Wanted By A Billionaire

“This is Chalondra; please leave a message,” the answering machine said.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he dialed her number again. It was the same response. He was on the fourth ring when he heard Nick call his name from behind.

David turned towards Nick’s direction and lowered his phone.

“It’s truly you. For a second there, I thought it was a mix-up,” Nick said with a smile as he closed the distance between him and David.

“Goof afternoon Nick,” David said without returning the smile. He was on edge that he didn’t hear from Chalondra. He decided to make her apartment his next stop.

“Good afternoon,” Nick said as he stared between David and Chalondra’s closed door. “What brings you here? I mean, you frequently come here but not in the middle of the day,” Nick calmly asked.

David thought of what to tell Nick. He was usually open with Nick, but he couldn’t tell Nick that he was here to see his manager. He wasn’t ashamed of Chalondra, but he didn’t think Chalondra would like it if he told Nick about what had happened between them. For a moment, David wondered when he started caring about that.

“David?” Nick said with a puzzled look.

“Sorry, my mind went elsewhere,” David said while he hoped Nick would drop the question. However, Nick studied him like he was trying to know what was going on in his mind.

“I came here to see someone, and I decided to check on you before I return to my office,” David said. The idea had popped when he recalled that Chalondra and Nick were on the same floor and his office was a few meters. It was part of the reason he had seen David.

“Oh, that’s good,” Nick said after a short pause while he gave David a skeptical look.

“Yes, I’ll take my leave,” David said.

“No problem. Are you going to be coming in tonight?” Nick asked, and David frowned. He knew Nick would make arrangements for ladies. However, the thought of spending the night with someone else other than Chalondra was repugnant to him.

“No, my meetings are going to run late, so I’ll just head home,” David said.

“Okay, where are you headed now?” Nick asked.

“I’m going back to my office,” David said.

“Okay, let’s go together. I need to give those at the reception some instructions,” Nick said as he started walking towards the elevator. David decided it was the best time to ask about Chalondra. He wanted to know if she had been to work that day. David knew what Nick wanted to do was under Chalondra’s duties.

“You want to give instructions?” David asked as they reach the elevator.

“Yes, the manager called in sick this morning, so I have to handle things here,” Nick said as they entered the elevator before he pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor.

“I see,” David said as he contemplated this. He wondered if Chalondra was truly sick as she claimed or she was avoiding him by not going to work. He recalled how they had both been wild all night and how he hadn’t seen any sign of illness before he had fallen asleep.

“Yes. I mean, she hasn’t even used any of her sick leave before, and she is hardworking,” Nick said as he inserted his palms into his pocket, and David took this in. Now, he was sure that Chalondra was fine. He started wondering if she regretted what had happened between them as they waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. The two men stepped out as three people entered.

“Take care of yourself, man,” Nick said as he turned to face David before he gently patted his back. David did the same to Nick’s back before he left Carnero’s. Nick got into his car and contemplated driving to Chalondra’s apartment.

“What is this?” he soliloquized as he stopped his car because of the traffic light. He remembered how he had thought having Chalondra was all he needed to erase the hunger he felt for her. However, he had been wrong, because now he wanted her more than ever. The traffic light turned green. He thought of how she had left with no explanation and how obvious it was that she was avoiding him. He decided to give her the space she wanted and headed for the office. However, a thought lingered in his mind; how long he would be able to hold back from reaching out to her?

*****

Chalondra sang the lyrics of ‘Dark Horse’ by Katy Perry, which played in the background. She had her ears plugged as she sorted out things around her apartment. She had decided to spend the day taking her mind off David. However, so far, it wasn’t working. She had tried cleaning and even working on the files from the office, but none of it had worked. She had seen his calls and had ignored them because she didn’t want to hear him tell her how it was fun while their one-night stand had lasted. She knew David would waste no time moving onto the next woman. Somehow, the thought brought an ache within her.

Damn it, Chalondra, how hard is it to forget a man you spent a one-night stand with? Deep down, she knew what had happened was more than a one-night stand. She snapped out of her thought when her phone started ringing. She grabbed it and hoped it was David. She wanted to hear his voice again, even if it meant it would be the last time. She was disappointed when it was Natasha and not him.

“Hello, babe,” Natasha said with excitement. This brought Chalondra out of her mood. She knew Natasha was excited about something.

“Natasha, are you okay?”

“Yesss!!! Oh my goodness! You won’t believe what just happened,” she said, and this got Chalondra’s interest piqued.

“What are you talking about? Stop with the suspense,” Chalondra said as she walked to her living room.

“Oh my goodness! It happened!” she squealed, and Chalondra got more curious.

“What happened?”

“Mark, he…” she said and paused, “Chalondra! He proposed!”

Chalondra gasped in shock. Her eyes widened at the news. “Come again?” she said.

“Mark proposed to me a few minutes ago!” Natasha screamed, and Chalondra’s face lit up with a smile.

“Oh my! Congratulations, babe!” Chalondra said.

“Thank you. I’m so excited. It’s like a dream come true. I wasn’t expecting it. It happened and I’m glad it did.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Chalondra said with a broad smile. She was glad that Natasha was getting the happily ever after she had always dreamed of. However, Chalondra’s smile dropped when she recalled the two instances she had also been in similar situations. She didn’t wish Natasha ill luck, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Natasha, are you sure this is it? I mean, is he truly the one?

I mean, the news is great, but you guys have barely known each other for three months and now he is proposing. Are you sure you don’t need to take things a bit slower?” Chalondra asked with concern.