MELTING MY CEO HEART - SEASON 2 EPISODE 79

As Luke and Liz both stared at the logo for a few seconds in silence, Derek sleepily came down the stairs, having just woken up.

This broke the silence, and although Luke continued to see the photo, Liz turned towards the little kid with panic on her face.

If there was even a hint that he was going to repeat anything about what had happened the last night, she was prepared to take dire measures.

Sure enough, after idly rubbing his eyes, Derek looked at Liz and spoke in a slurring voice.

“Sis? Last night…”

In a flash, Liz was in front of her little brother, bending to be right in front of his face while her eyes met his, stopping him mid-speech before Mary or Luke paid any attention to him.

Derek was a kid whose intelligence and emotional maturity surpassed his age, so she considered how she was going to make sure that he wouldn’t talk about the terrace incident.

If she directly told him not to repeat it, he would definitely get even more curious, and he wouldn’t let it go.

Getting a headache, Liz tried to decide what to do.

First, she said, “Yes, Derek? Last night?”

She had stopped him at the stairs, so the others were out of earshot.

“Last night I remember climbing some stairs…and seeing some clothes…”

Dammit! He hadn’t forgotten it!

“Yes, Derek. Like I said, that was just me looking for the signal to make a call, and I was also enjoying the moonlight. It was really hot, so I dropped my clothes to the side. However, if Mary or Luke hear about it, they will make a big fuss. How about we keep this between us? Just like I didn’t tell mom how you sneaked off to eat ice cream with the money I gave you, even though mom said that you shouldn’t be having so much? How about this. We can even do that again! I’ll get you treats! It can be our little secret!”

Just like her, her brother was also a sucker for good food.

Thankfully, the deception seemed to have worked, as Derek opened his mouth wide and started to drool again when she mentioned the treats.

Nodding without hesitation, he said, “Ok! Pinky promise!”

“Pinky promise!”

After shaking pinkies, Liz heaved a sigh of relief and got up to head back to the kitchen island to see the dossier again.

“Sis! Is it only the clothes, or the sounds…”

“Hmm? What sounds? Derek, what are you talking about?”

‘HAHAHA, serves you right! Explain that!’

The little kid had chosen to ask this in his normal tone, just when Liz had been heading back.

Dammit! Freezing, Liz had turned back in order to shut him up again, but Mary had heard the sentence as she had just been on the way to the bedroom nearby.

As her inner voice took delight in her situation, Liz hurried to stop Derek from answering by hiding him behind her back while she answered her mother.

“Oh, it was nothing. Derek came to my room last night, complaining that he heard some noises from outside. I told him that it might just be some animal passing through and I put him back to sleep. Nothing out of the ordinary, at all. Nope. And he saw my clothes in a mess too. That’s it. Thaaaaat’s it.”

“O…k? Derek, get ready quickly, it’s almost time for school.”

This time, it was Liz who spoke in a high-pitched voice, making Mary raise her eyebrow and purse her lips as she wondered what was going on.

Deciding to ask later, she responded in a doubtful tone and left to the bedroom.

Meanwhile, Liz turned back to Derek whose mouth was opened in an ‘O’ shape.

“Oops!”, he said cutely, and he looked so adorable that Liz couldn’t even stay mad at him.

However, she did smile and reinforce the treats, which made him promise that he would definitely not mention it anywhere.

Hoping that this would work, Liz walked back to the Luke at the kitchen island, who was staring at her with a weird expression.

“What was that about?”, he asked, with one eyebrow raised, just like Mary.

Liz answered with a very innocent expression on her face, as if she didn’t have the faintest idea as to what he was referring to, “What was what about?”

Sighing and giving up, Luke pushed the dossier toward her and said, “Huh. Never mind. Anyway, check out the rest of the files.”

Nodding, Liz started to go through what was a very detailed business plan about why ‘Luke’s’ would definitely take New York by storm.

According to the surveys that Liz’s employees had carried out, the general populace was getting tired of typical fast food joints, because they had gotten used to the dishes, and they couldn’t expect higher quality at that price.

At the same time, they were also fed up with the high-end restaurants, which were almost always packed, and where one would have to be ready to give an arm and a leg if they wanted to have a sumptuous meal.

From these two, the conclusion was made that there was a ‘hole’ in the market for a classy, upscale place which served quality food but didn’t charge too much.

Enter ‘Luke’s’, a diner which would take one back in time to an age where gentlemanly and lady-like nature was the norm, instead of being the exception.

The menu mostly contained hearty food, and most of the dishes proposed were those that were already being served at Luke’s diner, albeit with a few small modifications.

The price would be tripled, but this would still be very low when compared to what the actual upscale restaurants charge.

In essence, the goal was to cater to both high-class clientele who were looking for a change in pace, and medium to low-class individuals who wanted something better than run-of-the-mill fast food.

Finally, with innovative advertising strategies and use of proprietary technology to maximize profits, the goal was to make ‘Luke’s’ the talk of the town, before expanding to the US, and then the world.

After Liz was done reading all this, she felt as if she had been shown a dream. A fantasy, that seemed too good to be true.

However, she also started feeling a passion to make it come true.

Seeing that she was done, Luke opened his mouth to speak, and Liz expected him to reiterate his decision from before. So, she prepared to dispute that, but what he said shocked her.

“Liz…it’s not a bad plan. But if we consider doing this, I want you as my partner. I can’t do it alone. And you know that the fact that I even have the diner is because of you.”