Chapter 5

Melina took a shower and put on her pjs. She decided to sit on her sofa and watch some Netflix, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t focus on what she was watching. She kept thinking about Marco. “Is he going to text?” she thought, but quickly told herself that she shouldn’t waste anytime thinking about him. She realized that he might be either someone important or at least rich, since he had a driver and this thought contributed even more to push herself to stop thinking about him. She was just an immigrant who has just moved to the country. She had nothing to offer to him and he surely wouldn’t be interested in her when he clearly could have anyone he wanted. While she was making these thoughts, her phone chimed.

?: Did you decide whether you will accept my invitation. I promise I won’t lure you into my van with candy. Just ice cream. Somewhere public. Marco

Melina laughed at the text. She definitely gave off that she was scared.

Me.: Strangers usually have the best candies, but I will take the path of caution. Ice cream in a public place sounds relatively sensible.

Ma.: I never measured my choices based on how sensible they are. That’s a whole new world for me.

Me.: Ah a risk taker then. You will be bored with me before you finish your first scoop.

Ma.: Something tells me that there is nothing boring about you bella.

Me.: Don’t say I didn’t warn you. To help out, you can google how you can end a date fast enough. There are some interesting options there.

Ma.: I don’t do dates bella.

Me.: Hmm since I am not interviewing for a job and I am not related to you, what is the purpose of us having ice cream together then?

Ma.: You pointed out that you wouldn’t get in my car because we were strangers. It’s a way to not be strangers anymore.

Me.: So you want us to get to know each other, so next time I will get in your car?

Ma.: Yes. Is that so wrong?

Me.: I have kidney stones, so my kidneys won’t get a good price in the black market.

Ma.: huh?

Me.: If we are not going on a date and you just want to get me in your car, I am assuming you want to harvest my organs and sell them.

Ma.: ha ha ha I knew you were not boring. But no bella, I don’t want to harvest your organs. I just don’t want us to be strangers.

Me.: so you want us to be friends?

Ma.: I wouldn’t say no to benefits.

Me.: Hmmm you don’t do dates and I don’t do friends with benefits or one night stands. I think this is doomed before it even starts. I don’t think having ice cream is a good idea. It was lovely chatting to you. Say hi to Johnny from me. Bye.

Melina put her phone away. She was disappointed that he was like most of the guys she had met. It was all about sex and no commitment, but that wasn’t really cutting it for her. She was really drawn to Marco, but she knew herself and she would fall for him and then she would be heartbroken. It would be better to just focus on her new job and forget about him.

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Marco read the thread of the texts again and he was stunned with her last message. No woman had shut him down before and Melina had done it twice in the same day. He didn’t know how he felt about it, but the thought of not seeing her again made him feel very weird. He had never felt like this before and he didn’t like it.

His phone chimed again and he thought that Melina might had changed her mind. He saw Alessio’s name on the screen and he grunted in disappointment. He opened the text. Alessio had sent him everything he had found on Melina via email. He accessed his email and opened the file Alessio sent him.

Melina Gkalis, 25 years old, born in Athens Greece. Bachelor in psychology and MBA. Smart girl Marco thought. He continued reading the file. She had moved from Greece to Los Angeles a few days ago on her own, no family in the city, no profile in dating apps. Her employment starts in 2 weeks in DeAngelo Corp as a Commercial Strategy Manager. Interesting Marco thought. The owner of DeAngelo Corp was his cousin, so he would definitely take advantage of that. The file also included links to her social media and Marco took the time to scan through them.

All in all it was evident that Melina was not the type of woman he was used to have around. Her social media hold memories of her with her family and friends. There were no inappropriate or provocative photos, which showed she respected herself. She was smart and talented, otherwise his cousin wouldn’t have arranged for a work visa and she was brave enough to move far away from home on her own. Her file and social media suggested that she had a loving family, so she wasn’t running away from something. She just wanted to prove herself. Marco found himself admiring this young woman and he realized that she would never agree to be with him the way all the other women has been. He said to himself that he wasn’t the relationship type, so he should let Melina alone. Yes, he would leave her alone.

He decided to focus on his work and started to check the papers on his desk, but no matter how hard he tried to focus, all he could think of was her green eyes and her melodic voice. Fuck, he thought. At this point he realized that he couldn’t let her be. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to get to know her, spend time with her, be there for her. He never felt like this for anyone else.

He checked at the time. It was late, but he decided to message her anyway.