The Billionaire’s Over 40 Love

But she’d stared at him, debating on whether or not she wanted to get up. He was so handsome. His tanned but light skin underneath her dark fingers was empowering. She felt like a warrior, like she had conquered something—herself maybe. The pain she’d experienced following her break-up with Kevin was the worst she’d experienced in a long time. But there, lying next to Cal was different. There was a true connection, but it didn’t have to mean anything. She could get up and walk out and she would be okay the next day. She didn’t require the constant support and motivation of a man anymore.

But now that he hadn’t called in days, she was starting to feel that pain again and she hated herself for it. She was supposed to be stronger—better—than the girl that she’d been when she was with Kevin. She wasn’t supposed to need a man for anything and here she was, confused and hurt over a guy she’d only known for a few days.

“I thought you were over it?” asked Candace, who had clearly noticed the drop in enthusiasm in Faydra over the past few days.

“I am, what—why?”

“You aren’t, you’ve been folding that shirt over and over again for fifteen minutes. You already said you knew why he didn’t call—you didn’t give him your number, what did you expect?”

“I mean, he obviously knows where the store is or could call the number if he really wanted to get in touch with me. But obviously he doesn’t. It’s fine, I just didn’t realize it was going to upset me so much. That’s the hard part.”

“Okay…but Fay, you walked out after you had s*x. What do you think he thought? Even if he did have the phone number I don’t know that he would use it. You left, snuck out, so he’s probably thinking ‘Hey we had fun, but she isn’t interested in anything more’.”

“I know! I know! I messed up, you don’t have to keep reminding me that I don’t know the proper dating etiquette anymore. I’ve been out of the game a long time.”

“Yes, you have. But this is how you get back in. You forget about this guy and go meet five just like him.”

Faydra rolled her eyes only slightly but she knew that her friend had a point. She hadn’t given him her number and she’d snuck out in the middle of the night like so there was little shock in the fact Calvin hadn’t tried to reach out. It still hurt nonetheless.

“Fine!” Faydra went back to folding children’s shirts and leggings.

That afternoon they closed early and the two women took a few hours in the back room to discuss their new store. One positive thing that had come out of dinner with Cal had been a newfound motivation to pursue her goals. The biggest of which was helping Candace open a few stores in South Atlanta and—hopefully—being the store manager there.

They discussed locations, budgets, and stock quotes. The loan they’d gotten for the project was a small one and the store could only be about two-thirds the size of the original. Faydra, however, loved the idea of a smaller and more functional version of their larger store. Somewhere where customers could go to fulfill their needs but not replace the extravagance and true boutique nature of their first store.

“I’m exhausted, these numbers are blurring together. Want to finish up tomorrow?” asked Candace.

“Actually, I’m just going to finish them up myself. I’m going to have to be able to do this eventually aren’t I?”

“True—okay, if you’re sure. Be careful getting home!”

“I will, night Candace.” She walked her friend to the front door where she locked it after her and dimmed the lights so that she wouldn’t be bothered. The sun was still up but it was after store hours and she figured she’d take another hour to tighten up the budget and stock orders before heading home.

Math wasn’t her strong suit but she focused on the numbers, being sure to double and triple check that their product order would yield the right numbers. She went back and forth for a while but eventually became distracted by a rattling sound out in the front part of the shop. Immediately she grew tense. Very few people ever tried to come into the shop at the end of the day and no one with a strong pounding fist like the one she heard.

She made a quick mental note to reactivate the security system and make sure the new place had a functioning one before she grabbed her cell phone and walked out of the back room. It only took her a minute to realize who it was pounding on the door. The tall, blonde man in a long black coat huddled close to the door smiling when he saw her.

By that time it was too late to turn back—too late to hide and pretend like she didn’t see him or know who he was. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. Her brain hurt from the number crunching and she was so tired of thinking and worrying about their night together. Reluctantly, she unlocked and opened the door.

“Thank god, it looked for a second like you were going to leave me out there. It’s so cold.”

“Yeah, it is. Do you need something for Ruby?” she asked with a straight face. “We’re kinda closed.”

This was a very obviously passive aggressive comment because why would Calvin be at her shop late at night buying Ruby, his niece, clothes.

“No? I came to talk to you—obviously.” She shut and locked the door behind him and they started walking deeper into the store.

“Okay…” he seemed to sense her irritation.“I’ve been trying to get over here, I didn’t have your number—which was stupid of me to not ask for. But I didn’t have the phone number and I was planning to come to the store and the end of the day the last couple of days but some sh*t hit the fan with this LinkedIn account at work and everyone is losing their mind and of course it’s my job to keep it all running smoothly,” Calvin blurted.

Faydra couldn’t help but love this side of him. Seeing him like this told her that he wasn’t always—and still really wasn’t—a suit-wearing, stuck-up, money spending man at heart. Sure he did those things and put off that vibe but he was a nerd deep down. He had a passion for doing the right thing in his business and that was something she admired in him. When he blurted out words like that it was more like she was talking to the college kid that wanted to start his own business instead of the guy that slept with her and never called.