little after 5:40 p.m.
Mickey walked past Dex restaurant like he always did—hands empty, swagger in his step, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Mandy was beside him, carrying a bunch of shopping bags.
They both stopped and stared at the line of luxury cars parked outside the restaurant, along with the long queue of people waiting.
Mickey let out a long drag of smoke. "This place is pulling in rich people from other neighborhoods. That's not a good thing."
Mandy didn't agree. Instinctively, she wanted to defend Dexter. "Why is that not a good thing?"
"God, you're dumb," Mickey snapped. "If rich people keep coming here, what if someone decides to invest and buy property around here? What happens to people like us then?"
Mandy didn't feel especially attached to this place. She shrugged. "Then we just make money and stay. If rich people come, they're gonna spend, right? So we take their money!"
Mickey's eyes lit up. "You mean, like… rob them?"
"..." Mandy was speechless. "Can't we just make money the normal way?"
Mickey immediately laughed. "Since when has anyone in the Milkovich family ever made money the normal way—"
Halfway through, he suddenly realized how bad that sounded and shut his mouth, looking annoyed with himself.
Now it was Mandy's turn to laugh. "If you want prison to be your second home like the rest of them, go right ahead."
Mickey didn't want that. With nothing to say, he awkwardly changed the subject. "Let's go."
Mandy didn't move. "We agreed—you're gonna try for that job at the restaurant!"
Mickey was already walking away, not even turning his head. "Tomorrow!"
"I'm not gonna forget!" Mandy said seriously.
Just then—
A taxi pulled up in front of Dex restaurant.
Dexter got out of the car. When he saw Mickey and Mandy, he grinned. "You two out shopping?"
"None of your damn business," Mickey snapped instantly.
Mandy immediately rushed forward and smacked Mickey on the back of the head, then apologized to Dexter. "Sorry! My brother's just an asshole like that."
Haha.
From an outsider's point of view, these two siblings were actually pretty entertaining, weren't they?
"It's fine—very… stylish," Dexter replied with a smile. Then he glanced at the restaurant entrance. "Gotta run. We'll talk another time—I'm slammed."
"Okay," Mandy said, smiling. She genuinely liked Dexter.
Dexter didn't say anything else and headed into the restaurant.
At the same time—
Carl, who had successfully pulled off a scam earlier and squeezed two hundred bucks out of a rich-but-dumb middle-aged woman, dumped Frank outside the Alibi Room and happily ran over to Dex restaurant, lining up at the very back of the queue.
Carl spotted Dexter.
Dexter didn't notice Carl and walked straight into the restaurant.
Meanwhile—
Steve had been driving Fiona around for hours, still searching.
In the passenger seat, Fiona was so anxious she kept scratching her head, complaining nonstop. "Frank definitely took him to another neighborhood. Why the hell would he go screw around with Frank…"
Steve had plenty of flaws—but he also had plenty of good qualities.
One of them was that he had a lot of patience.
Honestly, if he didn't, there was no way he could put up with a woman like Fiona.
In fact—
Any man with even slightly less patience wouldn't be able to handle Fiona at all.
If you really thought about it…
Fiona was actually a bit like Monica—just not as extreme.
Steve listened quietly. After Fiona finally finished ranting, he smiled lightly and responded.
And the two of them kept searching.
---
Dex Restaurant
"I'm back! You two beauties weren't waiting too long, were you?" Dexter said as he walked in, joking around.
Veronica immediately put her phone down. "I'm freaking out! Do you know how many people are trashing us on Twitter right now?"
"Oh, that's a good thing," Dexter said with a smile as he walked past.
Veronica: "????? How is that a good thing?"
Vivian smiled softly and didn't say much. She picked up a fruit platter and handed it to Dexter. "Boss, have some fruit."
"Thanks," Dexter said, taking it. Then he answered Veronica, "Of course it's a good thing."
After that, he added, "Open up. Fifteen customers only. No more—I don't want to work myself to death."
"Got it," Veronica said, heading toward the entrance.
Dexter, carrying the fruit platter, slipped into the kitchen.
Outside, there were way more than fifteen people in line.
As soon as Veronica finished explaining—
Something interesting happened.
"You're only selling fifteen meals? My bestie and I can share one, right?" a rich, stylish woman in line asked with a smile.
Veronica froze. "..."
Are rich people always this weird?
Before Veronica could even respond, others in line chimed in.
"Three people sharing one should be fine too."
"Four should work, right?"
"..."
Everyone was clearly determined to eat here tonight, no matter what.
And honestly, it wasn't that strange.
Anyone with a bad temper or no patience had already stormed off.
The good-looking guys and girls still standing in line had already invested a ton of time. Walking away with nothing would've felt awful.
Rich people are so weird, Veronica thought, then turned to Vivian. "Vivian, go ask the boss."
"Okay."
In the kitchen, Dexter heard everything and laughed. "Sure."
Very quickly—
The line outside started moving, and people streamed into the restaurant.
Naturally, Veronica spotted Carl at the very end of the line, walking in with everyone else.
She gasped. "Carl? What are you doing here? Fiona's been looking for you all afternoon! Where did you go?"
Carl didn't slow down. He grinned proudly. "I went to make money—and now I'm here to support Dexter's business!"
"..." Even knowing Carl well, Veronica was still stunned. "What money did you make? Never mind—just get inside and don't run off again. I'm calling Fiona."
"Whatever," Carl shrugged, completely unconcerned. He hurried inside and sat down at an empty table.
Vivian had already noticed Carl earlier. Seeing him sit down, she quickly brought over a fruit platter and set it in front of him. "Carl, this is for you."
"Thanks," Carl said. For a girl who was not only pretty but also had a unique vibe, he was surprisingly polite.
"You're welcome," Vivian said with a smile, then headed back to the kitchen. "Boss, there's a problem. Carl's here and wants to eat, but we're over the limit."
Dexter was slightly surprised. "He came alone?"
"Yeah. He told Veronica he went out to make money this afternoon. He's by himself," Vivian replied.
Dexter smiled—it made sense. "It's fine. Carl doesn't count. I'll make an extra portion just for him."
"Okay," Vivian said, then left the kitchen.
---
"What? Carl's with you?" Fiona said into the phone, both relieved and furious. "I'm coming over right now!"
She hung up immediately.
Steve, without a word, slammed the gas pedal to the floor and sped toward Dex restaurant.