Friday comes...
At exactly 6:00 PM, Ramon parked the vehicle in the parking area of the Serenity Cafe.
John called George on his phone.
"Hello, Boss!"
"Where's Catherine?" John asked.
"She is on the 2nd floor I think, I haven't seen her in any of the stores below and I haven't seen her leaving the building's premises as well," answered George.
"Okay, that's good, I'm just checking," said John.
After ending his conversation with George, he called Allan next.
"Allan...what is your situation there?" he asked. He assigned Allan to watch out for Grace, just in case coincidentally she might pop around the venue where he will meet the lady.
"Grace is inside her house as of this moment, Boss," replied Allan.
"Good, I will call you back later," said John and ended their call.
Everything is clear. Grace and Catherine were so far away from this place, it would be impossible for them to magically appear in this place as of this moment. To be honest, he was feeling guilty while doing this blind date affair! The worst thing can happen either Catherine or Grace will have a knowledge of him meeting other girls, he doesn't want that to happen.
John texted the girl waiting for him inside.
The girl replied that she was on table #10 inside the cafe.
John entered the Cafe and trying to locate the table#10. He asked for the waiter and he was brought into a table far away from the rest, only 5 tables existed in that place in the corner, the area was kind of semi-private.
He saw his first blind date.
When he sat on the chair across the girl, she smiled at him, he smiled back for the sake of formality. She was wearing a sleeveless summer dress, knee length and she got a black shoulder-length hair.
"Hello, I'm John and you are...?"
"My name is Irene...," the girl replied.
"Nice meeting you Irene!" said John.
They engaged in a handshake.
John signaled for the waiter to come to their table.
"Irene, order everything you want in the menu I will take care of the bill," he said smiling at her.
"Okay, thanks!" murmured Irene. She started perusing the menu.
While she was directing her attention to the menu, John was studying Irene's profile. She does have a pleasing personality, but...she is not Catherine...the spark didn't fly the moment he saw her!
When the waiter took both their order, they started having a conversation.
"So, Irene, how old are you? And what is your job? I mean where are you working right now?" asked John.
Irene raised her head and looked at John a bit shyly. "I'm 26 years old. I'm working in a bar nearby as a waitress for the meantime. I'm planning to work in one of the cruise ships abroad cause they offer a bigger salary," she was smiling while talking.
"Okay, that's good! When are you going to plan to go abroad?"
"This coming November. My cousin who already worked in one of the cruise ships will help me with the processing of my papers," she replied.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked John.
"I just broke up with my 'ex' last five months ago. So, am single right now ready to mingle," she said jokingly. "...and how about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked, very much interested because she finds John handsome and pleasant to talk with.
John was silent for a moment...what is his status right now? He'd never ask himself about that question.
"My girlfriend and I were having some issues right now but am working hard to patch things up between us. So, am in the process of restoring our relationship to the way it was before," he said in wishful thinking.
Irene's face instantly darkens up a bit upon hearing that he was still planning to pursue his girlfriend.
"So, you're not really looking for a new girlfriend?" she asked to be sure.
"Not really," John answered with much honesty in his voice.
"Ohh," an audible voice escapes Irene's mouth, there is a hint of disappointment in her voice. She developed an instant crush towards John the moment he smiled at her and calls her name. She agreed to this blind date first because he is loaded and second he is good looking. He is a complete package! She always had a big thing for businessmen. Too bad he seems to be not looking for a new girlfriend right now, he still so enamored with his ex!
"Y-you still love your girlfriend?" she asked him in a straightforward manner.
"Yes. Very much!" he replied quickly.
"So, why are you meeting new women?" she asked in a cold voice.
John's eyes squinted. "Just a request from a friend, he wants me to meet new people so that I can forget the woman I love," answered John.
"I see." Irene realized that it must be the friend of John that forced him into this blind date. "Don't you find me attractive, John?" she asked, she doesn't want to play naive here. She must let him know that she is very much interested in hooking up with him.
John eyed the woman in front of him, lol, isn't she desperate? But he doesn't want to offend her, he doesn't want to be rude in front of her. He will just say some polite words to her so as not to hurt her feelings directly.
"Honestly, you have a pleasing great personality, you are easy to talk with. Just that it takes more than that to make me fall with someone. Maybe if I didn't meet the love of my life first, we maybe have a chance but right now am still so totally smitten with my girl. So yeah...," John said his piece.
Irene bit her lips. Dang! This is what she got for agreeing with the blind date! But blind dates don't necessarily mean two people who meet for the first time will end instant lovers when the night is over.
"Can I text you from time to time, John?" she asked.
He doesn't want to offend her any further. "Sure, you can text me anytime, but don't be offended if I can't reply right away because am a very busy person," John explained ahead. For God's sake, he doesn't need a text mate! But he just humored her anyways for politeness sake!
They talked some more. Surprisingly they were conversing up to two full hours. When they ended their conversation that night, John instructed Ramon to bring back Irene to her residence while he remained inside the cafe. By sending her alone with his driver that means he was not interested with her, hopefully, Irene got his point across and won't pester him with her text messages.
He and Irene have no spark whatsoever!
End of the story!
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