The trio sat down for dinner.
Tyler kept trying to fill Natalie’s plate.He seemed more enthusiastic than Hannah.
“It must be strenuous to work for such a big company as the Larson Group.Eat more.”
lt was awkward, so Natalie forced a smile as she ate.
She said, “It’s okay.It’s not as bad as it seems.”
“That’s because you’re superwoman, Natalie.How many people can say they get to work for Larson Group? If I got married and had a child, my daughter might be your age.”
Tyler kept flattering Natalie as he served her more food.
“I see my mother treats you like her granddaughter, but I can’t treat you like a daughter.I wouldn’t dare.I’m better off treating you like I’m your uncle since we are family in a way.”
Natalie looked at the greasy pork chop in her plate before she looked up at Tyler’s smiling eyes and said, “It’s okay.Hannah is like a grandmother to me.”
Hannah said with a smile, “Natalie speaks better than you.”
Natalie smiled, but her smile disappeared when she saw the crazed look in Tyler’s eyes.She had a feeling he hadn’t changed, but she couldn’t say anything.
When Tyler saw that Natalie and Hannah had almost finished eating, he stood up, poured the rest of the food and sauce into his plate, and stirred them together before gulping the whole thing down.
“Slow down.No one will steal the food from you,”
Hannah scolded as she patted Tyler on the back.Her eyes were full of kindness.She was simply grateful and relieved that he came back.
Tyler finished the food and said, “I haven’t had such a good meal in a while, Mom.It’s so good to be at home.”
Hannah smiled at Tyler.
“There’s no place like home.What have you been up to?”
“I’m currently between jobs, trying to decide what I should do next,”. Tyler said after he swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped the sauce on his lips and chin.
This worried Hannah.
After thinking about it for a while, she said, “You don’t have a good education background or skills, and you’re not as young as you used to be, so you might not find anything except security guard work or something along that line.”
Tyler sneered when he heard this.
“That’s embarrassing.I used to have two people working for me, so I can’t stoop that low.”
“Well, now that things have changed, you have to curb your bad temper.It makes you unqualified to be a security guard.” Hannah sighed.
Her son was ambitious but he was incapable.
When he saw that Hannah was getting riled up, he reluctantly agreed.
“‘ll think about it.”
Natalie planned to go back downtown after dinner as there was usually a night bus at that time.
When he saw that she was leaving, Tyler followed her and said, “It’s not safe for you to be going to the bus station alone so late at night.Let me walk with you.”.
It had stopped snowing and when Natalie saw how dark it was outside, she didn’t refuse.
As they both walked toward the bus stop, Tyler squinted and said, “I still want to run a small business.It’s not lucrative for me to work as a security guard at my age.I’m over forty, and I need to save some money to take care of my mother.”
Although Natalie wasn’t business-savvy, she politely replied, “That’s okay.It’s always better to have a goal.”
Tyler rubbed his hands awkwardly before he said what was on his mind, “To run such a business, I need money and my mother doesn’t have much, so I can’t ask her.Can you lend me fifty thousand dollars? I’ll pay you back as soon as I start earning profit.”
So it turned out that Tyler came to her to borrow money.
Natalie frowned at the thought of it.
“I don’t have much money,” she replied in a low voice, avoiding eye contact with the man in front of her.
It was because Natalie lied.
Her salary was quite good, and she could afford to lend him fifty thousand dollars if she wanted to.
But because Tyler seemed unreliable, perhaps because of his gambling habits in the past, Natalie felt that she wouldn’t get the money back.
It seemed like Tyler had seen through her, so he continued to persuade her, “Natalie, I really want to turn over a new leaf and start afresh now.But as you probably know, I didn’t finish school and I don’t have skills either.It’s hard for me to find a decent job.Fortunately, I have some old friends who are businessmen. They know how to make money.And they are willing to count me in.Now all I need is money.Just lend me fifty thousand dollars, please, Natalie.”
Tyler kept begging her, almost kneeling down on the ground.
“Don’t do that.l’ll think it over. When do you need the money?”
Natalie panicked when he was about to kneel down.
“I need the money right now.”
The anxiety on Tyler’s face was instantly replaced with a glimmer of hope when Natalie asked him when he needed the money.
“My friends are all reliable. They told me that their business plan is great and without risk.”
“Everything has its risk.”
Even an amateur like Natalie was aware of this fact.
“My friends are all successful businessmen. They know what they’re doing.Just please lend me the money.! will give it back to you in two weeks.”
Purposely ignoring what Natalie said, Tyler tried harder to convince her.
In the end, she decided to lend the money to him.
It was not that she believed in Tyler.
If it weren’t for Hannah, Natalie wouldn’t lend him a single penny.
But because she owed his mother for raising her, it was hard to say no to him.
“Alright.Give me your bank account details.”
By ten o’clock in the evening, Natalie finally arrived home.
Sebastian, who had been waiting for her, was finally relieved when he saw her.
“Where have you been? Why didn’t you give me a call?” he asked while wiping his wet hair with a bath towel.
The smell of shampoo and shower gel reached Natalie’s nose.
“I visited Hannah.”
After hesitating for a moment, she added, “By the way, I lent fifty thousand to Hannah’s son.”
“Hannah has a son? I didn’t know about that.” Sebastian tilted his head and frowned.
Taking off her coat, Natalie slumped down on the sofa and sighed.
“He just came back recently after being away for so many years.”
“Is he reliable?”
Since he hadn’t met Hannah’s son before, Sebastian was a bit curious about what kind of person he was.
Anyway, Natalie only lent him fifty thousand dollars, so it wasn’t a big deal.
As Sebastian dried his hair, he walked to the sofa and sat down beside Natalie.
Then he held her in his arms and kissed her.
“What matters is that you’re happy.Just take it as a-way of repaying Hannah’s kindness.”
Gently playing with his moist black hair, Natalie nodded.
It was indeed better not to dwell on it.
She should put her mind at rest.
The days passed quickly.
Two days after she lent money to Tyler, Natalie received a call from him while she was working.
Before parting ways that night, the two had exchanged phone numbers.
Natalie had almost forgotten about it because she thought they wouldn’t talk again.
She didn’t expect that Tyler would call her this soon.
Was he going to return her money now?
“Well, that was fast”
Without thinking too much, Natalie answered the call.
As soon as the line connected, Tyler’s worried voice came to her ear.
“Natalie, lend me one hundred thousand dollars. It’s urgent.”
Natalie wanted to hang up on Tyler right away.
At first, she thought he was simply not worthy of anyone’s trust, but now she realized he was a total scumbag.