The manager, Marcus, sneered, trying to recover his bravado. “Edward Bennett disappeared a decade ago! You’re just a crazy old tramp with a stolen picture.”
Edward didn’t argue. Instead, the “vagrant” reached deep into his tattered, rain-soaked coat. He didn’t pull out more wet coins.
He pulled out a sleek, top-of-the-line smartphone.
The diner fell deathly silent as Edward dialed a single digit. When he spoke, the frail, exhausted tremor in his voice vanished instantly. It was replaced by a ruthless, commanding baritone.
“It’s me,” Edward said into the phone, his sharp eyes locking onto Marcus. “The boy gave me his dinner. The manager fired him.”
He paused, letting the panic set into Marcus’s eyes.
“Cancel the franchise lease. Terminate the current management company. Immediately.”
Marcus’s face drained of color. “Wait… you’re…”
“I leased this diner to your corporate overlords five years ago,” Edward said, hanging up the phone. He wiped the rainwater from his face, standing up taller, the illusion of the helpless old man shattering entirely. “I came back tonight in disguise to see if the soul of Rose’s kitchen was still alive before I signed the deed over to them permanently.”
He glanced at the glowing screens of the customers recording every second.
“It seems the soul was dead,” Edward said, stepping toward the trembling manager. “But one kid just resuscitated it.”
Edward turned to Daniel, the waiter who had just sacrificed his own dinner and his job.
“Daniel, was it?” Edward asked gently.
“Y-yes, sir.”
“You’re not fired,” Edward stated, tossing a heavy ring of master keys onto the table. “Because I just took my restaurant back. You’re the new General Manager. And your first official duty?”
Edward smirked, pointing at Marcus.
“Throw this trash out into the rain.”