With that, I walked straight to the front door and hung up the sign: "Private Event Today — Closed to the Public."

Then I went back to the kitchen and told the head chef and the rest of the staff:

"Abner's booked the whole place today. Every dish goes exactly as he ordered — lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, fresh crab, Wagyu, luxury seafood stew."

"For drinks, only the top-shelf liquor. Fill every table with it. Don't hold back."

The head chef paused, then lowered his voice.

"Boss, that's a lot of money. Can Abner actually pay for all this?"

I gave a faint smile.

"He asked for it himself."

"We just do as we're told."

Seeing how firm I was, the head chef stopped asking questions and turned to get the prep started.

The kitchen was busy within minutes, the clatter of woks and knives rising and falling.

The rich smell of it filled the whole restaurant.

Abner and his crowd sat in the main dining room, legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds, talking at the top of their lungs, and every so often somebody would holler:

"Hurry up with the food already, we're starving!"

Before long the heavy dishes came out one after another.

Australian blue lobster, braised abalone with sea cucumber, luxury seafood stew, Wagyu tartare — every plate beautifully arranged, and clearly worth a fortune.

The top-shelf liquor came in by the case, the servers carrying box after box and setting bottles on every table.

Looking at all that expensive food and liquor, Abner's friends could barely believe their eyes.

"My God, he's really serving all this? Abner, you're something else."

"Snap a photo, post it — food like this, most people never taste it their whole lives."

"I hereby declare Abner my god, forever!"

The James relatives piled on the flattery too.

"Heavens, abalone, sea cucumber, top-shelf liquor — I've only ever seen this on TV. Never thought I'd get to taste it myself in this lifetime."

"They always said if you run with Abner you eat and drink like a king. Turns out it's true."

"Little Abner's really made something of himself. Young as he is, this generous, this capable — he's going to go far!"

Abner floated on the praise. He stood up with his glass and declared, grandly:

"Family, friends, eat all you want, drink all you want. If it runs out, order more."

"Everything today is on me. Don't stand on ceremony!"

The moment he finished, another cheer went up.

They all raised their glasses and toasted him.

"Come on, everyone, a toast to the birthday man — may every year be better than the last!"

Bathed in all the toasts and flattery, Abner felt a satisfaction he'd never known before.

He thumped his chest and announced to the room:

"From now on, whenever you want to eat out, come to this restaurant. Just mention my name, Abner James, and put everything on my tab. You won't pay a cent."

At that, every face lit up. They crowded around him, laying it on thick.

"Abner's the boss!"

"From now on we're running with Abner!"

One line after another, until the corners of his mouth were curled up high.

Riding the endless stream of praise, Abner strolled over to the front counter and leaned in, taunting me under his breath.

"Amelia, don't you love money? Aren't you the one who counts every penny?"

"Today I'm going to drain your restaurant dry. I'll show you what happens to anyone who crosses me."

Not long ago, hearing Abner talk like that would have given me a headache.

Now it just struck me as funny.

I looked at him and said, without a ripple in my voice,

"Suit yourself."

When I didn't fly into the rage he'd been expecting, Abner frowned, a flicker of displeasure crossing his eyes.

The next moment he glanced at the tab on the table, and a sly look came over his face.

"This whole meal only came to two hundred grand?"

"No wonder you're so calm. Looks like the bill just hasn't gotten high enough yet."

With that, he barked at the server standing nearby,

"Bring the menu. I'm ordering more."

The server looked to me for direction.

I nodded.

She set the menu down in front of Abner.

Flipping through it, he drawled out his order.

"Bird's nest soup. Another bowl for everyone."

"Shark fin soup. One serving each."

"Caviar. However much you've got, bring it all out."

He finished, tossed the menu onto the table, and gave me a taunting grin.

"Well? Does it sting yet?"

I curved my lips and shook my head.

"Not at all."

His face went stiff, sour with irritation.

"Then bring out that bluefin tuna sashimi too. Two pounds per table."

He swept a look around the room at the relatives and friends, then lifted his chin and added,

"And everyone packs up an order of lobster and fresh crab to take home. A bottle of top-shelf liquor each, too. Late-night snack."

That set the whole room off again.

"Wow! Abner really knows how to do it big!"

"Not only does he let everyone eat their fill, he sends them home with a haul too. Guess this is what real money looks like."

Watching all this, Noel finally couldn't hold back. He walked over to Abner and lowered his voice.

"Abner, that's enough. Keep ordering and you'll clean the place out."

Abner shot me a provoking glance and smirked.

"Cleaning out everything expensive in this place is exactly the point. That's how certain people learn their lesson."

Jemima crowded in too, chin high and full of herself.

"That's right. Abner's got the right idea."

"Some people just get more full of themselves the more you spoil them. She even had the nerve to pull that whole running-out-on-us act to scare us. If we don't teach her a real lesson, she'll actually think we're afraid of her!"

Noel glanced at me and said nothing more.

Jemima and Abner looked down their noses at me, their eyes bright with the pleasure of getting even.

I smiled and said nothing.

It was the server who looked at me, uneasy, and asked quietly,

"Ma'am, this order... do you really want me to put it in?"

I glanced at Abner and Jemima, and nodded.

"Put it in."

"Whatever they order, we serve."

The server didn't press further. She turned and headed to the kitchen to place the order.

Abner and Jemima and the rest of them settled back into their seats and went on eating and drinking.

Soon the server brought out Abner's bird's nest, shark fin, and caviar, plate after plate, just as ordered.

Then she packed up several dozen bottles of top-shelf liquor and set them gently at each person's elbow.

At the sight of it, every last one of the relatives and friends started praising Abner all over again.

"Incredible, just incredible. This meal has to run at least ten grand a head!"

Abner shrugged it off.

"That's nothing. What matters is that everybody eats and drinks well. It's just a little food money. Don't give it a second thought."

I looked at the tab.

Their total had climbed from two hundred grand to five hundred grand.

Watching every high-end ingredient and every bottle in the place get ordered into oblivion, Abner was finally satisfied.

Stuffed and content, he leaned back in his chair and let out a belch.

Then he got up, came over to me, and said with a swagger,

"Amelia, this meal ought to be enough to teach you a lesson, wouldn't you say?"

"Remember it. Don't be so petty from now on."

"Or I've got plenty of ways to put you in your place!"

With that, he led the whole crowd toward the front door.

Just then a burly figure suddenly blocked the doorway, stopping Abner in his tracks, and said in a low, heavy voice,

"Your total today comes to five hundred thousand. Time to pay."