Invest In Me

“Please explain to me how my personal life can affect my business. This is unheard of, oh my God!” Thomas put his hands on his head and spun in his chair.

“It is strange, sir, I have to admit. But these are the facts, and we have to embrace them before they hit us in the face and crumble down your empire,” the investor said with an icy expression.

“Okay, you are free to go. Thank you for this,” Thomas said and they were out. He sat there in complete silence, pondering everything that he had heard in the last couple of minutes. It was still shocking and seemed unbelievable to him.

After a couple of minutes, perhaps even an hour, he realized one thing. He had to get married. It was something he had to do. Full stop. Until when would he roam the streets a bachelor and hang out with hot girls and supermodels? It was time to settle down with one woman and start a family with her. Was he ready for that? Would he be up to the task? Yes. He was a successful businessman, a gladiator in the corporate world of the United States of America. But what about his role as a husband and father?

On the other hand, marrying was not something to be done every day. He couldn’t wed one of those girls he had one-night stands with. He needed someone he trusted, someone with whom he would have children, whose face he would see every morning, someone he would grow old with.

A shiver shook his whole body. The prospect of marriage was never on his horizon and crying and whining about it would not make it disappear. The one thing he had learned through all of these years was that he looked at the problem in the face.

Thomas stood up, bile rising in his throat. He imagined the rest of his life before his eyes and caught his head between the hands. “This is insane! This is insane! This is insane!” He was repeating those three words until he truly believed in them and everything settled in.

Once he accepted the fact, his mind involuntarily started filtering through all the women he knew and, oh my, it was a long, long list.

It couldn’t be anyone from work; that was certain. That would be the talk of the decade. The famous billionaire married his employee. The scandalous headlines in all the evening newspapers flashed before his eyes. He shook them off.

Now wasn’t the time to think of brides and suitable women for that role. His phone was ringing for a minute now, and he saw that he missed a call from his marketing and promotion manager. Thomas placed the phone on the desk and continued browsing through the documents lying before him in a complete mess. He had more urgent things than planning a wedding that would satisfy the public and his focus groups.

The phone rang for a second time. “Ugh, what’s happening with everyone today?” Thomas asked, frustrated, and picked up. “Yes?”

“Sir, several newspaper outlets spread the news that you lost your reputation by not marrying. They refer to you as a standoffish type of man because you don’t have a woman by your side. Everyone will be talking about it. What should we do?” The voice from the other side was obviously distressed.

The pressure was rising and was paralyzing Thomas. He sighed and gave the instructions for fixing all of this up.