They Set Up the Poor Mechanic on a Blind Date as a Prank – But the CEO’s Daughter Said, “I Like Him”
An Unexpected Invitation
Jake Morrison wiped the grease off his hands with an old rag, staring at the text message on his phone for the third time. The screen was cracked, had been for 6 months, ever since he dropped it while working under Mrs. Patterson’s Honda, but he could still read the message clearly enough.
“Hey Jake, remember me from high school? I have this friend who’s perfect for you. She’s smart, beautiful, and really wants to meet you. Dinner at the Riverside Club tomorrow at 7:00. I already made the reservation. Her name is Victoria. You won’t regret this.”
The message was from Brad Cunningham, who Jake barely remembered from high school. They’d been in different social circles; Brad had been the star quarterback with the expensive car and designer clothes, while Jake had been the kid who worked at his uncle’s auto shop after school to help his mom pay rent.
They’d graduated 12 years ago, and Jake couldn’t remember ever having a real conversation with Brad beyond a few words in the hallway. But Jake was 30 years old, perpetually single, and tired of spending his evenings alone in his small apartment above Morrison’s auto repair.
The shop he’d inherited when his uncle passed away 3 years ago was his life, but his last relationship had ended badly, and his mom had been gently suggesting he should get back out there. Maybe this was a sign.
He texted back:
“Sure, sounds good. Thanks for thinking of me.”
The Cruel Joke
What Jake didn’t know was that at that exact moment in a luxury high-rise apartment across town, Brad Cunningham and his friends were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Brad howled, showing his phone to the group gathered around his leather sectional:
“He actually said yes!”
“Jake Morrison, the grease monkey, thinks he’s actually going on a date at the Riverside Club. This is going to be epic,”
his friend Trevor said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Can you imagine him showing up in his work boots and probably smelling like motor oil, and Victoria Ashford walking in looking like she stepped off a runway?”
asked another friend, Marcus:
“Wait, Victoria’s actually going through with this?”
“Are you kidding? She thought it was hilarious when I pitched it to her. She’s going to show up, act disgusted, and we’ll film the whole thing from our table. Social media gold!”
What they didn’t know—what nobody knew except Victoria’s father and a select few—was that Victoria Ashford had her own reasons for agreeing to this cruel prank, and they had nothing to do with what Brad and his friends expected.
Standing Out at the Riverside Club
The next evening, Jake stood outside the Riverside Club feeling completely out of place. He’d done his best to look presentable, even buying a new shirt from the department store—a simple cream-colored button-up that had cost him more than he usually spent on clothes.
His khaki work pants were clean but worn, and his shoes were the nicest he owned, though they’d seen better days. He’d scrubbed his hands raw, but there were still traces of grease under his fingernails that wouldn’t come out.
The restaurant was the kind of place Jake had only seen in movies, with crystal chandeliers, thick curtains, and waiters in tuxedos gliding between tables. Through the windows, he could see people in evening gowns and suits worth more than his monthly earnings.
He almost turned around and left, but then he thought about his mom’s hopeful face when he’d told her about the date. He thought about how she’d hugged him and said she was proud of him for putting himself out there.
He thought about how tired he was of being alone, of eating microwave dinners in front of the TV, and of wondering if this was all his life would ever be. So Jake took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked in.
The hostess looked him up and down with barely concealed surprise:
“Can I help you?”
“I have a reservation. Under Cunningham, I think. I’m meeting someone named Victoria.”
The hostess’s eyebrows rose, but she maintained her professional demeanor.
“Of course, right this way.”
She led him through the dining room, and Jake felt every eye turned to watch him pass. He heard whispers and saw smirks.
A Surprise Guest
In the corner, he noticed Brad and his friends at a large table, phones out, barely containing their laughter. Jake’s stomach sank because he recognized that look; he’d seen it before back in high school when the popular kids would set up elaborate pranks on people like him.
This was a setup, of course it was. Jake stopped walking, about to turn around and leave with what remained of his dignity, when the restaurant’s entrance doors opened and a woman walked in.
She was stunning, tall and elegant in a cream-colored dress that caught the chandelier light, her blonde hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders. But it wasn’t her beauty that stopped Jake in his tracks; it was the little girl holding her hand.
The child couldn’t have been more than 3 years old, wearing a matching cream dress, her face bright with excitement as she looked around the restaurant with wide eyes.
The woman approached the hostess:
“I’m Victoria Ashford. I believe I’m meeting someone, Jake Morrison.”
The hostess looked flustered:
“Yes, but we don’t usually allow children in the dining room in the evening.”
