By the time I got to the restaurant, he was already waiting for me. Seeing him waiting for me made me feel like we had something going, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I just smiled and waved at him while I walked towards him.
Fancy seeing you here today, I said to him while I tried to settle into the seat opposite him. He just smiled and called the waiters’ attention to us.I asked for my favourite meal, and he ordered the same.
I would really like to get to know you. I find you really interesting. That is, if you don’t mind, he asked. I was so shocked that I couldn’t say anything. This is like the second time he has caught me off guard, and he does it so effortlessly that I am rendered speechless.
My heart was already dancing for joy. It was not like he asked me on a date or anything; he just wanted to get to know me, and that, for me, right there was a win.
So I looked him in the eye with all the calmness I could muster and said, “Why not?” He asked for my phone, which I handed over to him and he added his number, saving it with James, your new friend, which I consider really cute and all.
Lunch came and we just talked about random things. He told me about his childhood. It was really fascinating to know that this young man sitting in front of me wasn’t as uptight as I assumed he was.
He just put up that attitude so that people wouldn’t disrespect him. Also, he didn’t grow up in Nigeria. He lived in the UK all his life, and came back to the country six years after his father died to be with his mother, since he was the only child.
I told him about my childhood too, and how I changed my career from being an accountant to becoming a business developer and all. We lost track of time just gisting and getting to know one another when I got a call from my PA letting me know that my next meeting is in 15 minutes’ time.
We parted ways and went to our different departments. Immediately after I stepped into my office, I got a text notification on my phone. Upon opening it, I realized it was from James and it read, “Lunch with you was truly amazing. I hope to do it again soon. ” I replied with a smiley emoji, and I can’t wait either.
Lunch every day with him became a thing, and each and every day came with its own new discovery about him.
The other day, I discovered that he was engaged to be married, but he had to break off the engagement because he had to come back to Nigeria, and that was when he realized he couldn’t have married her, which happened to be the best decision he had ever made.
I also found out he was leaving the company soon to set up his own HR consulting firm. which was kind of sad, but I’m also happy for him. The past few days have been really amazing, and James is also an amazing person.
At this point, I had killed every thought of dating him because it was obvious to me he had things he was trying to figure out, but regardless, I was comfortable and happy being his friend. He is truly a gentleman, but not my prince charming…
