They Set Up The Poor Mechanic On A Blind Date As A Prank—but The Ceo’s Daughter Said, “I Like Him”…
A Child’s Pure Delight
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?”
Victoria answered.
“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.”
Jake replied.
“Your mommy sounds very smart.”
Emma continued.
“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 Truth Behind the Prank
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.
She said, extending her hand.
“You must be Jake.”
“I’m Victoria.”
“I apologize for my daughter’s enthusiasm.”
“Emma doesn’t believe in personal space.”
Emma announced to the entire restaurant, still holding Jake’s hand.
“I like him.”
“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.
Victoria asked.
“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.
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.
Victoria explained.
“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 friends’ 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?”
Victoria answered.
“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 the 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.”
Jake asked.
“And you don’t?”
Victoria said quietly.
“My father started Ashford Technology in a garage with $50 and a dream.”
“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.”
Victoria continued.
“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 Connection Beyond Wealth
Jake’s eyebrows rose.
“You looked me up?”
Victoria replied.
“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.”
Jake asked.
“How did you find all that out?”
Victoria answered.
“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.”
Emma interjected, taking a breadstick from the basket a waiter had brought.
“I like Jake better.”
“Those other men Mommy dates are boring, and they don’t like me.”
Victoria said gently, but she was smiling.
“Emma.”
Emma continued.
“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?”
Emma replied.
“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.”
Victoria’s cheeks colored slightly.
“Emma is very observant.”
“Sometimes too observant.”
Jake said.
“She sounds like a great judge of character.”
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?”
Victoria explained.
“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.”