“My daughter comes everywhere with me,”
Victoria said pleasantly, but with a steel undertone that suggested this wasn’t negotiable.
“Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, of course not, Miss Ashford.”
The hostess’s demeanor changed immediately at the name:
“Please, right this way.”
Emma’s Verdict
As Victoria and her daughter followed the hostess, the little girl spotted Jake standing frozen in the middle of the dining room. She looked at him curiously, taking in his simple clothes, his calloused hands, and his clean but humble appearance.
Then she smiled; it was a smile of pure, uncomplicated delight.
She tugged on her mother’s hand and pointed at Jake:
“Mommy, is that him? Is that the man we’re having dinner with?”
“Yes, sweetie. That’s Jake.”
The little girl let go of her mother’s hand and, before anyone could stop her, ran straight to Jake.
She grabbed his hand with both of her small ones and looked up at him with complete trust:
“Hi, I’m Emma. Mommy said we were meeting someone nice today. Are you nice?”
Jake, completely thrown by this turn of events, knelt down to her level:
“I try to be. Are you nice?”
Emma said seriously:
“Very nice.”
“Mommy says being nice is the most important thing. More important than money or fancy clothes or anything.”
“Your mommy sounds very smart.”
“She is! She’s the smartest in the whole world, and she’s really good at business.”
“She has meetings all the time, but she still always has time for me because I’m her favorite person.”
Emma paused, then added conspiratorially:
“But don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”
The Real Victoria
Victoria reached them and Jake stood up, feeling awkward and confused. This woman was supposed to be in on the prank; she was supposed to laugh at him, or be disgusted, or walk out.
That’s how these things worked, but she was looking at him with something that seemed like genuine warmth.
“You must be Jake,”
she said, extending her hand.
“I’m Victoria.”
“I apologize for my daughter’s enthusiasm. Emma doesn’t believe in personal space.”
“I like him,”
Emma announced to the entire restaurant, still holding Jake’s hand.
“He has kind eyes, and he got down to talk to me properly instead of just looking down.”
“Grandpa says you can tell a lot about people by how they treat children.”
From across the room, Jake heard Brad’s voice, sharp with irritation:
“This wasn’t part of the plan! Why did she bring a kid?”
Victoria’s expression flickered, just for a moment, with something cold. But when she looked at Jake, her face was open and friendly.
“Shall we sit down?”
As they settled at a table, Jake couldn’t help but notice Brad and his friends watching with obvious confusion and disappointment. Whatever they’d expected, this clearly wasn’t it.
Emma climbed into the chair between Jake and Victoria, kneeling on the seat so she could see over the table. A waiter appeared with a booster seat, which Emma graciously accepted.
Exposing the Prank
Victoria said once they were situated:
“So, I should probably be honest with you about this evening.”
Jake’s heart sank; here it came—the reveal, the punchline.
“Brad Cunningham contacted me last week. He told me he was setting up a—let’s call it an encounter. He wanted me to come here, meet you, and essentially humiliate you for his and his friend’s entertainment.”
She nodded toward Brad’s table:
“They plan to film it and post it on social media.”
Jake felt his face burn with humiliation.
“So why are you telling me this? Why not just do it?”
“Because Brad Cunningham is an idiot who doesn’t know nearly as much about me as he thinks he does.”
Victoria’s smile had sharp edges now.
“He assumed that because I’m the daughter of Ashford Technologies’ CEO, because I wear expensive clothes and attend charity galas, I would naturally find you beneath me and enjoy making you feel small.”
“And you don’t?”
“My father started Ashford Technology in a garage with $50 and a dream,”
Victoria said quietly.
“He worked three jobs to support my mother and me while building his company. He’s told me a thousand times that the measure of a person isn’t their bank account. It’s their character.”
“So no, Jake, I don’t find you beneath me. In fact, I’m curious to know about the man who runs Morrison’s Auto Repair, because I looked you up after Brad contacted me.”
A Character Beyond Reproach
Jake’s eyebrows rose:
“You looked me up?”
“I did, and I found out some interesting things. Like how you took over your uncle’s shop when he died, and you kept on all his employees even though you could have made more profit by downsizing.”
“How you have a reputation for honest work and fair prices. How you fixed Mrs. Chen’s car for free when you found out she was choosing between paying you and buying groceries.”
“How you volunteer teaching auto repair skills at the community center on weekends.”
“How did you find all that out?”
“I did my research. Brad thought he was setting up a prank. I saw it as an opportunity.”
