It wasn't far.
About ten minutes later, Steve and Fiona arrived at Dex Restaurant.
By then, the place was already filled with an aroma that felt practically enchanted by the system. Quite a few customers were openly swallowing their saliva, and a lucky few had already started eating—and clearly couldn't stop.
Smelling that fragrance…
Honestly, Steve and Fiona didn't stand a chance either.
Steve spoke up first. "Well, we're already here. Might as well eat here too."
Fiona didn't respond. She frowned and sat down across from Carl. "Carl!"
Carl was in a great mood today. He'd made money and could finally make good on his promise to Dexter.
"What?" he replied.
That attitude? Maximum teenage rebellion.
A vein twitched on Fiona's forehead as her temper flared. "Why did you skip school? Do you have any idea I spent the whole afternoon looking for you?"
"Nope," Carl said honestly. He wasn't trying to provoke her—he genuinely didn't think he'd done anything wrong.
Fiona: "!!!! You're telling me you don't know?! Then tell me—why did you ditch class? Where did you go?"
Carl answered confidently, chest out. "School's boring. I promised Dexter I'd help support his business when the restaurant opened, so I went out to make money!"
That's called keeping your word.
A real man.
Unfortunately, Fiona didn't quite see it that way and was about to snap back—
Luckily, Steve did understand. He jumped in and even looked at Carl with new respect. "Carl, nice work. A man keeps his promises once he makes them."
Carl grinned, a little mischievous, and nodded hard. "Yeah!"
Fiona immediately lost it. "Steve, don't encourage him!"
Steve really did have the patience of a saint. Even after getting snapped at, he just smiled and didn't argue. Instead, he turned to Veronica.
"Veronica, we'll take two bowls of noodles—me and Fiona."
Veronica heard him and gave a helpless smile. She walked over and apologized quietly, "We're out. See those customers? They're sharing portions. All fifteen servings for tonight are already sold."
"????" Steve honestly hadn't noticed. He turned his head and looked around, completely stunned.
"You can do that?"
He shook his head in disbelief. "Can you ask the owner if there's anything he can do?"
Veronica hesitated for a moment. "I'll try."
She went into the kitchen and explained the situation.
Dexter shook his head immediately. "Carl's a kid, so I made an extra serving for him. The other customers won't complain about that. But making more now wouldn't be fair. Go explain it to them."
Veronica understood and went back to Steve to explain.
After hearing it, Fiona spoke first, her tone clearly irritated. "Forget it. This place is too expensive anyway. We can't afford it. Thanks."
Veronica smiled and gently shook her head. "No problem."
The truth was, some of the customers still waiting were watching Steve and Fiona closely.
After all, the restaurant had stopped taking customers minutes ago, yet the staff still let them in…
And these customers were young, wealthy, and very bored—with plenty of time on their hands.
If the restaurant dared to play favorites?
Oh, please.
Straight to Twitter. Instant public execution.
So when Veronica explained the situation, the customers who'd been watching were satisfied. They turned away and went back to swallowing their saliva.
"I can share mine with you," Carl said generously to Steve and Fiona.
Fiona rejected it instantly. "No. You eat. When you're done, we'll talk."
"Whatever," Carl said, completely unconcerned.
Just then, Vivian brought over his noodles.
Carl's face lit up. He rubbed his hands together and nodded enthusiastically. "Nice!!"
The bowl landed in front of him.
The smell hit hard.
Fiona couldn't help swallowing, then quickly stood up and waved Steve over. "Let's go. I need to talk to Frank!"
Steve had no choice but to follow.
Outside the restaurant, on the way to the Alibi Room—
After hesitating for a moment, Steve decided to speak. "Fiona, I wasn't planning to ask, but judging by how upset you are, this clearly isn't something you'll get over anytime soon."
"So… what's going on between you and Dexter?"
Fiona's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. "What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"
Steve rubbed his temples. "Don't get mad. I just want to understand—maybe I can help."
Fiona didn't have the best temper. She shot him a look before finally answering, "Nothing's going on. I was just supposed to be working there."
Steve had assumed Fiona's emotions were because she and Dexter had slept together and then he dumped her. This answer genuinely surprised him.
"He fired you before opening day?"
The word fired lit her fuse all over again. "I quit! I chose to leave!!!"
"…" Steve was completely lost now. "Then why are you so mad at him? He didn't fire you…"
"Because you don't get it," Fiona snapped. "Drop it."
Steve sighed quietly and did exactly that.
Not long after, they walked into the Alibi Room.
Kevin had been driving his Ferrari alone, letting the wind cool his head, and by the time he got back, he felt much better. Seeing the bar packed with customers cheered him up even more, and he was now happily hustling behind the counter.
He grinned when he saw Fiona and Steve walk in.
Steve smiled back.
Fiona didn't. She stormed straight over to Frank, who was in a fantastic mood, casually drinking.
"Frank! If you ever take Carl out begging again, I swear I'll break your legs for good!"
Frank didn't even blink. He fired back with pure nonsense logic. "Why are you so worked up? What's wrong with begging?"
"Do you know how much Carl and I made today?"
"What we earned in one afternoon is more than you make in days!"
"…."
Frank's mouth was like a machine gun, nonstop.
Fiona was furious. "!!!! Shut up! Carl should be in school! This has nothing to do with money!!!"
"You don't know crap," Frank shot back while drinking. "Everything we do in this world is about money in the end."
Fiona was shaking with rage.
Steve quickly wrapped an arm around her and tried to calm her down. "Easy. Talk it out."
She didn't look at Steve. She stared at Frank and said, "I'll say this once. If there's a next time, I guarantee you won't be allowed back in the house."
With that, she turned and walked out.
Steve sighed again and followed.
They got into Steve's car outside.
Fiona was still furious. She lit a cigarette, took two deep drags, and started venting.
Steve honestly didn't want to hear any more Gallagher family chaos. He'd run around all afternoon, and then the smell from the restaurant had tortured him—he was starving.
But what choice did he have?
So he endured it and listened quietly.
—
Time passed.
Carl finished eating, wiped his mouth, and boldly pulled two hundred dollars out of his pocket, placing it on the table.
"Check, Veronica."
Veronica walked over and looked at the money, feeling a bit helpless.
The restaurant belonged to Dexter.
Even if she didn't want to take it, she had to. She accepted the money and gave Carl thirty-two dollars in change—no tip taken.
"Carl, you should go. Fiona's waiting for you."
Carl didn't care at all. He stuffed the money into his pocket. "I want to say something to Dexter."
"Go ahead. He's in the kitchen," Veronica replied.
Carl grinned and ran into the kitchen, proudly announcing, "Dexter! I came to support your business today—just like I promised!"
Dexter immediately gave him a thumbs-up and smiled. "Nice! Thanks for the support!"
"Heh, see you next time. I'm out!" Carl said, turning and leaving like a boss.
Dexter chuckled and shook his head, then walked out of the kitchen. "Veronica."
"Yes?"
"Come here for a second."
She stepped closer.
"Did Carl pay?" Dexter asked.
"He did."
"Then please return the money to Fiona tonight, and have her give it back to Carl," Dexter said.
Veronica smiled wide and nodded. "Boss, you're a really good person."
Dexter just smiled without saying anything, turned around, and went back into the kitchen to keep working.