"It sounds like you had a full day of sex." Vanessa had rushed over to my apartment as soon as she heard we were back; there was no way I was going to get away with not giving her all of the details. I was trying to fill her in as much as I could without putting dirty images in her head, but it was hard considering the day's activities.
"I know it sounds like that, but it was so much more than that. We made a real connection," I insisted as I poured two glasses of wine.
"You guys are the only fools I know who wait ten years to make a 'real connection.'" She used air quotes at the end. "So, he explained Miss Blondie then?" Vanessa was suspicious about the blonde I'd seen him with, even though I kept telling her it was all business. It had to be. Nothing else would make sense.
"It's just some business deal they are both trying to do."
"Hmm, I'm sure. I saw her on the cover of some tabloid magazine. That girl isn't built for business. She has pleasure written all over." Vanessa studied her perfectly manicured nails.
"Well, I know that everything between her and Blake is strictly professional. Once they finalize the details and close the deal, everything will be fine."
"And how long is that going to take?"
"Who knows? You and I both have experienced difficult clients."
"Yeah, but we never used sex to close the deal." She winked and took a sip of the Cabernet.
"Stop! It's not even like that." But a feeling of dread was beginning to fill my chest. What if Vanessa's right?
"Listen, Christina, I like Blake, I really do. But I don't know. There is just something about him."
"Something like what?"
"Something off. Something secretive."
I rolled my eyes. I wasn't in the mood for any lectures. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I haven't been able to stop smiling since I got back home. I thought by telling Vanessa that we would both be grinning, but there was this weird tension as I told her the story. She said she was happy for me at first, but the more I thought about it, I didn't think she really was. She's probably just jealous.
"I know this guy, Vanessa. He isn't just some random dude I had a great weekend with. This is Blake."
"What do we really know about Blake? He hid the fact that he was a billionaire for ten years. How do you hide something that huge for that long?"
"He was afraid that I'd throw myself at him for his money."
"I don't know." She shook her head. "I could understand that if you guys were only talking for a couple of years. But ten years, Christina? You mean to tell me that in ten years, he couldn't have told you the truth?"
"It's complicated."
"No, it's really simple. He likes to withhold the truth for his gain."
"You're looking too much into it."
"Or maybe you're not looking enough. Don't be entranced by good cock and green eyes."
I whipped around to glare at my best friend. She had her hands on her hips.
"I love you, Chrissy. You are like my sister and I would kill for you. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know that."
"If everything he's saying is the truth, then I will gladly apologize and back off. But until then, I will be on his ass. He could have all the money in the world but he can't hide from the truth."
Her words were soaking in. I thought about the phone call. His eyes were forest green then. He was conflicted but was he telling the truth? I didn't know enough about his tell.
"I hear what you're saying, Vanessa."
"I'm going to do more research on Big Titty Blondie."
"What's going to be your source? Those tabloids at the supermarket?"
"And the blogs, magazines, and anything else I'm able to dig up." She smiled. "And hey, don't you knock those tabloids, they've been trying to find Elvis for years. They are this close." She showed me with her fingers.
"You're too much," I laughed, playfully smacking her hand. Yet for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that Vanessa could be right.
Chapter 13
Weeks went by and Blake and I tried to see each other as often as we could. His schedule was as busy as ever. Aside from the deal with the real estate mogul, he was launching six other mobile games. His company was as popular as ever. He was on the cover of Forbes and other prestigious magazines. During the day, we dealt with our work, and at night, we crashed at his place. He was often too tired to go out and I didn't like bugging him with constant requests. I just loved to be in his company.
"Close your eyes," he told me as we stepped into his building's elevator. I put my hands over my eyes. I heard the elevator ding and he took my arms and guided me somewhere. I heard him greet an unfamiliar man and I tried to listen for more conversation but they were very hush-hush. Suddenly, there was a rush of air and I realized that we were outside.