Chapter 496: Chapter 496

"I want your help about something, Mr. Marlowe," he said.

"Evan is fine," I replied, lowering my cup. "What kind of help?"

He hesitated again, then looked down briefly before meeting my eyes. "About... my life."

I let out a short breath through my nose. "I don’t think I’m the right guy for that," I said. "Mine’s already a mess. What do you mean by ’life’?"

He rubbed his hands together nervously. "There’s this woman I like," he said. "But I don’t know how to talk to her."

I stared at him. "Okay... and you came to me because...?"

"You scored Mrs. Nolin in a coffee shop!"

I immediately looked around and leaned toward him. "Keep your voice down," I muttered. "Who told you that?"

"Everyone knows," he said, lowering his voice but still sounding excited. "People already think you two are a couple. Just hiding it."

"Great," I muttered, rubbing my forehead. "That’s exactly what I needed."

He leaned in a little.

"That’s not the point," he said. "Please, can you help me?"

"I really can’t," I shook my head. "I’ve got enough problems as it is. I don’t need—"

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ON A ROLL QUEST: 50SC

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Go help Melvin.

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I stared at it for a second, then closed my eyes. Of course. Of course it would do this to me right now.

I exhaled slowly and looked back at him. He was practically bouncing in place, waiting for an answer. He looked like a damn puppy the way he was staring at me. Big and hopeful eyes staring into my damn soul like that. Jeez.

"Fine," I said reluctantly. "I’ll help."

His face lit up instantly.

"Yes!" he said, almost shouting before catching himself. "Thank you! Seriously, thank you!"

I pointed at him with my coffee hand.

"Keep it down," I said. "And don’t make me regret this. What exactly do you want me to do?"

He grabbed his coffee again and took a quick sip, like he was trying to calm himself.

"She’s working right now," he said. "There’s a place nearby. If we go, I can show you."

I sighed, already regretting this.

"Alright," I said, pushing myself off the wall. "Lead the way."

He nodded quickly and headed for the door, almost rushing.

I followed behind him, taking one last sip of my coffee before tossing the cup into the bin.

Yeah. This was definitely going to be another problem added to the list.

⟁ ⟁ ⟁

Yeah... no.

There was absolutely no way this Melvin guy was getting anywhere with her. Not even if the universe bent over backwards for him. The gap between them wasn’t just big, it was ridiculous. Trying to explain it felt pointless. It was like... like he was a nervous rabbit while this chick was Optimus Prime.

I leaned slightly toward him, lowering my voice while keeping my eyes on her.

"Melvin... you sure this is the girl?"

"Yes," he said immediately, nodding like he’d been waiting for that question his whole life. "She’s cute, right? Her name’s Isabella."

Cute.

Yeah. Sure. That was one way to put it.

We were sitting inside Stingy Ladies, the place looking almost dead this early in the day. A couple of empty tables, faint smell of alcohol still hanging in the air from last night, lights dimmed just enough to make everything feel slower. No sign of Charlotte or Emilia anywhere, which meant I couldn’t even get an easy way out of this by passing him off to someone else.

I looked back at Isabella again, this time actually taking my time.

She had that half-shaved haircut, one side clean, the other falling over to the side in a messy, controlled way. Not something you saw every day. It suited her, though. Made her stand out without trying too hard. Her skin was dark, smooth, and she had a necklace with a heart pendant that rested right above her chest. And yeah, her chest... the yellow t-shirt wasn’t doing much to hide it.

Her skirt was tight too. Denim. Short enough that every time she bent down to grab a cable or a part from the drum kit, it shifted just enough to make things... noticeable.

"She’s like... punk or something?" I asked, still watching her.

"No," Melvin said quickly, almost offended. Then he hesitated. "I mean... I don’t think so?"

I didn’t respond to that. The style didn’t matter.

What mattered were the guys around her.

Four of them. All standing close, talking to her while she worked on dismantling the electronic drum kit on the small stage. They weren’t just random guys either. Built, confident, the type who leaned in close without asking and didn’t get pushed away for it.

And she wasn’t pushing them away. If anything, she looked comfortable. Relaxed. Like she was used to this kind of attention.

I leaned back on the stool and let out a quiet breath.

"My man... this girl is not your type."

"I love her," Melvin said, completely serious, like he didn’t even hear what I just said. "I just don’t know how to talk to her. How did you get with Mrs. Nolin?"

I turned my head and looked at him properly.

"I didn’t ’get’ anyone," I said. "Stop saying it like that. And hold on... how old are you?"

"Thirty-one."

My chair scraped against the floor as I turned fully toward him.

"Thirty-one?" I repeated, louder than I meant to.

A couple of heads turned. Isabella glanced over for a second, along with the guys around her, before they all went back to what they were doing.

I lowered my voice, leaning in.

"You’re older than me by like ten years," I said.

He gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don’t look it, though... right?"

I stared at him for a second, then looked away.

"Yeah... sure," I muttered. "That’s not the issue."

The issue was everything else.

I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled.

"Look, I’ll think of something," I said. "My friend works here. Charlotte. I’ll ask her about Isabella, see what she’s like, what she responds to. That kind of stuff."

His face lit up instantly like I’d just handed him a winning lottery ticket.

"Really? Thank you so much!" he said. "Can I get your number?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, pulling my phone out.

We exchanged numbers quickly. His hands were slightly shaky while typing, like he couldn’t believe this was happening.

I finished the last of my orange juice, set the glass down, and got off the stool.

"Let’s go," I said. "No point sticking around and staring."

I turned toward the exit... and stopped.

Damn. There she was.