The Unwilling CEO's Love Game
Chapter 55

Jocelyn and Harrison were chilling at a coffee shop, and Jocelyn was kind of squirming about how to ask for his Facebook ID. She had peeped his profile before, and it looked like his mobile number.

"What's your number?" Jocelyn asked, "Let's swap our phone numbers. So it would be easier to keep in contact for us."

"What's yours? I'll hit you up," Harrison took out his phone.

Jocelyn rattled off her number, and in no time her phone rang.

"It's me."

Jocelyn nodded, saving his number, and then hopped onto Facebook and added him as a friend.

Looked like he's clueless about being deleted previously.

Sure enough, the friend request sailed through without a hitch.

She let out a little sigh of relief.

The two of them kept the convo light and breezy. Chilling with Harrison, Jocelyn felt like she was in her happy place. His vibe was all kinds of good, like a cool summer breeze - no stress but just comfort. For a moment, Jocelyn thought Harrison's pretty dope.

"Excuse me, I need to take this call," Harrison grabbed his phone and answered. After hollering "Mom" into the receiver, he was all draped in resignation.

Jocelyn picked up on it - the classic matchmaking hustle.

After hanging up, Harrison looked sheepish, "Sorry."

"I understand. At our age, getting the marriage nudge from parents is quite common. They are out of good concerns, from their perspective," Jocelyn totally got it.

Harrison shook his head, an expression of helplessness, "Mom's got me on lockdown. By year's end, I shall be at least engaged."

Jocelyn's got sympathy for the guy; thankfully, her parents weren't breathing down her neck that hard.

"Then wish you meet your Miss Right and give your parents some peace of mind," Jocelyn lifted her coffee for a toast.

With a helpless grin, Harrison admitted, "Can't deny they're out of good intentions. But replaceing true love is never easy, right? I don't want to settle because of age. Otherwise, I wouldn't still be single." Jocelyn saw Harrison as this unspoiled, clear-sky kind of dude - untainted by the mundane, steering clear of the peanut gallery. He had got his head in the game, living life on his own terms.

"I bet you feel the same," Harrison said, eyes intent behind his glasses.

Jocelyn could relate, for sure. She raised her cup again, "Yes, I do."

Harrison cracked a smile.

They're in the same leaky boat, it seemed.

Nearing eleven, Harrison checked the time, "It's been my pleasure to talk with you. But I have to leave now. See you next time."

"Parting's sweet sorrow and all that jazz," Jocelyn stood up, grinned, and said, "Looking forward to seeing you again."

Harrison stood too, nudging his glasses, and replied with a warm gaze, "Same here."

Jocelyn walked him to the airport entrance and stopped there.

Harrison took a last look back at Jocelyn as he headed to the security check.

Jocelyn waved her hand with a smile.

Suddenly, Harrison doubled back, facing her.

"We're friends, right?" Harrison asked, a bit cautious.

Jocelyn nodded, "Of course."

"Then... Can I get a hug from you?"

Jocelyn was a bit surprised.

Is this a response to that street interview question?

As Harrison waited, with a visible dimming behind his lenses, Jocelyn opened her arms wide, "Of course."

They embraced, a simple act for their friendship.

Deep down, everyone knew a goodbye might be the last.

The world's vast, yet sometimes so small.

Avoid a deliberate path cross, and it could be an eternal miss.

Harrison breezed through the security check, waving to Jocelyn again. Then he's off, swallowed by the crowd.

If Melvin had been gentler, she'd probably be giving him a fiery farewell kiss today.

But alas, Melvin's not the warm-and-fuzzy type of guy.

...

Later that night, the street interview video landed in Jocelyn's inbox. She watched her and Harrison's segment, and at last, it was their airport embrace.

The comments below were all abuzz with "What a stunning pair!" "Are they not a couple?" "This dude's a looker, got that vibe - could totally play the suave villain, you agree?" "Doesn't anyone think the girl's pretty too? Gentle and warm like a cozy light, so adorable."

Then came Harrison's Facebook message.

[Caught the video? You're pretty photogenic.]

[You're looking sharp yourself]

Jocelyn replied.

[It's unbelievable we'd end up in the same frame.] Harrison mused.

Jocelyn chuckled and replied. [Guess that's fate.]

Harrison dropped an "Mhm."

Then he added another line: [My blind date didn't go well.]

That piqued Jocelyn's interest.

Gossiping is human nature, right?

[What happened? Looks or personality mismatch?]

[No sparks. Could be friends, but nothing beyond.]

Jocelyn's curious. [For all these years, you haven't found anyone who lit that spark?]

[There is someone.]

Jocelyn stared at the message, quickly replied, [Then go for her.]

[She's taken.]

Jocelyn sent over a "bummed" emoji.

Life's full of misses, but the real sting was fancying someone who's into someone else, and that someone wasn't you.

Considering this, she thought she was on the lucky side.

At least she was still caught up with her crush.

Her phone screen flipped. There's that number.

Jocelyn complaint. Finally, this guy wrapped up his biz and gave her a ring.

One word after his flight - "Landed."

And then, nothing more.

She played it cool before picking up the call, "Hello, who's this?"

Melvin took a sharp breath, "You are doing this on purpose?"

"I don't have your number saved."

"Seriously?"

Jocelyn smirked, "Of course."

"I've missed you."

Wow, that was a smooth talker.

For a second, Jocelyn's heart skipped a beat.

"Want to come visit me?" Melvin's voice was deep. "I can snag you a later ticket."

Jocelyn was itching to go, but she couldn't. She didn't want to give him the impression that she was all too ready to drop everything for him.

"Nope. I promised my parents I'd head home tomorrow and stay with them for a few days." And that was the honest truth.

On the other end of the line, silence fell.

Jocelyn kept mum too. She couldn't just come running every time he crooked his finger, could she?

She'd wised up now.

The deeper you planted those love seeds, the harder it would be to pull yourself away later on.

Melvin was a sworn bachelor, and she wasn't sure she had the chops to get him down the aisle. If he still wasn't looking to put a ring on it by the time she was 30, she couldn't just stick around, could she? She could be cool with not getting married, but what about her parents?

As long as they were around, she couldn't just ignore what they expected.

And even if you back up a mile, how many years can a lone wolf like Melvin keep feeling the heat for her? Once he loses interest in her, he's just gonna dust off his pants and hit the road, no strings to hold him back.

Jocelyn too wanted to have a real romance, one that blooms and bears fruit, to spend a lifetime with someone.

A lifetime with Melvin felt like a wild gamble, where she knew she'd lose without even showing her hand.