Undercover Billionaire

Chapter 6

- Erik -

I roll my eyes, glaring down at my phone screen. The entire morning I have been catching up on the work that I have missed yet my concentration keeps wavering as my mother has called twenty five times. It's obvious that she's heard the news about my so called 'disappearance' but I am not going to pick up, firstly because I don't want to and secondly because I know that she's going to ask too many questions, questions which I don't know the answer to.

I close my laptop and gather my papers, placing everything down at the bottom of my wardrobe. I walk to my kitchen in search of some food, finding only microwaveable food. I groan before grabbing my keys and heading out, I walk out of the apartment building, my hands slightly tugging sat my jeans, I have gotten so used to wearing suits that it almost feels weird wearing anything else.

Usually the maid cooks my meals for me or I go out to eat a expensive restaurants or cafes, however I can't go to any of those, because there's a chance I may get recognised and the fact that I would look completely out of place in a fancy restaurant, wearing casual clothes. Walking through the high street, I grow irritated at the amount of people who have either brushed past me or accidentally ran into me, is this how it's always like walking through streets? I don't usually do much walking, I'm either in my house, car or office, and when I do go out it's usually in and out of expensive designer shops where there's not a lot of people.

I contemplated getting public transport but when I saw the bus drive past, completely packed with people, I decided to walk instead. My mind drifts to Jessica, I had woken up early this morning and whilst drinking my cup of coffee I could hear her exiting her apartment and from my window I saw her getting into her car and heading off to Uni, I assume that she won't be back until the afternoon. A  few people stare at me as a chuckle escapes me, thinking about how snobbish I must sound about people brushing past me, I wonder if Jessica is used to this sort of thing, she probably is. But I don't mean to be snobbish, when you live a lifestyle where you don't physically interact with a lot of people, it can be weird suddenly pushing through large groups of people. 

I push the door of a fast food restaurant open, believe it or not I have never eaten fast food before, I was never really one for unhealthy oily food, I am surprised at the amount of people already inside, families and young adults were sat at tables eating fries and burgers whilst talking loudly and laughing, a few people tapped there foot impatiently as they stood in the queue whilst others seemed to have their minds elsewhere. The overall atmosphere was rather loud and there was a strong smell of oil and sauces, I stood in the queue staring up at the board which held the names and pictures of the different types of burgers they had to offer and meal deals. 

I smirked to myself after taking the first bite of my chicken burger, it surprisingly tasted good, I thought it was going to be too oily for my liking. I had quickly grown used to the noise level and had actually began to like it. Noise isn't something that people really think about, but the loud atmosphere has made me realise something, everyone who was being loud seemed to be smiling and enjoying themselves, whereas in fancy restaurants where it was mostly wealthy people who dined the noise level was much lower and there definitely wasn't as much laughter, there was mostly serious conversations with the occasional chuckle. My realisation made me smile, despite being average people who don't live in wealth, everyone here seemed to be happy.

I threw away my rubbish before exiting the fast food place, deciding to head back to my apartment. I lay on my sofa with my laptop on my chest as I scrolled through online gossip websites, I have never bothered to read them before but I was just so bored. I couldn't help but scoff at the types of stories that were available, do people actually find this interesting? I sat up suddenly, gripping my laptop, there was a picture of me that had clearly been taken today when I was eating my lunch, have they found out already? 

'Erik Lander's look alike' was the headline, I clicked on the link and the page came up. A young girl who had been sitting opposite me whilst I was eating had snapped a picture of me and posted it to a social networking site claiming that she had spotted someone who looked exactly like... me. This gossip website had quickly picked up on it, but I was relieved to read that despite the comments saying how much the person in the picture looked like me, no one had actually guessed that it was me. I don't know whether it's because I actually look different or if it's because people wouldn't ever expect to find Erik Lander sitting in casual clothes at a fast food restaurant. 

---

'How did your day go?' I asked, putting another spoon of lentil soup in my mouth, this tastes delicious. 

'It went fine, I had two lectures and also caught up on some group work with a couple of friends' Jessica shrugs casually. It's currently late afternoon and I am sat at Jessica's kitchen table with her opposite me, eating the lentil soup that she had cooked. She had returned from Uni not long ago and had knocked on my door, inviting me over for dinner, which I of course accepted.

'I have a question' I say, after a moment of silence, she nods for me to continue. 'I had noticed it this morning, people who aren't wealthy seem to laugh and be overall more loud than those with money, so does that mean money doesn't buy you happiness?'

Jessica seems to think about it for a moment 'I wouldn't say that money buys people happiness, I would say that having a lot of money leaves you free from stressing over financial issues and gives you more opportunities to take up hobbies or travel to places and therefore people who are able to buy the things they want tend to be happier than those who are deprived or are constantly stressing over their finances' 

I nod slowly, agreeing with her, 'it's just that in fast food places where the food is cheap the atmosphere is much louder and happier but in fancy places, it's much quite, so does that mean wealthy people aren't as happy?'

'I don't think it means that wealthy people aren't as happy, I would say that it depends on the environment, fast food places have a more informal environment where there are a lot of people so they tend to be louder, whereas fancy restaurants have a more formal environment so people are more quieter, it doesn't mean that they're not as happy as those who are loud' she shrugs. I smile as I watch her eat, her open mind is refreshing, she is clever and thinks outside of the box. I like that.

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Thank you all for voting and commenting and most of all, thank you for being so patient! I promise I will be updating more frequently! I have tried to make this chapter a bit longer than the rest, hope you enjoy!