Are You The One?

Chapter 4

Brittany could not believe that Cliff had been such a jerk and was even more surprised when he called her the next day. He must have gotten her number from Eric. The nerve of him. Did he think she was so desperate that she would just ignore him dashing off to meet another woman moments after he was about to kiss her? He was so arrogant. The sad thing was she thought they had shared a special moment at the park. She felt foolish and should have trusted her gut instinct and just went home. Whatever he was doing last night was obviously an act. He wasn’t interested in her; she was just available at the moment.

To make matters worse she knew exactly who was on the other end of that phone call. The caller i.d. had said Holly, the billowy blonde from the night of the gallery gala. The total opposite of Brit.  Regardless of what Eric said, it was obvious that Cliff was not over his ex-girlfriend. Not if he raced off as soon as she called.

Cliff called her three times, and finally left a voicemail. The crazy thing was he sounded confused as why she wouldn’t take his call. She listened to the message in disbelief. 

“Brittany. It’s me Cliff. I was just calling to ask you out to dinner. Am I reading the situation wrong? This is my last time calling.  I won’t bother you if don’t want to go out with me…I was just a little confused. I thought we had a great time. Well take care. Click.”

That evening Eric was on the couch when Brit got in from the gym.

“Hey Brit,” he said.

“Hey Eric,” she said with a smile as she flipped through the mail.

“Tara is in the shower. Look I’m really sorry about the whole Cliff thing. I thought you would like him. He asked me about you today but Tara told me that you don’t want to see him,” he apologized.

“I did. Or I thought I did but I don’t think he’s ready for a relationship. His ex called him and he raced off to go see her,” she said.

“Wait are you sure?” Eric asked confused.

“I’m sure. I was in the car when he took the call.”

“That doesn’t sound like Cliff at all. But look I have this other friend…”

“No. Thank you, but no. I don’t think I want to go on another catastrophic blind date anytime soon,” she said with a laugh.

Brit wasn’t sure why she had revealed that much to Eric but she didn’t want him to feel at fault for the date. After all it wasn’t he who had acted like a complete jerk.

*****

The next day Eric met Cliff for drinks after work to discuss a personal matter. Cliff had ditched his suit for a polo and slacks. He had taken the liberty of ordering their usual scotch on the rocks.

“Hey man,” Eric said joining Cliff at their usual table.

“Hey. I got the file you sent over.”

“What do you think Cliff?”

“It’s a solid investment. I was just wondering why you didn’t ask your father? After all he is the real estate mogul,” Cliff asked.

“There would be too many questions with my father,” Eric explained.

“But why a residential property?” Cliff inquired. “If you wanted to break into the market I would start with commercial. It’s much easier to rent.”

“Well to be honest this is more personal than business. I was thinking about asking Tara to move in with me,” Eric grinned sheepishly.

“Whoa you’ve only been dating her three months. Are you sure that’s wise?” Cliff replied. It was clear by the frown on his face that he wasn’t sure if it was the best idea.

“I think she’s the one. I was thinking of asking her when I get back from my business trip,” Eric admitted.

“Wow that’s a little fast.”

Seeing the grin on Eric’s face Cliff knew it was no use trying to change his friend’s mind.

“Then again I guess if you feel that way, go for it. When you know, you know right? Stephanie and I waited two years before we made that step and it still didn’t work out.” 

“Speaking of Stephanie. How’s she doing?” Eric asked sipping his drink.

“I’m not sure to be honest. I guess she is busy with her wedding plans. I haven’t spoken to her in months.”

“Months? Wait now I’m confused,” Eric replied.

“Why?”

“Just I spoke to Brit last night and she said that you got a call from your ex while you were dropping her off. I assumed she meant Steph.”

“So that’s why she’s not answering my calls,” Cliff said, the truth dawning on him.

“I know you guys started off on the wrong foot but she’s really a great woman. And I assumed since she came home way after Tara and I that you two had a change of heart.”

“We did. We had a great night. But it wasn’t Stephanie who called. It was Holly.”

“Oh that explains why you raced off,” Eric stated.

“She must think I’m an asshole. I need to explain.”

“How is Holly doing anyway?” Eric asked, his tone suddenly serious.

“She is driving me crazy. When she called I went to pick her up at some humanitarian rights march. They were threatening to arrest the protesters for trespassing but she had taken off before I could get there. I can’t believe she dropped out of school and to top it off there was a five hundred-thousand-dollar withdrawal from her account last week. That makes the second one in two months. She is acting crazy and refusing to take my calls. She only called me because her and her boyfriend got scared. He’s influencing her I just know it.”

“Or maybe he wants to be like her. Cliff don’t worry. She’s still young but she has to make her own mistakes,” Eric offered.

“Yeah I know it’s been hard on her. I should have never gone to London.”

“Her mom died and her father fell apart. She had to raise herself.  That’s not your fault Cliff,” he added quickly. 

“But I should have been there. She was only fifteen. I should have known better than to leave her alone with my dad. He blamed himself and went into a dark place after that. No teenager should have to deal with that. I was selfish.”

“You had your own life to live. It wasn’t your responsibility.”

“Yeah and I know nothing about her new boyfriend either. She refuses to tell me anything or even let me meet him. I hired a private investigator and all he could tell me was that he is a year away from earning his degree. Who drops out right before they graduate? Well besides Holly.”

“There’s no need. You know the crowd she hangs out with and where they’ll be. Just show up to one of the fundraisers.

“If I do I might break his jaw.”