They soon arrived at a fancy restaurant. This was the kind of place where you could literally have your hunger satisfied without even buying the food; they served world class dishes and it was expensive too!
Someone like Bryan would only imagine of eating here if he saved up his monthly income for about two months without spending a cent.
Why would he eat here when there were countless other restaurants in Haston city that served the same dishes for a lower price? This was the excuse Bryan used to placate himself.
He wasn't poor but he wasn't rich either and he earned some more money from taking on extra cases beyond what the police offered yet he valued the art of saving up money just in case of rainy days.
She led him to a spot near the corner; this was her usual spot whenever she came here. A few people knew her and waved at her as a form of greeting.
"Why didn't you get a special room?" Bryan asked after they sat down. Rich people always used special rooms but the reason was unknown to him.
Alexa picked up the menu, which was placed neatly on the table, and flipped through the pages, "do I need a special room?"
"I don't know," he shrugged and also flipped through the menu. The prices almost blew his mind.
A simple dish such as spaghetti had a four figure cost!
Bryan didn't know what to order. Although he was a foodie but he didn't want to look like a glutton in front of his employer…besides the foods were expensive and she was paying, it would look really bad if he ordered more than one dish… another reason was because he wanted to act tough. Bodyguards are always tough and don't eat much.
"Order anything, I'm paying." Alexa said noticing his hesitation.
"I will order one dish."
"Why? You don't like the food here? We could go somewhere else."
"It's not that, I don't eat too much on a job as I might get heavy and unable to protect you in dangerous times." Bryan said through his teeth. This was the worst lie he had ever come up with.
'Someday, I'll win the world's worst liar award.' Bryan lampooned silently.
"Okay then." Alexa feigned ignorance and made her order.
"I love the view here."
"Huh?" Bryan didn't understand what she was talking about.
"You asked me why I didn't get a private room; the reason is that I feel comfortable eating with people around and enjoying the sceneries."
Bryan nodded and didn't say anything.
"I've lived in a huge house since I was born and the feeling of loneliness is suffocating." She went on.
"Why are you telling me this," Bryan folded his arms across his chest, "I'm only a bodyguard."
"No reason," she said with a straight face, "I just want you to understand that I see everyone as equal no matter how rich or poor they are. Money doesn't matter."
"Only a rich person would say that money doesn't matter."
"Maybe, but money doesn't make anyone happy."
The food arrived and Bryan looked at the food in front of him with a sullen look, this food costs so much and he was curious to taste it, but at the same time he felt that it didn't meet the amount of money it cost.
Bryan made up his mind to taste, savour, bite, chew, swallow and assimilate this expensive food piece by piece, hence, do justice to the amount spent on it.
Of course he didn't let such thoughts last for too long. He didn't want his employer to find out what he was thinking because it was written all over his face.
"Money doesn't make anyone happy but it can get things done."
"I agree," she paused and asked, "but which would you choose, money or companionship?"
The first thought that came to his mind was his mother and all the people he cared about. Truly no amount of money could buy them and he would always choose them anytime.
"The latter."
"Then you understand why I don't treat you as just my bodyguard, I see you as company." She ate some rice before continuing, "I haven't had someone to talk to aside from my dad and my colleagues at work.
"My dad, all he ever talks about is business. My colleagues, they all see me as their boss and thus, they don't interact freely with me. But you, you treat me like an equal and talked to me as one when we met."
That's how it is huh? Bryan now understood her willingness to talk with him; she felt that she could be herself around him.
"Then why don't you try making friends?"
"It isn't as easy as you think," she put her fork down and looked straight at him, "When you grow up where everything is arranged for you, choices aren't available, you just have to go with whatever you're given or told to do."
'For example, getting forced to marry someone you don't like.' She added inwardly.
"That's the reason you don't eat in private rooms? So you can feel like you're not alone?"
"It's also the same reason I disguise myself every night and go for the night racing."
"I see."
Too bad you won't be going tonight, Bryan sympathised silently.
"I have to hide my identity so that people won't recognise me; in the upper society, they think that things like this are not lady-like." She huffed, "and everyone just thinks I'm so lucky."
"Maybe you are lucky."
"And that's why you think that being rich makes someone happy." Alexa concluded.
"That's where we differ. You have the rich mentality and I have the poor mentality." Bryan said plainly, "every rich person wished they were happy while every poor wished they were rich."
"Let's eat." Alexa shifted on her seat, "the food is getting cold."
She knew she had money and all but that didn't make her happy. Now, through this conversation, she asked herself one question:
"Can you give up this life in pursuit of happiness?"
This was a question that stirred up an inner debate in her. She didn't know if she could do it.
Bryan looked at her for a while and said, "Just enjoy what you have and maybe try helping others, interact more with others, get to know people and do things you like with people you like, without hiding who you are, then maybe you'll find the happiness you want."
Alexa nodded and smiled. A warm, gentle and pure smile that could melt the heart, "Thanks, you give great advice."
If only I can give myself great advices too, if only I can stop being too curious…
Bryan said to himself and looked at the expensive food that stared back at him.