Chapter 6
Miracles didn’t come to Andrea in ones or twos–they arrived in waves, knocking on her door, arms wide open. It felt strange, adjusting to life with some else again. She had grown used to solitude, to the quiet emptiness of her home, where every sound was her own. Now, there was movement, warmth, the constant presence of another person filling the space she had long since accepted as hollow.
Laughter, small talk, and the comforting hum of companionship–things she had unknowingly let slip away–slowly crept back into her days. And somehr despite being the one she had taken in, Asher made it feel like she was the guest in her own home. He cooked. He cleaned. He filled the air with humor. a man who didn’t even remember his own name, let alone his past, he was perhaps the sharpest person she had ever met.
With a little effort, she managed to get some old clothes from Mr. Dylan next door. The only problem? Mr. Dylan was half a foot shorter, and Asher’s lon limbs made the borrowed pants look almost comical. But that wasn’t the strangest thing about him. His mind–now that was something remarkable.
One evening, Andrea sat at the small kitchen table, buried in numbers, trying to stretch her dwindling savings for as long as possible. Asher peeked over shoulder, curious. Within minutes, what had been a mess of receipts and anxious calculations turned into neatly structured tables and projections. He mapped out her expenses–groceries, electricity, rent–breaking it all down with an ease that left her speechless. He looked just as surprised as she did.
She had asked him once why he hadn’t tried getting a job, and she had felt foolish as soon as the words left her mouth. Who would hire a homeless man with no identity, no papers, not even a name?
But now, as she stared at the brilliant calculations laid out in front of her, she knew one thing for certain.
Maybe it was time for Asher to reconsider.
Every evening, they sat by the window, playing board games–Ludo, carrom, Chinese checkers. Chess had been banned from their lineup, mostly because Andrea had lost one too many times.
Tonight, it was Chinese checkers, and once again, she was losing. Desperate to distract him, she steered the conversation toward neighborhood gossip.
“You know, the postman refuses to deliver Mrs. Kline’s mail anymore? Her dog keeps chasing him off–almost bit him twice.” Andrea smirked, shifting a piece on the board. These little tidbits had become her entertainment ever since she lost her job and found herself stuck at home.
Asher hummed in response, focused on his next move.
“And Johnson’s Feed & Supply–the place where I used to work? They’re shutting down. Apparerkly, they’re nearly bankrupt.” She shook her head. “I don’t get it. They were making a profit every month. I saw the numbers. How does that even happen?”
That got his attention. His eyes flicked up, sharp and alert in a way she hadn’t seen before.
“Andrea,” he said, voice tinged with excitement. “Profit on paper doesn’t mean they’re doing well. Cash flow is what keeps a business alive. A company can be ‘profitable‘ and still go bankrupt if they can’t pay their bills on time.”
Andrea frowned. “But if they’re making money, shouldn’t that be enough?”
“Not necessarily,” he countered. “Businesses focus too much on revenue–how much money they bring in. But what really matters is net profit. It’s not about what you make; it’s about what you keep. And even that doesn’t matter if the cash flow is tight. Timing is everything. If they’re getting paid late by clients but have to pay suppliers on time, they’ll hit a financial wall before they even realize it.”
She noticed it then–the way his posture changed, how animated he suddenly was. He liked talking about this.
1/2
5:32 pm PPPP
Chapter 321
“Okay… but they took out a loan to expand. Shouldn’t that have helped?”
Asher scoffed. “Depends. There’s good debt and bad debt. Smart business owners use debt strategically–to grow, invest, and scale. But if they’re drowning high–interest liabilities without a clear return, that’s bad debt. The best businesses use OPM–Other People’s Money–whether that’s investors, partnershig
or loans with smart terms.”
Andrea leaned back, eyeing him curiously. How did a man with no memory, not even of his own name, know all this?
“So, if cash flow and debt management are so important, how do investors decide if a business is worth it?”
He exhaled, arms crossed, looking like he had done this a thousand times before.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
