Christian

I was up all fucking night thinking about Digits, AKA Eloise. The dates she’d been on but the fact that she wouldn’t go out with me burned a hole in my soul. How was I going to tell her that the man she’d been texting all this time was me? The most important question was when was I going to tell her? This was one secret I had to keep a little while longer, at least until after our Chicago trip. I was going to do everything I could to make that trip one she’d never forget.

As I was standing in line at Starbucks, grabbing a coffee before heading to the office, I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent a text message to Digits.

“Good morning. I hope you slept well.”

“Good morning. I did. How about you?”

“Not bad,” I lied. “I hope you have a great day.”

“Thanks, Mobile Man. I hope you have a great day too.”

“I will, Digits. Trust me! Catch ya later.”

“Catch ya later.”

With a smile on my face, I placed my phone back into my pocket, grabbed my coffee, and walked the two blocks to the office. Knowing that I was talking to Eloise made my day even brighter.

“Someone’s in a fantastic mood.” Claire smiled as I walked past her desk.

“Good morning, Claire. I am in a fantastic mood.”

She got up from her chair and followed me into my office.

“Umm. How did things go with Eloise?”

“Things went well. Her portfolio is outstanding and the two of us leave for Chicago Friday morning.”

“Good. I’m happy she accepted the job. So it’s just going to be the two of you in Chicago for a couple of days?”

“Yes. Why? Well, the two of us and some of the people from Chanel.”

“Just wondering. I didn’t know if Peter or Jimmy were going.”

“Nah. I need them here at the firm. Is there anything else?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m going to get back to work.” She slowly walked out of my office.

“Thanks, Claire.”

****

Eloise

I was just heading out the door to deliver the wedding proofs to Kim and Grant when my phone rang.

“Hey, Claire, what’s up?” I asked as I stepped out of my apartment building and onto the street.

“Did anything happen between you and Christian last night?”

“No.” I laughed. Why?”

“He came in this morning in a really good mood. I thought maybe he spent the night.”

“No, he didn’t. We had pizza and beer, talked, I showed him my portfolio, and he left. He didn’t try a thing. It was strictly professional.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe he went out last night after he left your place.”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

After we said our goodbyes, a stinging sensation shot through my heart. The thought of Christian going out last night after leaving my place bothered me a bit. Maybe that was why he didn’t try to kiss me? Or flirt with me? Maybe he was already going on a date and that was why he left when he did. Either way, I needed to stop thinking about it and him.

After dropping off the proofs, I headed to Starbucks for a cup of coffee on my way home. I was waiting in line for my drink to be made when I overheard two women complaining about men. My ears perked up instantly.

“Iced Grande caramel macchiato with nonfat milk for Eloise,” the barista spoke.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

After grabbing my coffee from the counter, I walked over to the table where the two women sat. They were both in their late twenties, early thirties at the most.

“Excuse me,” I spoke. “I couldn’t help overhear about your man issues.”

Both women glared at me like I had some nerve intruding on their private conversation.

“I’m sorry. I’m Eloise.” I held out my hand. “I have a dating blog. The Chronicles of #Delete.”

“I’m Sara and this is my friend, Tia.”

“Nice to meet you both,” I spoke.

“Please have a seat.” Sara gestured.

“You say you have a dating blog?” Tia asked.

“Yes. My goal is to teach women about the concept of #Delete before they get too involved with a man. To help them see the red flags that pop up in the early stages of dating.”

“Well, there’s this man I met a couple of months ago,” Sara began to speak. “We hit it off instantly and exchanged numbers. That same night, we talked on the phone for over two hours. After that, I didn’t hear from him for three days. So, I reached out to him and we set up a date. He took me to dinner and then we walked in Central Park and talked about life. After our date, he told me he’d call me the next day. A week went by and he never called or texted me. I spent that week replaying our date in my head, trying to see what could have gone wrong. Then, another week went by, and just when I was putting him out of my mind, he sent me a text message and asked how I was doing.”

