Chapter five

Mia's gaze locked onto mine, piercing with a hint of confusion. Her eyebrow furrowed slightly, and her lips parted ever so slightly as she asked, "Do you know him?"

As I met her gaze, a warm smile began to spread across my face. It started with a gentle, almost imperceptible curve of my lips, which gradually grew into a bright, radiant smile. My eyes sparkled with excitement, shining like stars in a clear night sky.

I leaned in slightly, my voice taking on a conspiratorial tone as I replied, "Of course I do... he's my employer." My words were laced with a sense of pride and familiarity as if I was sharing a precious secret with Mia.

As I spoke, my eyes never left Mia's face. I watched as her expression transformed from confusion to surprise, her eyes widening slightly as she processed this new information.

Mia's eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued our conversation. "Wow, isn't this amazing?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "I heard he owns a hotel in Scarlet Town, but I didn't bother to ask for the name," she continued, flashing me a sly smile, her lips curling upward in a mischievous grin.

"So... should I give him your contact?" she asked, her eyes glittering with amusement.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. But then, I nodded, and Mia quickly pulled out her phone and sent my contact information to him through a messaging app.

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed with an incoming message. I glanced down at the screen and saw it was from him. My heart skipped a beat as I read his words.

"Hi," he wrote. "I'm Alex. What is your name?"

"Good day to you, I'm Emily," I texted back.

"I got your contact from your friend Mia, after seeing our picture on her phone. You look stunning, Emily," I read. Then I passed the phone to Mia, smiling shyly.

"Aww, thank you," I told Mia and asked her to type the response while my face flushed with excitement.

My phone buzzed with another notification as she passed the phone back to me. I looked at the screen and saw he had already responded.

"Nice to meet you, Emily. I just got back from the States. Flew first class, of course."

"Is this message for me?" I responded, feeling irritated by the way he was trying to flaunt his wealth. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

"Yes, Emily. I want you to know that I do my best and have the money to live my dream life. My company in the States just landed a huge contract, and I'm expecting a big payout. You will never suffer if you decide to be mine, Emily." As I read his message, I felt a wave of revulsion wash over me. It seemed as though he wanted to buy my love and didn't care whether I truly loved him or not. That was an instant turn-off for me.

I looked up at Mia, my expression incredulous. "I don't think I can date him," I said, shaking my head. "He is too much."

Mia's face fell, and she looked at me with concern. "Emily, you might not know this, but this is the first time he's ever asked a lady out," she said gently. "I guess he thinks telling you about how much he has would make you want to be his girlfriend." She paused, studying me intently. "He is a cool guy, Emily, and I wouldn't want you to get involved with a bad guy. So trust me, okay?"

Her words struck a chord within me. "Maybe I had misjudged him. Maybe he was nervous and didn't know how to express himself," I thought.

With a changed mind and a new sense of empathy, I decided to reply to the messages I had left on read. I picked up my phone and began typing a response. But as I scrolled through our conversation, I was taken aback by the sheer number of messages he had sent. There were five new messages and a few others that he had deleted.

"Are you ignoring me? Or am I too early in this conversation?" he asked, his words laced with a hint of desperation. "Talk to me, Emily. I'm sorry."

I felt a surge of surprise at his words. Was this guy clingy? Insecure? A whole CEO!

I turned to Mia, my eyes wide with wonder. "Is this guy for real?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Mia smiled knowingly. "I bet he is," she said. "That guy has been lonely all his life."

I took a deep breath and then replied to his message. "Hi," I wrote, my words simple but effective. "I'm not ignoring you; I just need time to think."

"How about his parents and family?" I asked Mia, facing her.

"He never talked about them, no matter how much I asked."

I then sent a message to him, feeling a sense of trepidation.