The Billionaire’s Over 40 Love

There was a knock at the door. Cal’s face showed that he was very obviously overwhelmed. “Hold on. No, that’s not it. Neither of those things are it.” The knocking continued. “Hold on!” he yelled towards the door. “I really just wanted to take out the girl I like to my work function. That’s it, Fay, you need to believe me.” He stood up and started walking towards the door but he maintained eye contact with her the whole time.

From the table, Faydra could see directly into the hall  when he opened the door. And somehow, Faydra wasn’t shocked to see Sophia standing at the door carrying two bags of Chinese takeout from the much Americanized and very expensive Chinese restaurant downtown. “Hey!” came her shrill voice.

“Jesus, Sophia what are you doing here? I’m in the middle of something.”

Faydra didn’t wait to deal with Sophia or the rest of her conversation with Cal. She grabbed her night bag and purse and pushed past them both at the door.

“Faydra, wait!” Cal called after her. He only hesitated for a second before chasing after her to the elevator, leaving the door to his apartment wide open and Sophia standing there with the Chinese. He slipped into the elevator right as the door started to close and he immediately pressed the emergency stop button.

“Don’t do that!” Faydra insisted, trying to access the button, but Calvin blocked her.

“No, we aren’t going anywhere until we clear this up.”

“Clear what up, Cal? Nothing is going on. We just had s*x a couple times and had a few meals together, what else is there?”

Pain showed clearly on his face.

“Are you kidding? There’s a lot more going on between us than just that. You were there that night when we were first together. That was amazing, our connection is real. I get it if you’re scared, I do. But please don’t let that stop you from pursuing a real relationship.”

She gazed at him, wondering what she was doing in an elevator with him, and why she couldn’t have just stayed away from him to begin with.

“Cal, I’m tired ,I want to go home. I don’t want to fight with you. Honestly, I don’t care enough to do that. I told you how I feel about people throwing their money around and yet you do it anyway. I told you I’ve been hurt before and lied to and here you are with this woman who continuously shows up. She’s everywhere. And she told me that you pick women like me to be with all the time, and it never lasts.”

“Don’t listen to her, she just an angry ex—that’s literally her job, to slander my name around town. And she’s good at it. I’ve never brought a woman to my office, and I surely haven’t taken anyone through each department and introduced them to my employees. I have dated other women but they don’t usually take interest in my business, which was typically the deciding factor when our relationships ended. ”

“Okay, she’s your ex! How come you never once mentioned that to me? Not when she dragged you away from me at the taco truck, or when she threw the tantrum in your office the other day. You hid things like that from me. Hell, you didn’t tell me Ruby wasn’t your daughter until the third time we met yet you flirted with me every time.”

“You were the one that wanted to take it slow and just have fun. I figured bringing Sophia up would make it the opposite of fun, but I guess that’s my fault.” He let out an exhausted breath and started the elevator again. “My invitation to the dinner still stands.” The elevator doors opened and Faydra walked out towards 502b. She didn’t say a word or turn back to look at him.

“Please think about it!” he yelled after her. She hopped into the car and drove out of the parking garage quickly, glancing back only a second to see him standing there blankly watching her drive away.

*****

The tears didn’t start until she pulled into her own driveway and even then she fought them, letting them break loose before reeling them in seconds later and cursing herself for being that weak. She didn’t like to be the woman that threw a tantrum over a necklace or a party or even another woman, but her instincts were different now. They were heightened and every incident that slightly reminded her of a cheating ex turned into an ordeal. She hated it and hated the way it made her treat others.

She hated that prior to Kevin she would have taken a woman like Sophia and stomped her into the ground. She wouldn’t have let the words she spoke take root inside her brain and she surely wouldn’t have accused someone of something based solely on the words of a jealous ex.

But Cal was to blame for some of it. For being an idiot and not telling her the truth about his and Sophia’s past. That would have made it easier for Faydra to ignore her. He was also to blame for throwing money at her, although she began to consider that maybe his past girlfriends had asked that of him and he was used to it. She knew, deep down, that it truly was a sign that he cared about her, but she still didn’t know how to accept it.

She wiped away her tears before she exited the car. She’d promised her grandmother that she would never feel sorry for herself in that house. Her grandmother claimed that feeling sorry for yourself was the most toxic and worthless emotion and that if you managed to let it into your home it would never leave. And because of that Faydra stood outside wiping away her tears and calming herself down before walking inside.

She didn’t know the right way to handle everything that had been thrown at her, but what she did know was that she had good opportunities heading her way at work and if she stayed focused on that she might be able to gain back the confidence she’d lost. And only then would she be able to pursue a relationship.