After paying thirty thousand dollars to Melinda, 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, Melinda 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 chime announce him.
"Morning," he greeted.
Melinda 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."
Melinda set the cloth down and wiped her hands. "Same here. I've been thinking all night. About how to keep the soul of this place… but still make it something new."
"I got some ideas jotted down. How about we study them together?" Jayden smiled as he asked.
"Absolutely, sir," Melinda 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 means you run the daily operations. I'll help where I can, but I want this café to feel like yours, just with better tools."
Melinda nodded slowly. "That means a lot, sir. I was worried you'd want to make it into something flashy or unrecognizable."
"No," Jayden said. "We're not turning it into some 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 investment. Here's what I'm thinking," he said, showing the notepad to Melinda.
"Interior renovation: repainting, new chairs, light fixtures. Just enough to freshen up without losing the charm... which is what's being carried out now."
"Equipment 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 segment, we'll go local first—flyers, posters, maybe a soft launch event. Then we'll build an online presence."
Melinda was scribbling notes as he talked. Her face was serious now, eyebrows slightly drawn as she processed.
"I know a guy named 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 media manager... She's been bugging me 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 Melinda.
"What is this for?" Melinda 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," Melinda 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 informed 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 some delivery bikes for a start... As time goes on, we'll get mini vans for statewide services," Jayden said.
"Noted, sir," Melinda 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 come roaring at you tomorrow," Jayden warned politely.
"I already did, sir. Thank you very much. It would have been impossible without you," Melinda said, bowing slightly, but Jayden quickly stopped her.
"Don't bow to me. I'm not a god. Now get to work... I'm really rooting for your success this we—" Jayden paused.
"Week?" Melinda 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 time 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 someone out of his league.
After all, the fact that Mr. Jordan and Kurtis Vane were coming didn't mean they would be the only major figures at the auction.
There would be certain levels, for sure...
And even if it meant facing off with pathetic bastards like Royce and his friends, whose attendance he had predicted, he would find pleasure in that.