Page 23 of Tom's Chance
“Technically?”
“Define ‘technically’.”
“Boy, girl, meet in person, sit down to a meal or coffee, have a conversation.”
“Oh, okay. What happened?”
Tom didn’t say anything as he pulled his phone, accessed a program, scrolled through it, then handed her the phone. “I’ve been a brutally honest person my entire life. Even back when I was labeled lazy and disruptive, I told the teachers I was bored, but no one listened to me. It is better for you to read the conversation I had with Melissa, my first date from the app.This happened a couple of weeks ago.” He waited until she looked at him and shook his head sadly.
“I don’t know if this is mean or not, or not the norm, but this is my philosophy on first dates. Hell, it’s my philosophy on the first four or five dates.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t believe in taking a woman to an expensive restaurant on the first couple of dates. I feel that isn’t the atmosphere to get to really know a person. It’s too fancy, and both parties might be putting on airs. Hell, I’m not a fancy person to begin with, and I know that I would be extremely uncomfortable trying to have a meaningful conversation with a stranger while in that type of setting.”
“I totally agree. What’s wrong with going to a café to sit and have a cup of coffee and a muffin, or a sweet snack. It’s not as pretentious and you should be able to be more yourself in a comfortable setting.”
“Exactly. Now that we’re on the same page with that thought, then go ahead and read the texts. It starts out where I reach out to her after we were quote, unquote, matched on that dating site.” Tom sat back and watched Lorissa’s face intently as she read and smirked as it went from indifference to outrage. At one point he covered his mouth with his hand to block his smirk.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” She looked up to demand, then went back to reading. When she was done, she had a white-knuckle grip on his phone andglared at him. “I repeat, are you freaking kidding me? She expected you to pay for her hair, nails, and eyelashes before you even went on a date, then she expected you to take her to a particular restaurant. What’s so important or special about that one?”
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Tom asked as he took the phone back and accessed another screen, but turned the phone upside down on the table in front of him.
“No, what’s that got to do with anything?”
“I don’t know about you, but when I sit down to a meal, I want a meal. I mean I want at least a twelve-ounce steak, a baked potato, some veggies, possibly a side salad, and an unlimited supply of bread and butter.”
“What’s wrong with that? That sounds delicious.”
“I know, but picture this. Picture that twelve-ounce steak shaved to within an inch of its life and made into at least forty different plates. Meaning it’s forty individual servings with a little bit of green grass on top. The price for that little shaving could be well over two hundred dollars.”
“For a freaking bite?” Lorissa stared at him in shock. “Those fancy restaurants that are considered fine dining and you’re starving when you leave?”
“Yes, that’s the type of restaurant Melissa demanded I take her to. The one she named in the text conversation is booked at least nine months out. I looked at the menu on-line and the cheapest thingon the menu is the bottled water and that was one hundred and two dollars a bottle.”
“For water? What the hell?”
Tom shrugged, picked up his phone and passed it to her. “This conversation occurred earlier today. I didn’t mean to do what I did with you, and I’m so sorry if I offended you by grabbing you and kissing you, but I didn’t know what else to do.” He nodded to the phone and watched as she read that conversation.
“Holy freaking hell,” Lorissa practically yelled at him as she looked up in shock. “She said you owed her five thousand dollars for breaking the date with her. That is because you’re a doctor, you can afford it. Now, I hate to swear unless it’s warranted, but this is one sick gold-digging bitch.”
“My thoughts exactly. I was stopping into Kora’s to get a coffee and something to hold me over until dinner and hadn’t expected to see Melissa storming down the sidewalk. She called my name, I looked up, and when I saw her, I ducked into Kora’s. I’m not proud of my actions, but you were the first person I saw, I never moved when you turned from the counter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Melissa outside and had to act. I’m sorry for using you like I did, but I had to get my point across that I wasn’t interested in her, that I had moved on. The first conversation you read happened over a month ago.”
“Damn, so your first attempt at a date was a date from hell?”
“Yeah, and I had Duane help me with my second date.”
“How?”
Tom told her about the background check and what had transpired when she had been arrested.
Lorissa sat there shaking her head, and finally asked, “What happened after I left? I saw the police car show up.”
“First, Jake and Stone were there from Brotherhood Protectors. They are a bunch of former military people that operate a protection agency. Before Duane arrived, Erin used them to do background checks on the people coming to live and work for her. I’m sure she had checked out you, your mother, and grandmother.”
“She said that she had, but she didn’t use Duane to do it.”
“Then it would have been Jake. Anyway, because of the background check I had Duane do on my second date, Jake was there when she was arrested. He was able to back me up when Jim showed up for the Melissa situation. Because she slapped me, I had witnesses, and she dug her fake-ass nails into my arm enough to draw blood, she was arrested for assault. The last time I saw her, she was literally kicking and screaming as she was being dragged to the police cruiser. I have no idea what they will do, but I was told not to leave town in case I have to testify.” He shook his head, sipped his coffee then chuckled. “Oh,I failed to mention that she kicked Jim, and tried to spit on him.”
