Chapter 40

“We’re off work. Should we head out?”

As soon as it was time to get off work, Michael sent Yarrick a message to hurry him while he was packing his things.

“Quickly!”

“Sure. I’ll be leaving soon.”

Since he had only been going back and forth between the company and his shop, he didn’t need to use his car. Public transport was more convenient. He had only taken the car out for a joyride.

He was meeting Haley at 10:00 am tomorrow. Since he didn’t need the car to get home, he left it in the company’s basement. He would drive it to the meeting the next day. After gathering his things, he left his office quickly.

On the way back, Michael struck up a conversation about work. “Yarrick, so, you’ve never met the president in person during these few days as her secretary?” Michael asked.

“Nope. Why do you seem more eager to meet her than I do?” Yarrick smiled as he patted Michael on the shoulder.

“I’m just curious to know if she’s really as pretty as they say and if you have a chance with her.”

“Let things work out themselves,” Yarrick answered. He didn’t really care about Michael’s question. Whether she was pretty didn’t matter to him because he had Hailey. Whether he had a chance with her didn’t matter either.

Unless the day came when he and Hailey were divorced. In that case, things would be completely different.

“What the hell? Why do you seem not to care about this at all? I mean, if it were me, I’d be racking my brain figuring out what excuse to use to get to her house,” Michael grinned. Yarrick laughed at his remark.

“Let’s stop talking about the president. What about the woman you met at the cafeteria? I haven’t heard anything about her from you these past two days,” Yarrick changed the subject.

“Ugh! I don’t want to talk about her,” Michael groaned.

“What happened? Did she ask for a car or a house?”

“Then what is it?”

“These days, you can’t even afford to date someone if you’re broke. She told me she has high standards. Even if we’re just going out for food, it’d have to be an expensive restaurant, at least four stars. If it’s less than that, she won’t go,” Michael explained.

“I only earn a thousand dollars a month. How can I afford to date her?” he continued, sounding exhausted.

Yarrick nodded in agreement. It was hard to afford a high-maintenance girlfriend. This was even before considering marriage!

If things went south, she’d be asking for much more than Michael’s current girlfriend, Isabelle.

“If that’s the case, just keep looking for someone with lower standards,” Yarrick suggested, trying to comfort him.

“Where do you find someone with low standards? Life is hard, man,” Michael wailed.

“Well, you’re right,” Yarrick nodded and fell silent.

“Right, I’m meeting the president tomorrow morning. We’ve already set a time,” Yarrick suddenly remembered to tell Michael.

“Really? That’s just great, man! Take your chance! If you manage to woo her, I could benefit from it too, right?” Michael nudged him.

“Hold on. Let’s not push it.”

Yarrick smiled and brushed it off.

If he wasn’t with Hailey, he would have jumped at the opportunity. But things were different now that she was in his life. He would never change his mind about her.

The next day, with half an hour left until 10:00 am, Yarrick took the elevator and headed down to the basement. He drove off in his Audi A4, leaving the company car behind. Hailey had made an appointment for them to meet at a nearby coffee shop in a neighborhood. It was about a 15-minute drive from the company to the coffee shop.

He recalled a neighborhood called Bright Heights. When he passed through the main gate of the neighborhood, he drove for another five minutes before reaching the coffee shop Hailey had planned for them to meet.

It wasn’t a high-class neighborhood; it could only be considered decent. He wondered if Hailey lived here.