After paying thirty thousand dollars to linda, Jayden had signed the paperwork before he left.
The next morning, he drove back to the café, and what he saw brightened his face. Before he left the café the previous day, he had already made sure that the renovation team arrived and began their work.
In a case like that, Jayden had to pay them upfront to persuade them to begin. He actually had a task to complete, and it wasn't looking promising after two days had passed in the one-week duration.
Inside the café, linda was already up and moving. She'd been at the café since 6 AM, cleaning the windows and rearranging chairs with a focused energy Jayden admired. It was like the weight of debt had been lifted from her shoulders overnight.
Jayden stepped in, letting the door chi announce him.
"Morning," he greeted.
linda looked up and gave a small but genuine smile. "You're early, sir."
"I couldn't sleep," Jayden said, glancing around. "Too many ideas running through my head. I figured we could get a head start."
linda set the cloth down and wiped her hands. "Sa here. I've been thinking all night. About how to keep the soul of this place... but still make it sothing new."
"I got so ideas jotted down. How about we study them together?" Jayden smiled as he asked.
"Absolutely, sir," linda nodded, dropping the duster by the side and sitting next to Jayden at a table near the window, where the morning light pooled like warm syrup across the wood.
Jayden brought out a notepad from his jacket pocket and opened it.
"First off," he said, "I want to keep you as the heart of this place. That ans you run the daily operations. I'll help where I can, but I want this café to feel like yours, just with better tools."
linda nodded slowly. "That ans a lot, sir. I was worried you'd want to make it into sothing flashy or unrecognizable."
"No," Jayden said. "We're not turning it into so glass box with robots. This place has character. We're just giving it new legs to stand on."
He flipped a page.
"I've got $65,000 set aside for investnt. Here's what I'm thinking," he said, showing the notepad to linda.
"Interior renovation: repainting, new chairs, light fixtures. Just enough to freshen up without losing the charm... which is what's being carried out now."
"Equipnt upgrade: new espresso machines, grinders, and an automatic roaster."
"We can hire at least three more hands... One more barista, one kitchen staff, and a delivery manager. And for the marketing segnt, we'll go local first—flyers, posters, maybe a soft launch event. Then we'll build an online presence."
linda was scribbling notes as he talked. Her face was serious now, eyebrows slightly drawn as she processed.
"I know a guy nad Finn who used to work at a bakery down the street," she said. "He's brilliant with pastries, and he's looking for work. And my cousin Lisa is a social dia manager... She's been bugging to set up a proper page for the café."
Jayden's brows lifted. "Perfect. We bring in people you trust, people who care."
"And finally," Jayden paused.
He grabbed the polythene bag he had brought and handed it to linda.
"What is this for?" linda asked curiously.
"It's a flower, a unique ingredient. No café in the state—or even the entire country—has it. It adds a special taste, scent, and function to any drink. It blends with any bean to form a wonderful taste... Don't worry, you'll see the results," Jayden smiled.
"Alright, sir... Thanks," linda replied, collecting the bag and keeping it safe by the side.
The truth was that Jayden had gotten this flower from a village down in the countryside. Of course, he was initially clueless about such a thing, but when he had walked out of the café the previous day, the system had inford him of many things he could do to bring the café back to life, and even double the liveliness.
The system urged him to get the Amber Bloom golden flower in a village at the border of the state. Jayden had faced a great challenge to get there, but he was determined to do it to avoid getting 20% of his next five cash rewards taken if he failed.
"I'll be transferring $10,000 to you now. Do well to get all the ingredients you need in bulk. I've thought about buying so delivery bikes for a start... As ti goes on, we'll get mini vans for statewide services," Jayden said.
"Noted, sir," linda nodded.
"So, I'll be leaving now. I'll check up on the progress tomorrow. Hopefully, the renovation team will be done with everything before the week ends. You should try to pay those dickheads before they co roaring at you tomorrow," Jayden warned politely.
"I already did, sir. Thank you very much. It would have been impossible without you," linda said, bowing slightly, but Jayden quickly stopped her.
"Don't bow to . I'm not a god. Now get to work... I'm really rooting for your success this we—" Jayden paused.
"Week?" linda raised a brow.
"Ah, sorry. Slip of the tongue. Just get on with everything. See you later," Jayden said quickly and walked out of the café.
Of course, he had to say it was a slip of the tongue because saying he needed her to make $100,000 within a week was insane. Even he was finding it hard to believe, but what could he say when the system had already given its word?
Hopefully, if it went the way the system predicted, then it would work out.
....
That was aside for now...
It was ti for another action—a more intense action.
It was Wednesday already, and the auction would be happening tonight.
Jayden only had 1.1 million dollars in his account, but why would he panic?
If he could think smartly, he knew that the best thing to do was not to run into an auction against soone out of his league.
After all, the fact that Mr. Jordan and Kurtis Vane were coming didn't an they would be the only major figures at the auction.
There would be certain levels, for sure...
And even if it ant facing off with pathetic bastards like Royce and his friends, whose attendance he had predicted, he would find pleasure in that.
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