Chapter 43: The One Thing He Wouldn’t Sell
Charles glanced toward the entrance as another group of students filed in, backpacks slung over their shoulders, already scanning the room for open machines.
He shook his head slowly. "I still don’t understand how you’re drawing this kind of crowd. This location shouldn’t pull these numbers. I’ve seen cafés in better spots struggle to fill half these seats."
All eyes turned to Liam.
He didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he leaned back against the counter, arms loosely crossed, taking his time. "I didn’t advertise to everyone," he said finally. "I targeted gamers specifically.
Guild leaders, roommates, classmates people they already trust. Referral rewards, recharge bonuses, campus tournaments, forum posts in the right corners of the internet.
I didn’t need thousands of people talking about Rage Quit. I just needed the right handful. Once the influencers started recommending it, the rest of the community did the work for me."
"Word of mouth," Claire said, nodding slowly as it clicked into place.
"Exactly. Cheaper than any ad campaign, and far more effective. People trust their friends more than they trust a billboard."
Victoria’s admiration was written plainly across her face. "No wonder you were so confident walking into this. You already knew it would work."
"I knew what should happen," Liam replied evenly. "Business always carries risk
nothing’s guaranteed. But good preparation tips the odds heavily in your favor, and I don’t like leaving things to chance if I can help it."
Harlan’s eyes lit up with something closer to genuine curiosity now. "Mind showing me your management system? I’ve been dying to ask since I first saw the membership structure on your wall."
Liam nodded and glanced over his shoulder. "Ethan, free up a front machine for him."
Harlan settled into the seat and began clicking through the interface, his movements confident at first, then slowing as the screens grew more detailed, then speeding up again as curiosity took over.
Keyboard preferences, mouse sensitivity settings, individual game configurations everything loaded automatically the moment a member’s card was scanned.
Recharge logic calculated promotions, loyalty tiers, and discounts in real time, adjusting on the fly.No way, he muttered under his breath, leaning closer to the screen.
He finally sat back in the chair, exhaling. "Who developed this?"I did.Harlan blinked, turning to actually look at him. "You built this? Yourself?"
"I needed something the systems already on the market couldn’t offer me," Liam said simply.
The longer Harlan explored the software, the quieter he became, his questions trailing off into silence as he clicked through menu after menu.
When he finally stood up, his eyes were bright, almost feverish with excitement. "Young man, this software is worth a fortune. It’s years ahead of anything currently on the market.
If I rolled this out across all my locations, my operating costs would drop and customer retention would skyrocket within months." He took a breath.
"I want to license it from you. Two hundred thousand dollars, right now, cash or transfer, whichever you prefer."
Ethan nearly dropped the bottle he’d been holding. Victoria and Claire both went still, stunned into silence.
Liam kept his expression carefully neutral, even as regret twisted quietly in his chest. The system wasn’t truly his to sell it belonged to the Ultimate Rebate System, bound to him in ways he couldn’t explain to anyone in this room. "I’m honored you’d offer that," he said, "but I have to decline."
Harlan’s face fell, the excitement draining out of it. "May I ask why? That’s a serious sum of money to walk away from."
"This system is Rage Quit’s biggest edge over every other café in the city," Liam said. "If every location had access to it, that advantage disappears overnight. I’d be selling away the one thing that makes us different."
Harlan stared at him for a long moment, then broke into a laugh, shaking his head. "Fair enough. Honestly, I’d probably do the same thing in your position."
He reached out and shook Liam’s hand firmly, genuine respect in his grip. "I respect that. If you ever change your mind down the road, you call me first before anyone else."
As the group made their way toward the door, Charles’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. Twice today this guy had outshone every expectation anyone had walked in with and twice now.
Once the door swung shut behind them, Ethan finally exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "You turned down two hundred grand like it was nothing. Just like that."
"It worked out the way it needed to," Liam said simply, already moving to wipe down the counter.
Victoria looked around at the now-bustling cafe. "You really brought this place back from the dead."
"I don’t gamble," Liam replied. "If I invest in something, it’s because I already know it’s going to work. Otherwise I wouldn’t touch it."
Victoria rubbed at the back of her neck, wincing slightly. "It’s acting up again after all the paperwork this week." She hesitated, glancing at him sideways.
If you’re free later, stop by. I’ll make dinner... and a massage wouldn’t be bad.
Liam smiled, letting the moment sit just long enough. "I know. I’ll come by if I finish up early."
After Victoria left, Claire lingered, studying him with narrowed eyes. "Why didn’t you sell it? That’s real money, Liam. Life-changing money."
"It was never about the money," Liam said. "The system is what makes this place different from every other café on the block. If everyone had it, we’d just be another café with nice chairs."
His mouth curved slightly. "Also, I didn’t like the way Charles kept looking at you the whole time he was here."Claire went still. "You noticed that?"
"I notice more than people think I do."Monica burst out laughing. "Oh, this is very interesting."
Before Monica could finish talking a blue screen flickered into existence at the edge of Liam’s vision.
[New Mission Available]
Target: Victoria Hayes
Objective: Prevent Victoria’s ex-husband from reestablishing himself in her life.
Time Limit: 4 Days
[Reward: $50,000]
Bonus: Relationship Progress +10%
Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly. The ex who had ignored her and their daughter for years until her success made her worth coming back for.
Is the system reading what I want, he wondered,or feeding it to me?Liam?" Claire’s voice pulled him back into the room. "You zoned out on me."
"I’m fine," he said, giving her a small, easy smile.
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