Chapter 1First day at Harvard, campus it-girl dropped a bomb:
"The Sterling Table—$1K a head? $5 AYCE tonight!"
"Chloe's family owns it. I got us the hookup."
Except I—Chloe—never heard a damn thing about this.
And $5 there? No fucking way.
I tried to explain, but she cut me off.
"I already told everyone. Don't kill the vibe."
"Forty people—$200 for your family. Pretty sweet deal."
"Free publicity, too. Win-win."
I smiled. "Fine."
What she didn't know?
We sold it to the city's biggest mob boss last week.
"Hookup"? Sure. But payment isn't cash—FINGERS.
...
"NO, seriously. We can't!"
I tried explaining to Riley again.
"Water at The Sterling Table costs five bucks."
"Five bucks per person won't even get you through the door."
Riley patted my shoulder.
"Come on, orientation week's been brutal on everyone."
"Your family's restaurant sits empty half the time anyway."
"Might as well hook everyone up."
"The whole class will remember this. They'll love you for it."
Meanwhile, Riley already posted a payment QR code in the group chat:
"Five bucks per person."
"All-you-can-eat at The Sterling Table tonight!"
I heard payment notifications pinging from her phone.
Immediately typed:
"The Sterling Table ISN'T my family's restaurant."
I hit send.
Less than a second later, Riley deleted it.
But someone saw it.
They immediately questioned her.
"Chloe just say The Sterling Table isn't hers? So this five-buck deal is fake?"
Riley replied.
"Chloe's just low-key."
"She doesn't like telling people her family owns a restaurant."
"Don't worry everyone. I already worked it out."
"Five bucks, all-you-can-eat. Done deal."
I glared at Riley.
"I told you. It's NOT my family's place."
"I can't make this call."
She waved me off.
"Quit the act already."
"First day of school, I heard you on the phone with your mom."
"She literally said your family owns The Sterling Table."
I thought back to that phone call.
Mom did mention we owned The Sterling Table.
But her next sentence was that we'd sold it.
No wonder Riley knew about the restaurant.
I never told anyone what my family did.
She only heard half the conversation.
"We used to own it, but last week—"
Riley cut me off again.
"I'm doing your family a favor. Bringing in customers."
"Your restaurant's pricey. But what's the point if no one shows up?"
"Run a promo, get some buzz going."
"Your restaurant gets publicity, everyone eats well."
"And you look good in front of the class."
"It's a win-win-win."
My other two roommates backed her up.
Gianna shot me a look.
"Some bitch love showing off how rich they are."
"But now that classmates want to eat at her family's place?"
"She won't even give a discount."
Jade nodded.
"You own a restaurant."
"For our first class dinner, you should've treated us for free."
"We're not even asking for free. Just a discount. That's it."
They ganged up on me.
Made it sound like I was being selfish if I didn't agree.
I didn't want to argue anymore.
Sent a message in the group chat:
"The Sterling Table isn't my family's restaurant."
"If you want to eat there, I can help get a 50% discount."
"But five bucks all-you-can-eat?"
"Not happening."
The Sterling Table had been sold, but I knew the new owner—the local mob boss.
My family was on good terms with him.
If I brought classmates, he'd probably agree to half off.
The group chat exploded.
But they weren't thanking me for the 50% discount.
They were calling me heartless.
"Riley just said five bucks all-you-can-eat. I already paid, and now only 50% off?"
"You're this loaded, but still nickel-and-diming your classmates? That's cold."
"You say it's not yours, but you can still get discounts? At least lie better."
They all thought the restaurant WAS mine.
That I just didn't want to give them a cheap deal.
I started typing an explanation.
Before I could send it, a notification popped up.
I'd been kicked from the group chat.
Chapter 2
I almost laughed.
Took screenshots of everything.
A few minutes later, Emma—one of the few classmate I actually got along with—sent me a screenshot.
Riley had posted in the group.
"Didn't expect Chloe to back out."
"But don't worry. I already collected everyone's money."
"I'll make sure this happens."
Gianna jumped in right after.
"Riley's working hard to get us the five-dollar deal!"
The messages that followed were all thanking Riley and trashing me.
"Chloe's so cheap. Thinks 50% off is good enough."
"Right? She's loaded and still this stingy. At least Riley actually cares about us."
Then Riley replied.
"It's nothing."
"Just vote for me when I run for class rep!"
That's when it clicked.
She was using me as a stepping stone.
Building goodwill without spending a dime.
I thought back to orientation week.
First day, I bought everyone ice cream.
The next day, Riley showed up with a case of bottled water.
"I figured ice cream might upset people's stomachs."
"Water's better. Keeps you hydrated without the risk."
