The Billionaire’s Over 40 Love

“Yea, but it wasn’t my passion. I loved TV and technology, and was so blown away by the fact that companies like MySpace and Facebook could bring people together and provide a service, making so much money without a single customer or patron on their outlet actually spending a dime.”

“Hmm, I never thought about it that way, that’s interesting though. That’s how powerful ad space is. Businesses will pay thousands of dollars just to get their products in the heads of people.”

“Exactly. So that’s when I decided that I wanted to do that too in a way, help people and companies connect in a way that benefits everyone and no one feels like they’re being used or not getting their money’s worth.”

“Mutualism.”

The word stunned him and warmed his cheeks. It was his dream, his biggest goal for the company and something that had become very hard to explain to his co-workers, especially Sophia who had been with him from the beginning.

Here, there was a woman he’d only known for 48 hours and she understood his top priority and vision for his company.

“Yes, exactly! Funny you should say that—no one I work with can get past the money and image of being the top media group. But I never really cared about that. I just want to deliver a product that’s needed and well respected in our field. Maybe fame and fortune will come from it, maybe not.” She smiled at his words but didn’t reply because they were pulling into a parking spot on the street. “You’re going to love this place, I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember.”

“Awesome, I’m excited,” she replied. He parked the car on a side street and indicated that she wait for him to open the door for her. He ran around the car and helped her out of the passenger’s side.

“Thank you,” she said in response. He rested his hand on her lower back carefully as he escorted her towards the restaurant. The place was quiet except for a couple of older couples tucked away in booths at the sides of the restaurant. A sign read ‘Please Seat Yourself’ and Cal ushered her to a quiet booth that had one tall candle flickering in the center.

He waited until she was seated to scoot into his side of the booth. There were a few awkward seconds of silence before an elderly woman wandered over and asked in a thick Italian accent, “Hi, here’s some menus. What will you be drinking?”

“Hmm,” Cal looked over at Faydra who had an unknowing look on her face. “Red or white wine?” he asked.

“Definitely red.”

“Perfect—got a Grignolino on hand?”

“Of course, bottle?” she asked, to which he nodded.

“Thank you.” And with that, the little woman left and the two were left to their silence. 

“You know your wine,” Faydra stated.

“Um, I know a little bit. I love Italian food and took a couple of courses in Italian wine and food pairings. Just a hobby, but I do love to practice and experiment with what I know. So hopefully this was a good choice.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Faydra said while flipping over her menu. A few moments later the woman returned with the bottle of wine, uncorked it, and poured two generous glasses. She took their order, a large salad to share, Eggplant parmesan for Faydra and Spaghetti and meatballs for Cal.

“And a basket of breadsticks!” Cal called out after the woman.

“Of course…” the woman chuckled.

They clinked their glasses and each took a second to sip the wine.

“Oh, yeah, that’s great,” Faydra said, taking another, much larger sip.

“Good, I’m glad you like it.”

Faydra waited a moment before starting the conversation she wanted to. “Okay, so can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, anything,” Cal replied, intrigued.

“Do you date a lot of black women, like when you do go out? Are you just into dark-skinned women?” Cal’s cat-like reflexes sent his napkin up to his lips in time to catch the spray of wine that came out. Faydra laughed at the sight, realizing it was her question that had sparked the outburst. “Sorry, I’m just curious. Some guys have fetishes or what not.”

“Absolutely not,” Cal replied. “And you don’t have to apologize for asking, it’s a legitimate question. Actually, I’ve only ever dated one other girl that wasn’t white and she was Asian, for like two months in college. She was cool but we had nothing in common. Anyway,” he knew he was rambling. “No, I didn’t ask you out because I have a fetish for black women or want to check something off my list. I asked you out because I felt like we had a genuine connection that day I brought Ruby into your store and then it turned out to be destiny because I saw you the next day. You’re very beautiful and clearly very driven, and I like that about a woman so I thought I’d ask you out.”

It was obvious, by her wide smile, that she  liked that answer.

“Wow,that’s so nice of you to say. I’m glad. I’ve actually never dated a white man so this will be a learning experience for both of us.”

“Oh god, I’m representing a whole race of men, that’s a lot of pressure.”

She reached over and grasped his hand, replying, “Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

He smiled, his first glass of wine was gone and hers was running low. He considered that they should pace themselves before the food, but it tasted so good and made their conversations easier than ever. He poured himself another glass and topped off hers.

The food came out within minutes and they ate and chatted about work and what they liked to do for fun, and continued to do damage to the bottle of wine. They skipped dessert but gladly poured the remainder of the wine bottle into their glasses.

Cal was feeling the buzz when Faydra hit him with another shocking question. “Okay so let me ask you, what’s the point of this date? Like, what do you hope to get out of it?” The concerned look and hesitation on his face lead her to further clarify her question. “You said you asked me out because you think I’m beautiful and hardworking but are you looking for a wife or hookup? I’m genuinely curious—”

He waited for a second before leaning in closer to reply. “I want to have s*x with you—but, I also want to talk to you and get to know you so that maybe I’ll have s*x with you for the rest of my life. So the answer to your question is probably both.” The grin on his face was pure, and Faydra couldn’t help but smile.

He knew it was a weird and forward way of answering her but it was the truth—partially influenced by his growing inebriation—but the truth nonetheless. It didn’t take him long to realize that his answer was the perfect one. A half-cocked eyebrow and a set of recently wetted lips motivated him to gulp down the last two swallows of wine and take his credit card to the storeowner.

Within ten minutes they were back in the car, driving towards his condo. She slid her hand along his thigh as he drove, not too high to cause a problem but in the perfect place to drive him crazy.

He wanted his mouth on hers, her legs intertwined with his, and the images taunted him as he fought the ever-growing urge between his legs.