The Golden Rule 2: The One That Got Away

Makeover

The aroma that greeted Marco when he stepped inside the house tickled his nostrils and he suddenly heard his stomach growl in hunger.

He realized he only managed to munch on some bagel before his busy day began. With back to back meetings and endless emails and reports to finish, he forgot to take lunch. It didn't help that his temporary secretary was scared of talking to him so asking what he wanted for lunch was something that he didn't expect her to do.

" That smells good, " Marco remarked as soon as he stepped foot in the kitchen.

Ari's back was facing him and he could see that she just took the oven tray out. He walked to the side of the counter and saw her placing two whole roasted chicken on the serving tray.

" I made some rosemary chicken, " Ari said tentatively. " I remember that was one of your favorite dishes. "

Marco's face broke into a smile, " It still is. "

He noticed the slow cooker sitting on the counter. He couldn't recall owning one but that didn't stop him from lifting the lid off. The smell of beef stew greeted him and it made his stomach growl louder.

" I saw the cooker in one of the cupboards, " Ari explained as she watched him took the smell in. " So I thought I'd make  another dish to go along with the chicken. There's some potato salad in the fridge too. "

He placed the lid back on the cooker and then looked at her questioningly.

" Are we expecting company? Because the amount of food here can definitely feed an army, " Marco chuckled. " Aren't you and Iza supposed to go out tonight? "

She wiped her hands on her apron and looked at him hesitantly.

" About that, " she started uneasily which made Marco raised an eyebrow.

It took time to convince her to let him spend on her clothing and other personal necessities. If Melissa didn't come to the rescue and speak to her about it, she wouldn't have agreed to his plans.

" Iza passed by this morning and I told her that I wanted to cancel. I didn't want her to go into all that trouble. I mean, I can shop for own clothes and all. But she had this idea of bringing her personal shopper and hair dresser here. " She explained. " I told her not to bother but she insisted. So I volunteered to make dinner, at least to make up for all the trouble. "

Marco slowly nodded his head in understanding.

" Oh no, she didn't tell you? " Ari suddenly said her face panic-stricken. " I mean, I assumed Iza told you about it but I guess she hasn't. I hope it's fine that they're coming over because if it's not, I can call Iza now to call it off-"

" No, no, " Marco quickly said. " It's perfectly fine. And I've met my sister's personal shopper and hairdresser a couple of times. They're cool. Would love to have them join us for dinner. "

She bit the sides of her cheeks as she looked at him warily. " Are you sure? I don't mean to impose anything. And I don't want you to think that I'm invading your space or anything like that. "

" You're not imposing anything, " Marco told her reassuringly. Then he cocked his head to one side. " Are you done cooking? I'd like to give you something. "

She took off her apron and followed Marco to the living room. He quickly took a small box that was sitting on the table and handed it to her.

" What's this? " Ari asked as she opened the brown box.

" I got you a new phone, " Marco started as he watched her pull out items from the box. " And your access card to the building and the apartment in case you forget the codes. I also got you an extension of my credit card. "