Chapter 65: Meeting at Ashford Grand

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Meeting at Ashford Grand

Garrett sat with his phone dark on the couch beside him, the mysterious message still sitting unanswered in his phone, but his thoughts had already drifted somewhere else.

£175,000.

He’d spent the last few weeks thinking about what the money could buy. Rent, groceries, his sister. All useful, but none of it building toward anything. Tonight, the question changed. What can it actually become?

He turned the thought over slowly.

Investments? Property? Stocks? Businesses?.

There were plenty of ways to make money grow, at least in theory. Garrett knew enough to understand that knowing the names of those things wasn’t the same as knowing what he was doing. He wasn’t about to throw a huge amount of money into something he didn’t understand.

But one thing was clear. The money wasn’t meant to just sit there. He was going to make it work for him. He didn’t know exactly how yet, and he wasn’t going to pretend he did.

It connected with what the system had told him too. Money could buy opportunities, but it couldn’t automatically buy recognition, influence, or social standing. He had the money now. Figuring out how to use it was the next part.

Morning came quickly, and Garrett moved through his routine without much thought. Shower first, then his teeth, followed by the usual search for something decent to wear. While getting dressed, he ran a hand through his hair and paused, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Shit, hair is a mess. I need to fix it, and soon."

He finished getting dressed, grabbed his bag, and headed out.

Garrett usually walked to campus. Ten minutes, give or take. Paying for transport had never made much sense when he could get there just as quickly on foot. This morning, though, he wasn’t in the mood for the walk.

"If I would have to up my social status, I could as well get used to moving in cars again"

He stood at the edge of the pavement for a moment before pulling out his phone and requesting a ride.

The car arrived a few minutes later. Garrett climbed in and watched the familiar streets pass by through the window. The ride was short, and when the fare appeared at the end, he glanced at it out of habit, then put his phone away. That was about it.

He leaned back in the seat and watched the university come into view.

Garrett settled into his usual Monday morning at university, lectures blending together with familiar faces in familiar seats. It wasn’t until partway through his second class that he noticed the empty seat beside him.

Daniel wasn’t there.

That was unusual. Daniel didn’t normally miss class without saying something first. During the break, Garrett checked his phone and scrolled through their messages. Nothing. No explanation, no warning, just silence.

’I’ll call him later.’

He put his phone away.

There was another reason the day didn’t feel completely ordinary. Seven o’clock. The message from the unknown number. Garrett had no idea what waited for him at The Ashford Grand, but he wasn’t going to forget about it.

Garrett ended up at the Sunken Amphitheatre sometime between classes, one of the stranger corners of campus. A wide circular courtyard sat several levels below the surrounding walkways, broad concrete steps curving down toward the open space at its centre. Students used it casually.

Garrett settled toward one side, alone. Emiliana, He hadn’t gone looking for Emiliana between classes. He hadn’t seen Freya either, he didn’t usually see her. Daniel was still absent, his phone still silent. For once, Garrett wasn’t trying to find anyone.

The new dashboard reward crossed his mind, followed by the message waiting on his phone. Seven o’clock. The Ashford Grand.

He leaned back against the step and looked across the courtyard. Whatever happened tonight could wait until tonight.

He noticed her before she reached him. A blonde girl was crossing the courtyard, petite, with bright features and a pointed nose. Garrett registered her briefly, then looked away. A moment later, he noticed she wasn’t continuing past him. She was coming straight toward him.

She didn’t hesitate or hover when she reached his row of steps. She simply sat down beside him.

Garrett glanced at her.

"Busy day?" she asked.

"Something like that."

"This place is kind of underrated." She looked around the sunken courtyard. "Everyone uses it as a shortcut. Nobody actually sits here."

"I noticed that too."

"See? We already agree on something." She smiled.

The conversation continued easily from there. She asked about his classes. Garrett gave her a real answer instead of brushing the question aside.

Garrett looked at her for a moment. They’d known each other for less than five minutes, yet she was talking to him like that wasn’t particularly strange.

After a few minutes of easy back and forth, Garrett finally asked the question that had been sitting there since she’d first sat down.

"So why’d you walk over here, exactly?"

Benita glanced at him. "I wanted to talk to you."

Garrett waited. Nothing else followed.

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

He considered that for a second. "Do we know each other?"

"Nope."

"So you just decided to sit down next to a stranger."

"Correct."

Garrett looked at her. She seemed completely serious. He couldn’t think of anything else to ask, so he didn’t.

"I’m Benita, by the way," she said.

"Garrett."

"Garrett." She repeated his name once, then smiled. "Alright."

They kept talking. She asked what he was studying, and Garrett answered. She talked about her own classes, complained about one of her professors, and asked him a few more questions along the way. The conversation stayed easy, and Garrett found himself relaxing into it without thinking much about where it was going.

Eventually, Benita glanced at the time. "I should get going." She stood, brushing off the back of her jeans, and glanced down at him. "I’ll see you around, ehh Probably."

"Probably," Garrett echoed, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Neither of them mentioned exchanging numbers. Benita didn’t ask, and Garrett didn’t either. She gave him a small wave before heading across the courtyard, disappearing up the far set of steps without looking back.

Garrett watched her go for a moment.

’Wonder if that actually happens—Seeing her around.’

He picked up his things and stood. That was that. For now.

The day wore on, classes finishing out their usual rhythm. By the time Garrett stepped off campus, the light outside had already begun shifting toward evening. His thoughts narrowed toward the one thing fixed on his schedule.

Seven o’clock. The Ashford Grand.

The message was still there on his phone, Emiliana’s name attached to words from someone he couldn’t identify. He still had no idea who was waiting for him or what exactly they wanted to discuss.

Garrett headed home first, giving himself enough time to change properly rather than showing up looking like he’d walked straight from campus. He changed into something that wouldn’t look out of place at a hotel like The Ashford Grand, checked the time once, then grabbed his keys.

"Why the Ashford Grand though?" He said out loud, realizing where he was going to. "That place is for the wealthy, how am I been invited there"

By the time he was ready to leave, the smaller concerns of the day had fallen into the background.

Garrett stepped out of the apartment and locked the door behind him.

Seven o’clock was coming, whether he had answers ready for it or not.