Eric glared at the waitress while the other three turned to look at him, amusement and curiosity lighting their faces. The waitress, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, caught the cue immediately. She backed away, her head bowed slightly in apology, a nervous smile flickering across her lips.

"The lady from before? Is Little Ricky dating?" Noah asked with a gasp, feigning a childlike voice that couldn't have sounded more ridiculous.

Eric sighed deeply. There was no keeping it from them now. They'd already known, in some way or another, that something had happened. With no parents left, these three were as close to family as he had. Besides, Noah was notorious for digging up information. All it took was a little curiosity settling into his heart.

Eric ended up telling them the whole story in great detail, keeping nothing back. They listened with rapt attention, each of them processing the story in their own way. When he got to the part where she told him she would never go out with the likes of him, each of them had a different expression. Tyler's lips twitched as if he were holding back a smile, while Noah burst out laughing, his loud, boisterous laugh echoing in the space between them.

Seok, however, seemed utterly befuddled. His eyes widened in disbelief. "She rejected you? Does she know who you are? She... she rejected you?" His voice had an incredulous pitch to it, and for a moment, Eric couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement at Seok's reaction.

To Eric, it seemed like Seok was losing hope in himself. If Eric could be rejected, then Seok's confidence might be on the chopping block too. That thought made him chuckle.

"I want to meet this girl," Noah asked, his face flushed with that familiar spark of mischief. "I want to know what her standards for a man are. If she agrees to go out with me, I'll finally prove to be the better one of the two."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Your cute girlfriend would love to hear that," he shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Noah shrugged, unbothered. "I'll just see if she wants to go out with me," he said nonchalantly, a playful glint in his eye. "I wouldn't actually date her, please! I love my baby too much."

Seok made a gagging noise from across the table, and Tyler just shook his head, clearly unimpressed.

"But jokes aside," Noah continued, his tone shifting slightly, "do you want me to look her up?" He put a hand around Eric's shoulder, his eyebrows wiggling in that classic Noah way that always made Eric want to shove him.

"Noah, you are not a detective. Stop 'looking people up'," Eric shrugged his hand off, irritation lacing his voice. "Besides, I don't want anything to do with her. Now that I think about it, she's no different from all the women I'm surrounded by. She doesn't even have the conviction to deny her father. I'd rather be with someone who has a voice than a girl like her."

"Fair enough," Noah said, his voice placating, and just like that, they never brought up the topic again. Eric was immensely grateful for that.

Time passed quickly, the atmosphere lightening as they exchanged friendly banter. It felt so familiar—like it had back in college. The only difference was that, instead of cheap street food from a corner stall, they were now indulging in delicacies prepared by world-class chefs. They were in a place they could have only dreamed about back then.

"By the way," Seok said, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he leaned back in his chair, "you can't miss the charity ball that Old Man Reeves is putting up."

"A charity ball?" Eric scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "You know that's all for show. Just a gathering of pretentious people."

"Besides," Tyler said softly, frowning as he spoke, "When has Old Man Reeves ever cared about charity before?"

"If he weren't a shareholder with enough say in management, I would have parted ways with him long ago," Noah added, shuddering at the thought.

They all shared a combined dislike for Old Man Reeves. At sixty-three, his greed and lust for power were practically legendary. Everyone knew about the harem of young women he kept on his private island. While Eric and his friends had worked hard to get where they were, the money that Reeves had was stained with crimson. Even though everyone was aware of his illegal activities, there was no record of them. Just being associated with him made them all feel dirty.

"We need to do something about that," Eric muttered under his breath. "I tried buying his shares, but he wouldn't relinquish them, even when I agreed to pay a staggering amount of money."

"I don't like that he has a say in management. He must have the largest number of shares after you, right?" Seok asked, his brow furrowing as he spoke. He wasn't involved with the company anymore, but he was one of the original founders. C-Scale would always be their "baby," the lucky charm that had pulled them out of the swamp of poverty and launched them into the skies.

"14%," Eric said simply.

The rest of them gasped in unison.

"I only have 9%!" Noah exclaimed, incredulous.

"That's your own fault," Eric shot back, smirking. "You sold them to me because you needed the money."

"How much do you have?" Seok asked, narrowing his eyes. "I remember you buying some from me and Tyler as well."

"53%. Don't worry, gentlemen. Our company is in good hands," Eric said, crossing his heart mockingly.

The others acted hurt, but Eric knew deep down that, as much as they were family to him, he was just as much family to them. Between them, money was never a cause for misunderstandings. They'd been through the worst of times together, and because of that, nothing—not even the piles of money or the luxury they enjoyed now—would change the bond they shared.

"Whatever," Seok said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just don't forget to come. We need to remain in his good books for some more time."

"And... there are sure to be a lot of girls there. Who knows, you might even forget the one you met today," Noah teased, nudging Eric playfully.

"I had forgotten her," Eric replied dryly. "Thank you so much for making me relive it, Noah."

"Oh, you're most welcome, monsieur," Noah responded, bowing dramatically.

Eric didn't care about what Noah said. He knew he wouldn't find the kind of woman he preferred to date at a place like that. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd ever find her.