My mouth dropped open. “Why would he do that?” My voice sounded like a screeching vehicle right before it crashed into a fallen tree. “Tell me what happened.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head, clearly frustrated. “I just…I can’t go with you.” He refused to look at me, and I sensed he was pulling away emotionally.
Hurt washed through me, and I fought back angry tears. “Don’t let him intimidate you. We’ll go to the principal. We can figure this out.”
He stared at the ground, his jaw tightening. “Drop it, Maya. Everyone sides with Easton.” He lifted his eyes and gave me a pitying glance. “Whatever you did to him, he really hates you.”
I bit down on my bottom lip, rage building at the outer edges of my consciousness, threatening to burst into flames and explode.
How dare he. How dare Easton threaten my date and tell him to drop me. I wanted to scream. To punch something.
“He won’t get away with this,” I said, huffing.
“He already has.”
He left, and I couldn’t figure out if I was angry or disappointed. I’d thought Liam was better than that, but I also understood where he was coming from. As far as Easton, I had to nix whatever attraction I felt towards that guy because from here on out, I wanted nothing to do with him.
Maya, current day
I glanced at the article Charlotte sent me and grimaced. Knowing Charlotte, she’d meant it in the kindest way possible, but I wasn’t particularly excited about reading a story about a woman’s journey through cancer. Like I really wanted to dwell on pain and suffering, especially when dying an early death was one of my fears. My aunt and grandmother had both died of breast cancer and reading the article brought up old memories.
I ate organic foods as much as possible, exercised, and tried to live a healthy life overall, but I couldn’t get rid of the nagging fear in the back of my mind that I was next. It didn’t help that I had other medical issues to add to the problem. When I was sixteen, I found out I had a problem with my kidneys and would most likely need a transplant one day.
“Okay, enough of that,” I said out loud, though no one was around to hear me say it. I shook my head to clear it and finished getting ready for my date.
I’d chatted a few times with this guy named Greg through an online dating app, which was crazy considering I didn’t have much faith in relationships at this point. Not that I’d been burned or anything. I just couldn’t picture a future with a man who fit my criteria and was willing to put up with my medical baggage. I’d joined an online dating community mostly because I was bored and wanted to see how it worked. And yes, a part of me did hope to find someone even though I didn’t believe it would come to pass. We were meeting for dinner in ten minutes, and I was already running late.
I picked up my purse and keys and headed out to my car. When I arrived at the restaurant, I walked through the door and happened to glance at a tall, skinny guy with auburn hair lingering near the entrance.
He stepped forward and held out his hand. “Hey, Maya. Nice to meet you.” He had a pleasing smile and actually looked like his picture, which was nice.
“I’m glad we’re doing this,” I said.
“Me too.”
The restaurant hostess led us to our table, and as we followed behind, Greg pulled one of those rolling cases people used for their laptop. Strange.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ll see. Let’s get settled first and then I’ll explain.”
I nodded warily, wondering what that was about. “All right.”
Once at the table, our hostess gave us menus and we took a few moments to decide what we wanted. I ordered a chicken salad, and Greg decided to go for it by ordering an expensive steak with a baked potato. It was one of the more expensive things on the menu, but maybe he was trying to impress me somehow?
He folded his hands and gave me an eager smile. “Now that we’ve finally met, I’d like to show you something.”
I leaned forward, not able to contain my curiosity any longer. “What’s this about?”
“Patience is a virtue.” He pulled out a tiny laptop and set it up on the table as if it were the most natural thing to do on a first date. “I thought this would be a great way for you to get to know me.”
“Okay…” I sat up straighter, ready to discover what he wanted to share…from a computer.
“I don’t normally go over this stuff with people, but I felt comfortable with you right off the bat. When you mentioned in our chat session that you were hoping to find a job with better medical benefits, I knew I could help.”
“You know of a job opening?”
He grinned. “I do.”
I smiled and waited for him to elaborate, but he just shrugged as if waiting for a pat on the back. “Well, that’s great.” My smile slipped a little as we stared at each other awkwardly.
He let out a breath and continued. “I recently started this side business selling online products and thought I’d show you what it entails.”
My eyes widened. “Right now?”
He nodded, and for the next fifteen minutes, he proceeded to talk about his online business. I listened as attentively as I could, but it was weird.
“Has it been lucrative at all?” I asked.
“Not yet, but it will be as soon as I’m able to recruit others to join under me.”
The waitress brought our food to the table, and he quickly put his laptop away to make room. I figured we’d move on to other subjects, but I was wrong.
“You would be a great candidate for an opportunity like this,” he said. “What do you say, Maya? Are you in?”
I chewed a piece of chicken and studied him for a moment. “You mean…do I want to join your business?”
He nodded eagerly. “Yes, that’s what I’m asking. I’ll get a percentage of whatever you make if you sign up under me.”
“Oh…” The reason for our date was starting to sink in. He wasn’t actually interested in me. He wanted me to work under him. What a fool I’d been. “To be honest, I’m not looking for a side business right now. I just need a job that has better benefits.”
His smile slipped, and he glanced at his food like I was testing his patience. “That’s too bad.”
“This isn’t a date, is it?”
He blushed and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Not really.”
“Yeah, didn’t think so.” I stood and put money on the table to pay for my salad. “Next time be upfront about what you want. A dating app isn’t the place to recruit for your business.”
Twenty minutes later, I was at Charlotte’s house, discussing my disastrous date with Greg. “Thank goodness the Lord gave me a sense of humor.”
“Yeah, good thing.” She laughed and plopped down on the couch next to me, and she had this look in her eye like she wanted to tell me something but was biding her time. “That’s crazy. I still can’t believe he tried to recruit you for his business.” She leaned forward and paused for just a second. “Listen, at least you’re finally putting yourself out there. I hope you didn’t take it personally.”