After Lindsey explained why she came, she started asking Kaden questions.

“Are you on the night shift? Is anyone else working now?”

Kaden shook his head. “No, it’s just me. I’m not on the night shift. I’m working overtime because I want to.”

“What were you doing on the ladder earlier?”

Kaden said, “I saw some dust on the lightbulb, so I climbed up to clean it.”

“Is this your restaurant?”

Kaden quickly denied it. “Oh no, not at all. At least not yet. Our boss said if we work hard, we’ll get shares at the end of the year. I’m trying to earn more to get married.”

“Your boss sounds amazing! I’m sure you’ll get there.”

Seeing how friendly they were, Kaden began to open up more. He led them to the kitchen and proudly showed them the whiteboard tracking employee shares. His name was at the top.

Kaden proudly turned to the camera and said, “I’ve already earned 1.05% of the shares. I’m the hardest worker here. I unload shipments, serve food, clean, prep ingredients, and even clean the restrooms.

“I work six extra hours every day and even agreed to take 2,000 dollars less in salary. A little sacrifice now is nothing compared to the shares I’ll earn at the end of the year. I might be young, but I think about the future.”

Lindsey listened with a look of admiration, though inside, she was thrilled at what she was hearing.

She could not believe that there was still someone naive enough to believe in their boss’s empty promises in this day and age.

As they were about to leave, Kaden asked if they wanted to order some food. He was not the head chef but assured them he could cook.

“Why not help me out and order 1,000 dollars’ worth of food? Any money we make outside regular hours counts as extra revenue. I’ll remember your kindness at the end of the year.”

Lindsey laughed and said she was already full but promised to support the restaurant next time. Kaden reluctantly saw them off.

Lindsey felt happy to stumble onto a big story. She had been so caught up listening to Kaden that she forgot to inspect the kitchen thoroughly. Only after stepping outside did she realize it.

“Guys, it’s a restaurant where the staff cleans its light bulbs. What flaws could I possibly find in their kitchen? I’ll save it for next time and keep you all curious.”

The next day, Jennifer’s steakhouse went viral because of how hardworking Kaden was. During the morning meeting, Jennifer praised Kaden for his hard work.

I jumped in and said, “Boss, we should reward him with more shares. If he didn’t work overtime every day, the restaurant wouldn’t have gotten so popular so quickly. I think we should give him 10%!”

Hearing my suggestion, Kaden’s eyes lit up, and the other staff cheered, “Give him 10%! He deserves it! We’d fully support that!”

Jennifer was stuck. The restaurant was getting great publicity, and upsetting the staff could lead to bad reviews online. But she did not want to give Kaden even a single share, let alone ten.

She quickly changed the subject to avoid the situation.

“Kaden’s efforts have both good and bad sides. Lindsey, the influencer who promoted our restaurant, contacted me today asking for over 10,000 dollars in advertising fees. This counts as an expense for the restaurant. Technically, this should come out of Kaden’s shares, but since he meant well, I won’t hold him responsible for it.”

Kaden’s heart sank. He thought he was about to be punished, but Jennifer quickly changed her tone.

“Kaden, didn’t you say you wanted to go home after the new year to get married? I can’t let a great employee like you leave. I’m counting on you to manage one of my branches someday. By then, you’ll laugh at the idea of just 10% shares!

“Alright, back to work, everyone. Kaden has a bright future ahead. If I had a son-in-law like him, I’d be smiling in my sleep. You all should learn from him.”

It was obvious to everyone that Jennifer was making empty promises, and we all treated it as a joke.

After she left, we joked that Kaden was the future boss. Behind his back, we did not use his name anymore, just “little boss”.

Kaden turned bright red but went along with it, almost like he really believed he might marry Jennifer’s beautiful daughter.

Jennifer’s daughter was only seventeen. She was still a minor. Everyone at the restaurant knew Jennifer was just making excuses to avoid giving Kaden the 10% in shares, but Kaden believed every word.

A coworker tried to warn him. “No boss is really going to give you shares. Don’t let them take advantage of you and still make you feel grateful.”

Kaden did not listen. He was already dreaming of being one of the bosses. “If you’re not willing to work hard, don’t try to bring me down. When I become one of the bosses, don’t get jealous.”

Hearing that, the coworker gave up trying to convince him.

Kaden worked even harder. He was determined to make his dream come true.

One day, I overheard him on the phone with his mom in the kitchen. She mentioned setting him up with someone, but he refused.

“Mom, I’m doing great in the city. Don’t waste time introducing me to some plain girl. I’ll handle my own relationships.”

I had to hold back a laugh.

This was going to be fun to watch.