Chapter 4 The Wait

Luke's POV

Waiting for two days to get a response from Jake seems like a very daunting task. Since I told him about my crush on the model, he has not stopped teasing me about her. Every time we talk on the phone, he finds a way to chip it in and make fun of me. Quite frankly, I can't say that I blame him because it had been ages since I was last smitten by someone. Women no longer appealed to me after my most recent breakup.

The breakup was a terrible one, and it was one of the reasons I was very much interested in knowing all about Miranda before venturing into a relationship with her. With Samantha, my ex-girlfriend, I didn't do my due diligence. She was hot, and I just went for it and it almost cost me everything I had worked for. I never knew she was a pretender who was scheming to swindle me out of my property and money.

It had been two weeks since I last showed up at the office and it was beginning to affect me even though I was on leave and I knew that I needed the break. Thankfully, the leave was coming to an end and I would be able to sit and work in a proper office once again. I had tried to go into the office to get some work done twice during the leave, but my personal assistant had sent me back home on both occasions.

Working from home could be nice most times, but I longed for the seriousness that came with the proper office setting. To sit at my desk at work and code away till it was dark, not eating and forgetting all about food, only sipping on black coffee at intervals until either my assistant sent me back home or Jake showed up to pick me up. I couldn't wait to get back to the office because staying home to work was killing me.

I knew that even if I found out all I needed to know about Miranda, I wouldn't want to sweep her off her feet like some prince charming who had come to save her. I didn't want to repeat the same mistake that I made with Samantha with her. I had intentions of pretending to be a regular guy, but I needed certain things before I would be able to pull it off. Jake has a coffee shop, I would probably take up a job there as a pastry chef. It was a good thing that I knew how to bake.

The next thing would be to rent an apartment or get a condo. There was no way I was going to let her know that I lived in a penthouse. This time around, I needed to know if she would love me even if I had nothing. If she loved me regardless of what I did and where I stayed, then it would be easy for me to know that she wasn't with me because of what I had. I would know that she genuinely loved me.

If I got a condo, I would be able to rent it out after I achieve my aim with Miranda. That would be a wise investment decision as I would get returns from it forever, but if I decided to rent an apartment, I would have to give it up once the rent expired. I decided that I was going to get a condo. That would make more sense rather than renting an apartment. Now that I knew what I was going to do, all that was left was for Jake to give me the information I requested. It's been just one day and I knew I would probably get my answers before the end of the following day but still, I wasn't at peace.

I kept wondering if I would like the results when they eventually came in. What if she was a slut? What if she was one of those models who also doubled as escorts? So many thoughts were going through my mind and I was unable to keep still. I couldn't even concentrate on the app I was working on and I had to take a break so I wouldn't make mistakes. I didn't even know her personally yet, and she was already making me feel this way. Damn!

I went to sit on the bed and scrolled through my phone mindlessly just to take my mind off the thoughts in my head. As I was scrolling, Jake's message came in. "I'm meeting up with Darren tonight," it read. Darren was the lead photographer at The Orange Magazine. According to Jake, he had a cordial relationship with Miranda and has first-hand information about her. The text message lifted my spirits. Ha! Finally, I would get to know all about her tonight.

Inspiration surged through me after I received the text message and I immediately got up to go and continue with what I was working on. The app was coming together nicely, and it felt like this particular one was going to be different from all the other apps I had previously worked on. I was building an app to help with mental health seeing as more people are willing to take care of their mental health, but a vast majority of them do not know how.

My app would help them track when they are feeling good or down with the use of a text or voice input which would respond to them with action points using an AI-based model. Users would be able to track their moods in real-time and also book appointments with therapists close to them through the use of the assisted AI model. The app would also be programmed with breathing exercises and guided meditations for various situations for users of the app. I also intended to include emergency contact information in the app in case of emergencies.

I was already deeply immersed in the work when my phone rang. I checked the time and saw that it was past 9 p.m. I didn't even realize that I had spent so much time working until the call came in. When I checked the screen, I saw that it was Jake who was calling, so I answered the call. Anticipation and excitement were making me shake, and I kept running my hands through my hair to calm myself down. It was what I did whenever I was tense.

"What's up Jake?" I said as soon as I answered the call.

"I have good news," he responded.