CHAPTER 94: PERFECT DATE

When Bennett and my mother brought up the issue of setting up a blind date for me, I honestly never thought that it would materialize in real life. For the life of me, I couldn’t picture myself going on a blind date with anyone, much less one of the most eligible bachelors in the city.

I mean, if it was true that everyone wanted to date him, then why had he agreed to come on a blind date with someone like me?

The answer was actually plain and simple: he was probably here because he couldn’t refuse Bennett’s request. If that was true, then everything would turn out fine because he wasn’t at all interested in me. All I had to do was turn up and have a civil conversation with him over a casual dinner before parting ways, and perhaps I wouldn’t have to meet him ever again. I would go back and tell my mother that unfortunately it just didn’t work out between us because there was absolutely no chemistry between us.

That would be that.

"You must be Abigail. It’s a pleasure to meet you," a man greeted me with a warm smile as he stood up from his seat the moment he saw me approach. The hotel staff that led me to where my date was waiting quickly faded into the background as my attention focused solely on the tall blonde-haired man who looked overly happy to meet me.

"Hi, yes, I’m Abigail. Sorry that I’m a little late," I managed to introduce myself. I should have paid more attention to his profile that my mother tried to show me as she prepared me for my upcoming blind date with the man in question. Had I paid the slightest attention, I would have prepared myself to put my guard up against how dashingly handsome he looked.

"I’m Daniel. Don’t worry about being late, I’m glad that you could make time for me," he said as he gestured for me to take a seat. All the while, I wondered why my mother didn’t include the fact that he was extremely attractive in one of the points that she bombarded me with as she was advertising him to me as if he was on sale.

After ordering our food, Daniel effortlessly started a casual conversation with me. At first, I thought that going on a blind date was supposed to be extremely nerve-wracking; however, I didn’t find it difficult to converse with Daniel. Perhaps, Daniel should be given credit for how well our date was progressing. We didn’t talk about anything consequential or important, but I still found myself learning a little about him and his family business in a very casual way.

"Honestly, we met before at your mother’s wedding, but I don’t think that you remember," Daniel said with a slightly regretful look on his face.

"Oh really? I’m sorry that I don’t remember. There were so many people there on that day and I was busy looking out for my mom," I replied before letting out a nervous laugh as I wondered why I was making excuses for myself.

"Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to see each other now, right?" he asked, and I could hear the hope in his voice.

"Right..." I murmured softly. There was something about Daniel that made me feel at ease in his presence while at the same time making me feel guilty for turning him down. Daniel just had this disarming charm about him that felt gentle and warm.

"I heard that you’re working as Raphael’s secretary right now," Daniel said casually. Although I knew very well that there were probably no hidden meanings behind his casual question, I could not stop myself from panicking and ended up choking on my drink.

"Are you all right?" Daniel asked, his eyes wide with concern. He quickly grabbed a napkin and handed it over to me.

"Thank you, I’m all right," I said as I tried to calm both myself and him down. While using the napkin to dab the corner of my lips, I cursed the fact that Daniel had to bring up Raphael. Just hearing his name made me feel all funny inside. I would be lying if I said that Raphael ever faded from my mind completely because even while I was enjoying my conversation with Daniel, I couldn’t quite stop myself from thinking about Raphael at the back of my mind.

"Working with Raphael might be a little difficult, but I’m sure there are many things that you can learn from him," Daniel said before showing me a very pleasant smile.

"I think I quite enjoy my job right now and you’re right that there are many things that I could learn from him," I replied with my honest thoughts. Perhaps it wasn’t until I heard those words leave my lips that I truly realized that choosing to work as Raphael’s personal secretary wasn’t an incorrect choice.

The longer I chatted with Daniel, the more I found myself liking him. Honestly, I felt that he was too good for me and from what I could see, he appeared to be the perfect bachelor just as my mother and Bennett had described repeatedly when they were trying to convince me to come on this blind date. That being said, I didn’t feel any kind of special connection with Daniel although I had to say that I could see myself being good friends with him if he would give me the chance.

As Daniel kept on telling me about funny stories related to his cousins and the achievements that he’s made over the years through his philanthropic efforts, all I could think about was how to tell him directly that I wasn’t interested in him in that way. Even though I enjoyed our time together and I also thought that he was outstandingly handsome, he just wasn’t my type. I couldn’t imagine myself getting romantically involved with Daniel.

“I heard that you went on a cruise recently with Raphael and Rosabella. Did you enjoy yourself?” He asked with clear interest.

–To be continued...