Victoria leaned forward:
“Jake, I get asked out constantly by men who see my last name and think dollar signs. Men who drive expensive cars and wear expensive watches and say all the right things but treat waiters like dirt and see my daughter as an inconvenience.”
“Brad and his friends are exactly that type of man.”
“I like Jake better,”
Emma interjected, taking a breadstick from the basket a waiter had brought.
“Those other men Mommy dates are boring, and they don’t like me.”
“Emma,”
Victoria said gently, but she was smiling.
“It’s true! That one man—what was his name? Brad? He said children should be seen and not heard. I told him that’s stupid and he shouldn’t be seen or heard.”
Jake couldn’t help but laugh:
“You said that to Brad?”
“Yep! Mommy said it wasn’t polite, but Grandpa said it was accurate.”
Emma took a big bite of her breadstick:
“I like you because you’re not wearing a suit. And you don’t look at Mommy like she’s a prize. You look at her like she’s a person.”
A Lesson in Assumptions
Victoria’s cheeks colored slightly.
“Emma is very observant. Sometimes too observant.”
“She sounds like a great judge of character,”
Jake said. He looked at Victoria directly:
“So if this was supposed to be a prank and you knew about it, why did you actually come? Why not just tell Brad to get lost?”
“Because I was curious about you. Because Brad’s cruelty inadvertently introduced me to someone I might not have met otherwise.”
“And because I wanted to teach Brad and his friends a lesson about assumptions.”
Victoria glanced at Brad’s table, where the group was clearly getting frustrated that their prank wasn’t unfolding as planned:
“They think people like you are less than people like them. I wanted to show them—and maybe remind myself—that’s not true.”
The dinner that followed was nothing like Jake had expected. Victoria was warm and funny, asking genuine questions about his work and actually listening to the answers.
Emma was a delightful whirlwind, telling stories about her preschool, her friends, and her grandpa, who apparently let her help him in his workshop.
“He’s teaching me about computers,”
Emma explained.
“He says I’m going to be smarter than him someday. I said I’m already smarter because I know how to use a tablet and he doesn’t.”
“She’s not wrong,”
Victoria admitted.
“My father is a genius with programming but terrible with user interfaces.”
Finding Someone Genuine
Jake found himself relaxing, genuinely enjoying the evening. He told them about the shop, about the satisfaction of diagnosing a tricky problem and fixing it, and about his regular customers who’d become friends.
“Mrs. Patterson brings me cookies every time she comes in,”
he said.
“Says I’m the only mechanic who doesn’t talk down to her or try to sell her things she doesn’t need.”
“That’s because you’re nice,”
Emma said with certainty.
“And honest. Mommy says honest people are hard to find.”
As dinner wound down, Victoria excused herself to use the restroom, leaving Jake with Emma.
“Do you like my mommy?”
Emma asked with the blunt directness of a three-year-old.
“I just met her,”
Jake said carefully.
“But do you like her?”
“She’s very pretty, and very smart, and she reads me stories with different voices for all the characters. She sounds wonderful, and you’re very lucky to have such a great mom.”
Emma nodded seriously:
“I am lucky. But Mommy is sad sometimes. She thinks I don’t notice, but I do. She doesn’t have a lot of friends because people are fake.”
“That’s what Grandpa says. They pretend to like Mommy, but they really just like her money.”
Jake’s heart ached for this insightful little girl.
“That must be hard.”
“It is. That’s why I’m glad we met you. You’re not fake. I can tell.”
Emma leaned in conspiratorially:
“Also, those men over there are very mean. They were laughing and pointing earlier, but now they look mad because we’re having fun.”
“That’s because they’re bad people, and bad people don’t like when good people are happy.”
The Plan Backfires
From his perspective, Jake could see Brad’s table. Emma was right; they looked frustrated and angry, their prank having thoroughly backfired.
When Victoria returned, Jake asked:
“What happens now? When we leave, I mean. They’re obviously going to say things.”
“Let them,”
Victoria said calmly.
“Jake, can I be honest with you about something else?”
“Please.”
*”When Brad contacted me, I was in a bad place. I just ended yet another relationship with yet another man who saw Emma as an obstacle and me as a trophy.”
“I was starting to think I’d never meet someone genuine. Someone who’d value me for who I am rather than what I have.”
“I almost didn’t come tonight, but something told me to give it a chance.”
“I’m glad you did,”
Jake said quietly.
“So am I.”
Victoria smiled:
“I know this is fast, and this whole evening has been bizarre, but would you be interested in seeing me again? Properly? Without the audience?”