“Let me guess.” I smiled. “You instantly replied.”

“I did. I was just so happy that I finally heard from him.”

“What did you respond with?” I asked.

“I told him that I was doing good and how happy I was to hear from him. He said he’d been thinking about me and he was sorry he hadn’t been in touch, but he was working crazy hours because he’s up for a promotion. He also said that he’d be in touch in a couple of days when he had a better handle on his schedule and he’d take me out.”

“Did he get in touch with you?” I arched my brow because I already knew the answer.

“He did. Exactly nine days later. Once again asking me how I was and if I missed him.”

I placed my hand over my face and slowly shook my head.

“Please tell me you didn’t tell him you did.”

“Yep. She told him,” Tia spoke.

“Did he end up taking you out?” I asked.

“No.” Sara looked down in embarrassment. “It’s become a pattern with him. He’ll text me every other week and hand me some excuse as to why he hadn’t been in touch.”

“Wait, it gets better.” Tia smiled.

I looked at Sara with a narrowed eye. “What happened?”

“I joined a new gym and ran into him there last week. I could tell by the look on his face that he was shocked to see me. I asked him how he was doing. He told me his hard work paid off and he got the promotion and that he’d have some free time now to go out. We made small talk and he left.”

“Have you heard from him since the gym meeting?”

“No, and I can’t stop thinking about him. I hate this, and I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,” I spoke. “You’re going to delete his number from your phone and pretend he never existed.”

“I don’t think I can. I just feel in my heart there’s a possibility he’s going to take me out.”

“Listen, Sara.” I reached across the table and placed my hand on hers. “What he’s doing is a term called breadcrumbing.”

“What?” Her brows furrowed.

“It’s when a guy will reach out to you when he’s feeling bored or lonely. It’s an ego boost for him knowing you’re still out there hanging on. He’s throwing you little breadcrumbs to keep you interested without any intention of taking you out or getting serious. I can guarantee he has a lot of women in his life that he’s doing this to.”

“But we already went on a date,” she spoke. “That’s what I don’t understand.”

“Maybe he wasn’t feeling it, or maybe he knew if he took you out at least once, that would be enough to get you hooked.”

“But I miss him.” She pouted.

“Let me ask you this. What is it that you miss about him? Are you really attached to him or to the outcome of this relationship? Because sometimes, we women aren’t really into the guy as much as we think we are.”

I reached into my purse and took out a pen and my small notepad. Drawing a line down the center of the paper, I labeled the left side PROS, and the right side CONS. After placing it in front of her, I spoke, “I want you to list all the pros and cons of this guy.”

She picked up the pen and began writing. Once she was finished, she looked at both sides. On the left side that was labeled PROS, she had written down three things about him. On the right side that was labeled CONS, the column consisted of eight things that she found wrong with him.

“Hmm,” she spoke as she studied what she wrote down. “The cons outweigh the pros.”

“Exactly.” I smiled. “You are a beautiful woman with high standards and self-worth. This loser who only contacts you when it suits him is a waste of your time. And the longer you hold on to the hope that he’ll call and ask you out again, the longer you are blocking your dream guy from walking into your life.”

“Oh my God, Eloise, you’re right. I don’t deserve to be treated this way.”

“No, you don’t. This man is low investment. Women don’t have time to put up with low-investment men. If he isn’t high investment, it’s time to #Delete.”

“So what should I do if by chance he crawls out of the woodwork and texts me again?”

“You respond with this: ‘Your time to talk to me has expired. Bye.’ Then swipe and delete.”

“I love you!” She grinned as she threw her arms around me from across the table.

“You should really host some dating classes or make videos,” Tia spoke. “You’re very inspiring. I am totally going to follow your blog.”

“Me too!” Sara smiled. “Thank you, Eloise. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me today.”

“You’re welcome.” I got up from my seat. “Let me know what happens. You can find all my contact information on my blog.”