It had been more than three weeks since Madelyn broke up with Xander. She hadn't gotten his texts or calls, and she felt relieved that Xander probably decided to give up. Her job shift was over, and she decided to buy some dinner takeout since she felt generous. She decided to go to Panda Express, and once there, she ordered her food, paid, and got out of the building. As Madelyn was going to walk back to her house, she heard someone yelling out to her. "Madelyn!"
She turned back to see who was calling her. Her first thought was that it was probably Xander. However, the voice sounded different, and she sighed in relief when looking ahead. "Octavio, is that you?"
Octavio was sitting by a table eating food at another small restaurant when he saw Madelyn walking from Panda Express. He was surprised, to say the least; it was a small world, after all. He waved to her and motioned her to sit with him. Madelyn looked hesitant at first but didn't want to be rude, but she wanted someone to talk with. "It wouldn't hurt; he's not like Xander." She decided to accompany him and see what he was up to. When the young woman got to where Octavio was, he stood up and motioned out his hand. They shook hands; he motioned her to sit on the opposite side of him. "It has been a while. How have you been, Madelyn?"
"Fine, I have been busy with work and life. How about yourself?"
Octavio took a bite of sushi. "The same as always. Busy with my companies and so on. Life has been boring so far. I'm glad I got to see you again. I wanted to apologize to you."
This confused the young woman. "Apologize? Why?"
"I felt that I created a misunderstanding between you and Xander. I hope you guys didn't get into an argument because of it. By the way, how is Xander?"
Madelyn flinched when Octavio mentioned Xander's name. She hoped he didn't mention her now ex-boyfriend, but she couldn't blame Octavio's curiosity. "I broke up with him."
Octavio looked surprised as he stopped drinking his soda. "Really? I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope that I wasn't the cause of it."
"No, not at all. It was because of you that you helped me see who Xander was. The truth is, he needs help since he wasn't shown much affection as a child. He was too clingy, and everything was going too fast." She didn't want to mention the other side of him that she saw for a moment. It made a chill go down her spine. "Anyway, I am a bit shocked that someone like you would eat in a place like this."
The young man chuckled as he took a sip from his soda. "I may be rich, but it doesn't mean that I don't like eating other foods. I like to eat out at fast food places from time to time. You know..." Octavio looked hesitant about what to say next. When he spoke to her at the party, he was intrigued with her. They both had some similarities, and she looked and sounded genuine; it was something he was not used to. He saw why Xander was so into her. "You know, I enjoyed our conversation at the party. I wanted to keep talking, but Xander interrupted our conversation. I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner tomorrow night. You know, to continue our conversation."
Madelyn couldn't believe her ears. Now, Octavio wanted to take her out. "What's going on here? Am I a rich guy magnet or something!?"
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to pressure you, and I know you came out from a relationship any time for yourself. However, I would like to chat with you more. This is more of a friendly night out where two people just talk. Besides, it doesn't hurt to go out and talk to others occasionally. What do you say?"
Madelyn was still hesitant, but she did not have a lot of friends and felt like she wanted to talk to someone. Octavio seemed to be an intellectual person with a carefree personality. He was not like Xander; he didn't pressure her into doing something she wasn't comfortable with. It wouldn't be so bad. "That sounds nice."
The young businessman smiled. "Great, give me your phone number. I will call you and pick you up from somewhere you are comfortable."
"S-Sure. You could pick me up from the library. I can text you when I'm there."
"Perfect, tomorrow night it is!"
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