“Really? You’d want to go out with a mechanic?”
“I’d want to go out with a kind, honest man who treats my daughter with respect and doesn’t judge people by their bank accounts.”
“The fact that you’re a mechanic is just what you do, not who you are.”
“Then yes,”
Jake said.
“I’d like that very much.”
Emma clapped her hands:
“Can we go to the park? Jake should come to the park with us! And maybe he can meet Grandpa.”
“Grandpa will like him because he works with his hands. And Grandpa says people who work with their hands built the world.”
Standing Up to a Bully
As they stood to leave, Brad intercepted them near the door. His face was flushed—whether from alcohol or anger, Jake couldn’t tell.
“Victoria, what the hell? This was supposed to be funny! You were supposed to—”
“I was supposed to what, Brad? Mock this man for not being born wealthy? Humiliate him for having an honest job? Laugh at him with you and your friends?”
Victoria’s voice was ice:
“Did you really think I’d participate in that?”
“Come on! It was just a joke! He’s just a mechanic!”
“He’s just a man who works hard, treats people with kindness, and has more integrity in his little finger than you have in your entire body.”
Victoria cut him off:
“You know what the real joke is, Brad? You thought this would make you look clever and superior. Instead, you’ve shown everyone here exactly what kind of person you are. And trust me, that’s not a good look.”
“Whatever! Your dad’s probably going to love this—his daughter dating some poor grease monkey!”
Emma, who’d been holding Victoria’s hand, let go and marched right up to Brad. At 3 years old, she barely reached his knees, but she planted her feet and glared up at him with fierce determination.
“You’re mean,”
she announced.
“And you smell bad! And Jake is nice and you’re not, so Jake is better than you!”
“Mommy says money doesn’t make you good. Being good makes you good. You have money but you’re still bad, so the money doesn’t work!”
The CEO’s Arrival
The entire restaurant had gone quiet, everyone watching this tiny child face down a man who outweighed her by 200 pounds. Brad’s face turned even redder.
“You little—”
“Finish that sentence and see what happens.”
A new voice said.
A man in his 60s, distinguished in a simple but expensive suit, had appeared behind Brad. He looked remarkably like Victoria, with the same sharp intelligence in his eyes.
“My granddaughter’s 3 years old. If you have something to say to her, you’ll say it to me first.”
“Mr. Ashford!”
Brad stammered.
“I didn’t know you were here.”
“Clearly. I was having a business dinner in the private room. I came out to say hello to my daughter and granddaughter and instead found this.”
“What would you call it, Victoria? A prank gone wrong?”
“Something like that, Dad.”
Victoria moved to stand beside Emma, who immediately grabbed her mother’s hand again.
Robert Ashford looked at Jake, assessing him in a way that made Jake stand straighter:
“Robert Ashford. And you are?”
“Jake Morrison, sir. I own Morrison’s Auto Repair.”
“Ah, Morrison’s! I know your shop. You fixed my driver’s car last month. He said you were honest and did excellent work.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Grandpa!”
Emma piped up.
“This is Jake. We had dinner with him. He’s nice and not fake, and I like him!”
A Lesson in Wealth and Worth
Robert Ashford’s face broke into a genuine smile:
“Well, if Emma likes you, that’s the best character reference you could possibly have. My granddaughter is an excellent judge of people.”
He looked at Brad with undisguised contempt:
“Unlike some.”
“Mr. Ashford, this was just supposed to be a joke—”
*”At an innocent man’s expense? A way to mock someone for not being born into wealth?”
“Tell me, Brad, what do you think your employer would say about this incident?”
Brad went pale:
“My employer?”
“You work for Kensington Consulting, don’t you? They handle some contracts for Ashford Technology. I’m quite good friends with their CEO. I’m sure he’d be interested to know how his employees spend their free time.”
“Mr. Ashford, please!”
“Get out of my sight. And if I hear you’ve tried anything like this again with anyone, you’ll find out exactly how small I can make your professional world.”
Brad and his friends couldn’t leave fast enough, practically tripping over each other in their hurry to escape.
Robert Ashford turned to Jake:
“I apologize for their behavior. Unfortunately, there are still people who think wealth makes them superior to others. My daughter and I know better.”
“I started Ashford Technology with $50 and a dream. I was exactly where you are now—working hard, building something, being looked down on by people who’d never worked a day in their lives.”
Dad, Victoria said:
“Jake and I were planning to see each other again. Maybe you could join us for coffee sometime. I think you two would get along.”
“I’d like that,”
Robert said, shaking Jake’s hand again.
“Any man my…”
