Contracted To Love

Michelle raised an eyebrow.

“Two?”

Bridget nodded.

“Yeah, the man you’re meeting? I thought the name was familiar and then I realized that he’s the David Favre. The Favre family is like American royalty, if you know what I mean.”

Michelle sighed. Sadly, she did know what she meant.

“His table is right this way.”

Bridget started leading Michelle to David’s table. She was still talking, asking Michelle if it was her first time at a Brazilian restaurant but she wasn’t really listening. Even though she was somehow answering Bridget, she was on auto-pilot, simply talking for the sake of making conversation. Her mind was working on overdrive. She hadn’t been on a date in such a long time and she wasn’t sure what to expect from the evening. Especially since this was a date that was happening only because she’d been pressured into it and not because she wanted it. Besides, it wasn’t like David Favre was her ideal man. Yes he had the looks, but he was too much of a playboy for her taste. She preferred someone a little down to earth. Someone a little less vocal when it came to how they were perceived by the public, and that was everything David Favre was not.

“Here we are,” Bridget said cheerfully when she got to David’s table.

It wasn’t just a table. It was a whole private dining room. Of course, anything for the mighty Favres. As soon as she sat down, Michelle knew that the whole evening was a terrible mistake.

                                                            *****

David wasn’t sure what to expect when he had his mother set him up. He would have been okay with one of those mail order brides but his mother wasn’t about to stoop that low. He was keen on remaining in the company he helped his father build. So, he was going to go on that date if it killed him.

When he saw Michelle Smith walking towards him, he wondered why he’d never considered dating her. She was the full package after all. Kind of what he’d had with Alicia. Brains and brawn… without the accent but sexy all the same. She kind of reminded him of Lisaraye McCoy and anyone who knew him knew that he’d had a crush on Lisaraye for the longest time. And now, here he was with someone just as beautiful, if not even more so. But in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn’t what he wanted. He was only doing it because his father had threatened him. Perhaps it was that thought, ringing constantly in the back of his mind, that made him care less about that date. He just wanted it to be over. And he was glad when it finally was. As far as he could tell, Michelle Smith wasn’t the vibrant woman on your television screens every night. She was dull, boring even and after the dinner, David knew for sure that he wouldn’t want to be bound to someone like her in marriage. The ‘arranged marriage’ was a no for him. He could get his own women.

                                                            *****

Michelle had known some assholes in her life. Men who thought they were God’s gift to women. Men who acted like the sun rose and set in their ass cracks. David Favre was not only arrogant, he was downright annoying. For starters, he had no idea how to treat a lady as far as Michelle was concerned. He spent the entire time talking about himself, his achievements… it was almost like he was bragging. No, he was bragging. It was like he was going out of his way to make himself look good in her eyes for reasons she couldn’t understand.

Michelle had always known her mother to have a good sense when it came to people. That was why she was so surprised at the kind of ass David Favre had turned out to be. She’d known the Favres for a long time, but she finally understood why she’d never taken interest in David. Perhaps he’d always been this kind of prick. Perhaps that was why she’d never really wanted anything to do with him. She couldn’t wait to fill in her best friend on just how bad her date had been.

                                                            *****

Vickie left her office and made her way straight to Michelle’s place. She would have wanted to meet her immediately after her date but Vickie had been swamped at work. That was the life of a forensic accountant. With the SEC cracking down on a lot of businesses, her services were in more demand than ever. She was glad to find a chilled bottle of white wine and some sandwiches when she got there. A smile played on her lips. She knew exactly what kind of evening this was going to be. They would start off with wine and sandwiches and end the evening with some takeout… maybe Chinese or pizza.

“Vickie, I’m telling you, there are condescending men and then there are men like David freaking Favre,” Michelle started when Vickie sat down.

“What you mean?” Vickie asked in a soft voice.

Michelle took a long, deep breath.

“Let me put it like this. You see all the news on David Favre on the gossip pages?” Vickie nodded. “Well, they’re all true.”

Vickie’s eyes grew wide.

“No way!”

“Believe it.”

Michelle reached for her glass of wine and took a long sip.

“He was supposed to get married some time back to Alicia Cruz,” Vickie said in a soft voice as she looked at her phone.

“Supposed to?” Michelle raised an eyebrow.

“Supposed to.”

Michelle shook her head.

“What would make anyone let go of someone like Alicia Cruz? That’s like hitting the jackpot in so many ways… looks, character… both of which are rare qualities in the world let alone high society.”

Vickie grinned.

“Two words, Veronica Laporte.

Michelle frowned.

“The model? What does she have to do with any of this?”

“David cheated on Alicia with Veronica.”

“Come on!” Michelle rolled her eyes.

Alicia Cruz was perfect. It was like David had let go of a perfectly good and rare diamond to hold on to a plain rock. No wonder she and David hadn’t clicked. David… a man who would have someone as perfect as Alicia Cruz and leave her for some random woman like Veronica Laporte was supposed to look at her and consider a future with her? It was messed up.

“This was a bad idea,” she said under her breath. “Maybe that’s why the whole evening was a bust.”

Vickie looked at her and shook her head.

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“Well, for starters, I wouldn’t even dare to compare myself to Alicia Cruz yet I was supposed to measure up to someone like her with her ex?” Michelle shook her head. “I think I should probably just resign myself to my fate. No men ever.”

Vickie shook her head.

“Come on. You’re too hot to even consider something like that.”