Everyone praised her for being so thoughtful.
I felt off about it then.
I'd just treated everyone to popsicles the day before.
Riley's comment felt like a passive-aggressive dig.
She was putting me down to make herself look good.
I asked her about it later. She said I was overthinking.
Guess my gut was right all along.
I glanced over at Riley.
She was grinning at her phone.
Clearly the praise in the chat was working.
She noticed me staring and turned.
"Don't be mad, Chloe."
"I kicked you out so you wouldn't say something that'd piss everyone off."
"Relax. I'm smoothing things over for you."
"I told them if the five-dollar deal goes through, they'll forget about what you said today."
I turned on my voice recorder. Kept my voice flat.
"The Sterling Table ISN'T mine."
"And I never agreed to this."
Riley patted my shoulder.
"Why are you being so difficult?"
"Everyone just wants to check the place out."
"They're not gonna eat that much."
Then she sent a voice message to the group.
"It's settled."
"Five bucks per person, all-you-can-eat at The Sterling Table."
"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"
The way she said it, you'd think she owned the place.
I had everything I needed on tape. Didn't say another word.
Riley took my silence as agreement.
She turned and started getting ready with Gianna and Jade.
When I went to the bathroom, I heard them whispering.
"Riley, Chloe looked pissed. What if she bails on us?"
"Doesn't matter. We'll just show up." Riley sounded unbothered.
"The whole class will be there."
"If she backs out, she'll embarrass everyone."
"She won't risk pissing off the entire class. She'll go along with it."
So that was her plan all along.
She didn't care if I agreed.
She figured I wouldn't dare cross the whole class.
That I'd cave when the time came.
I almost laughed.
The Sterling Table requires reservations.
You can't just walk in.
I can't wait to see her face when she realized they couldn't even get through the door.
And how she'd explain that to everyone.
Chapter 3
Riley was about to leave.
She glanced at me still sitting on my bed.
"Chloe, you coming?"
I shook my head. "I'm not going."
Gianna scoffed.
"Of course she's not. It's her family's place."
"She's probably sick of eating there."
"Why would she bother with our little dinner?"
Gianna grabbed Riley's arm and they left.
The dorm room fell quiet.
I figured they'd get turned away at the door without a reservation.
But an hour later, I saw Gianna's Instagram story.
They were already inside. Food was on the table.
She'd posted several photos.
The whole class packed into one private room. Split between two tables.
Both tables were already loaded with food.
I scrolled through the pictures—everything expensive.
Lobster tails and king crab legs in front of everyone.
Riley's voice played over the video.
"Order whatever you want!"
"Get more if you need it! Tonight we eat good!"
My phone rang.
The screen showed Vincent—the Sterling Table's new owner.
I picked up.
He spoke immediately.
"Chloe, you're bringing classmates for dinner?"
"You should've told me ahead of time."
"I would've arranged something for you."
I froze.
Then it hit me.
The Sterling Table doesn't let people in without reservations.
Riley must've used my name to get everyone inside.
The owner changed, but most of the staff stayed.
The staff knew me.
When Riley dropped my name, they let the whole group in.
I quickly explained everything to Vincent.
Then I warned him.
"They're expecting to pay five bucks each."
"You should probably send someone to clear that up."
Vincent laughed.
"No need. Business walks through my door, I'm taking it."
"They want to play games in my restaurant?"
"Let's see if they can handle it."
After we hung up, Emma texted me again.
"Riley's stepping on you AGAIN to make herself look good."
"This whole thing was YOUR favor, but now everyone's thanking her!"
Emma thought I'd actually agreed to Riley's five-dollar deal.
She was even more furious than I was.
I texted back to calm her down.
"Don't worry. Riley's not getting what she wants."
"Come meet me at The Sterling Table."
"Tonight's gonna be entertaining."
Emma hadn't gone to the dinner either.
I brought her with me to The Sterling Table.
We sat in the main dining area.
After we sat down, Emma looked worried.
"Chloe, you're not actually gonna cave and charge them five bucks each, right?"
"I saw their posts. They ordered expensive stuff."
"Five bucks per person? You'd lose a fortune."
I gave her a reassuring look.
"This place isn't mine anymore. I don't get to decide."
"Even if I wanted to comp the bill, I couldn't."
She let out a breath.
"Okay. Good."
By the time Emma and I finished eating, Riley's group was done too.
They came out of the private room.
Riley walked in front.
Gianna and Jade flanked her.
A huge crowd followed behind.
Riley walked straight to the front desk.
She slapped down two hundred-dollar bills.
"Two people didn't show. Give me ten bucks back."
The hostess smiled.
"Your total is $236,976."
"You just paid two hundred."
"You still owe $236,776."
