said I’d be in touch," she said, and he could hear the smile in it. "I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time."

"Not at all," Steven said. "I was just heading out."

"Good. I’ll keep it short then." A brief pause. "I was thinking about dinner tonight, if you’re free. I know it’s short notice."

"Tonight works," Steven said.

"There’s a place I’ve been meaning to go back to. Brennan’s of Houston, on Smith Street. Do you know it?"

"I don’t," Steven said. "But I’ll find it."

"It’s worth finding," she said. "I’ll reserve the table. Does eight work for you?"

"Eight works," Steven said.

"Perfect. I’ll make sure everything is sorted on my end." She said and paused, her voice becoming warmer. "I’ll call you this evening before we head over."

"I’ll be expecting it," Steven said.

"Enjoy the rest of your morning," Lena said.

"You too," Steven said.

The call ended.

Steven set the phone on the passenger seat and looked out through the windscreen for a moment. He hadn’t expected the call this soon. He hadn’t expected the directness of it either, the ease with which she had simply decided on a place and a time and moved forward without ceremony.

He found that he didn’t mind it at all. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He pulled back out onto the street and drove.

Steven had no fixed destination in mind, which was exactly how he wanted it. He was in the mood where people feel like doing something and nothing at the same time.

He feels like driving around the neighbourhood, because his body’s craving the outdoor.

He felt that it was because he had been indoor for almost a week without doing anything, like work, he wasn’t feeling himself. He felt like something’s missing but he has no idea what it is.

He drove without direction for a while, letting the city move past the windows. The morning was clear and the streets were quiet enough that the Aston Martin could breathe a little, its engine settling into a low, unhurried note that he had come to associate with this particular kind of drive.

His thoughts drifted to Lena.

He knew very little about her beyond what the two brief encounters had given him. She was clearly someone who operated at a level that matched the environments she moved through without effort.

The deal she had mentioned the day of the accident, the ease with which she had chosen a restaurant and set a time without making a performance of it. It was clear that she wasn’t someone who needed the situation to work for her. She simply moved and expected things to follow.

He found that quality interesting. He was still thinking about it when the city opened up ahead of him and he realised he had been driving toward the waterfront without deciding to.

He followed it and parked along the edge of the waterfront and stepped out.

The air was cooler here, carrying the fragrance of of open water and morning light. He stood beside the car for a moment, hands in his pockets, looking out.

It was quiet. A few people further along the waterfront, distant enough that the space felt private. The city pressed against the skyline behind him and the water stretched ahead.

He stood there for a long while, thinking about nothing in particular, which was its own kind of rest.

After a while, he got back in the car. He drove without hurrying, moving through the city’s quieter streets, and stopped at a small café he noticed from the road. He went in, ordered a coffee and sat by the window, watching the street outside move at its own pace.

He really wasn’t used to mornings like this. Unstructured, unhurried, with nowhere to be and nothing pressing.

For most of his adult life, every hour had been accounted for by necessity. Time had been something to manage carefully, not something to simply occupy.

He was still learning how to do this.

He finished the coffee, left a tip, and walked back to the car.

It was approaching midday. The housekeeping team would still be working through the apartment and he had no desire to return before they were done. He had the afternoon to fill and the evening already accounted for.

He decided to find somewhere to have a proper lunch. Somewhere he hadn’t been before, somewhere worth the detour.

He picked up his phone and called the concierge.

"Good morning, Mr. Craig. How can I help?"

"Lunch recommendation," Steven said. "Something worth going to. Not fine dining but something more relaxed. Good food, good atmosphere."

"Of course. Give me one moment."

There was a brief pause before the concierge replied.

"There’s a place in Midtown that fits that description well. It’s a contemporary American kitchen, well-regarded locally, known more by regulars than by reputation. Relaxed setting, strong menu, not the kind of place that turns up on the obvious lists."

"That works," Steven said. "Send the address to my phone."

"Done," she said. "Shall I call ahead for you?"

"Please," Steven said.

"Of course. Is there anything else?"

"That’s everything. Thank you."

He ended the call, checked the address that had already arrived as a message, and entered it into the navigation system.

He pulled out and headed for Midtown.

As he drove, he thought of his plans for the future. He already has the restaurant acquisition plan in progress. But after that, he honestly has no idea of what he was going to do.

While the plan is for him to enjoy himself, the truth is that he has no idea on how he’s going to do that.

The past few days has been the best days of his life. He gadived without any form of stress or anxiety. He had enjoyed what he wanted and how he wanted it. But beyond those simplicity, there was nothing more.

He has more than $4M in his account. The money is enough for an average Americans lifestyle to live comfortably for probably the rest of their lives.

But Steven isn’t average. He has the system, which means that his account balance and assets would continue to grow in the future, as long as he continues to spend money.

Meaning that he definitely have no need to work for the rest of his life. And he seriously had no desire to work ever again.

But it seems like to live a relaxing life and lazy around is going to be work. Especially for someone like him who had always been productive.

He has seen people living luxurious lifestyle on social media and he had always hoped that one day he would have at least half of what they have. But now that he’s in their situation, he found himself stumped.

Steven smiled wryly and shook his head. He knew that he really has to start getting used to this new lifestyle of his.

The system had also created an amazing background for him. He has to make very good use of it. He can’t allow himself to be passive.

He was aware that it’s something that will happen eventually even if he does nothing, but he won’t be passive either.