Chapter 2
I walked up to the front desk and saw a man standing with his back to me, eyeing the company logo on the wall.
"Mr. Hewitt?" I called out coldly.
He turned around and held out his hand. "Ms. Holmes, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Steven Hewitt."
I kept my hands to myself.
"I think I made myself clear in the email. You're not welcome here. Please leave," I said.
He pulled his hand back and adjusted his glasses.
He said, "Ms. Holmes, maybe there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not here to pester you. From a consultant's perspective, I just want to have a constructive discussion about whether marriage between us is even possible.
"I've already formed some first impressions after checking out your office, your staff, and how the front desk operates. Of course, I'll need to calibrate those after a deeper conversation with you."
"Security!" I called out.
Two security guards responded immediately.
Steven remained completely unfazed.
He said, "Ms. Holmes, using such a low-efficiency and confrontational method will only drag down your overall rating.
"According to the model, this is a textbook example of emotional decision-making."
Steven turned to the security guards and said, "Ms. Holmes and I have some private matters to discuss, related to her mother's commission."
He continued, "If you insist on interfering, I can call your property manager right now. He's a college mate of mine.
"Or do we need to go to the police station together to clarify the boundaries between my lawful visit and your lack of grounds to evict me?"
The security guards were intimidated and glanced at me, hesitating.
I was about to lose it.
"Don't try to intimidate us with your threats! I have nothing to do with you! Get out of here right now!" I snapped.
Steven sighed. "See? Emotional meltdown and poor communication. Another 15 points down."
He added, "Ms. Holmes, your overall rating is tanking fast. Honestly, it's making me question if we're even compatible for marriage."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
He said, "I know all about you, Jessie. You graduated from Woodcrek University, work as the deputy manager of the marketing department at this small company, make around 110 thousand dollars a year before tax, and you've got a little apartment you're still paying off."
He continued, "Your mom really wants you to settle down soon, and she's even willing to put up some of her savings as an engagement gift.
"Honestly, you're not exactly a standout in my pool of candidates. If it weren't for that rare 92.7% compatibility score, I wouldn't have bothered investing so much time and effort in you."
The way Steven sized me up made me feel a kind of humiliation and rage I'd never experienced before.
I snapped, "Who do you think you are, God? Take your dumb algorithm and get the hell out!"
I jabbed a finger at the elevator.
He completely ignored my anger and replied calmly, "You'd be overqualified for most men, but with me, we could optimize everything. Genes, resources, social standing.
"Our kids would have an 87.3% shot at getting into elite schools, and our family wealth could easily double, maybe even triple. That's what maximizing the value of marriage means! Your wishy-washy feelings don't mean a thing when faced with real numbers."
"You're crazy!" I yelled at the security guards, "Get him out of here! Right now! Or I'll call the police!"
This time, the security guards didn't hesitate. They moved to stand on either side of Steven.
Steven adjusted his suit jacket.
He said, "Ms. Holmes, your pushback just makes this whole marriage thing more of a challenge. I find that even more intriguing. We'll meet again soon."
He shot me a knowing smile and strode confidently toward the elevator.
Sure enough, the next few days, Steven's onslaught totally took over my life. I barely had a moment to breathe.
He somehow got my number and started bombarding me with all kinds of annoying texts.
Steven: [Hey, noticed you didn't work out between 6 and 8 pm yesterday. Sitting too long ups your heart disease risk. Time to make a fitness plan and track your body fat as a personal goal.]
Steven: [FYI, your social media feed shows you've been way too into entertainment gossip lately. Try upping your intake of finance and tech news. Check out this must-read list for top-tier women.]
Steven: [Just a heads-up: 38.7% of your monthly spending is non-essential, way over the optimal 15%. This is seriously hurting your starting family wealth score. Try to rein it in!]
No matter how many numbers I blocked, he'd just keep switching to new ones.
He even started popping up in my social media feed with fake accounts, making snarky comments about what I ate, what I wore, and even the selfies I took with my friends.
I was completely losing it.
I had enough. I decided to call the cops.
But when I showed up at the police station with all my evidence, the officer who listened to my story just sighed and gave me that classic "sorry, nothing I can do" look.