The Valentine Date: Long Distance, Billionaires and Former Bad Boy's Collection (2 page)

After the movie, we talked for a couple of hours, sometimes about nothing, sometimes about more important things, like our plans for college and life in general.  We talked and laughed until our eyes grew heavy and speaking became a chore.  And then, when we couldn’t talk anymore, we both fell asleep, our laptops and Skype still on, waiting for us to return.

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About Ashley Winters

Ashley Winters, eighteen, is currently attending the University of Maine at Farmington and majoring in creative writing. Most of her time is spent writing or thinking about writing, and the rest is spent reading or fan girling about people who don’t actually exist. She loves God, her family, her friends, many, many fictional people, and pretty much anyone who makes a pun.

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A Date with Mr. Mogul

A Meeting Mr. Mogul Short Story

By: Mel Ryle

©
Mel Ryle 2016

It was unreasonably sunny when I woke up the next morning, and it wasn’t the only reason why I didn’t feel like getting up. After three days being in a new work environment, the only progress I made with my workmates was with my cubicle neighbor. I only made progress with her since when the untimely encounter with Mr. Mogul happened she hadn’t known about it. Under circumstances, I was partly at fault for putting myself in this situation. And the receiving end of all the hatred and jealous glares from my female officemates.

Once I quickly finished eating my breakfast, I kissed my dad on the forehead before heading out. And it was at that point when the awful morning began.

As I walked out of my new apartment building, there were two things I expected to see that morning: a random jogger who seemed had a knack to stretch provocatively across the street, and a mailman driving around his truck delivering mail. I approved on seeing the later than the first one. But what stood in front of me was neither. I didn’t know if I was neither annoyed nor happy to see him.

Wearing his fitted gray suit and silver tie and newly polished leather shoes, he stood leaning by his SUV with a grin. I tried to control my impulse to be rude, but couldn’t.

“What are you doing here?” I grumbled with a frustrated sigh.

“Was it against the rules to see you this morning?” he countered. The smug look on his face didn’t falter.

“No. And I hadn’t set any rules… yet,” I replied dryly. “Are you doubtful about what happened three days ago? If you are, then don’t, it happened.”

“Thank you for the assurance, but I wasn’t here for it. Though I appreciate your kind gesture,” he countered as he moved away from the car. His pace was slow as he met me halfway.

“What do you want with me, Mr. Maxwell?” I asked with dry humor.

“Are you busy today?”

“Yes. I am.”

“On a weekend?”

“Yes, on a weekend.”

“And may I ask what’s going to keep you busy today?”

I glared up at him. I tried to stop myself from flinching when I felt his hand graze my wrist. Like being drenched with cold water, I looked away from him and assessed our surroundings. At a quarter to eight the morning, even in this part of the city, it was unreasonably quiet.

After assuring myself that no one from the media was watching, I turned towards him with a grim look. William’s calm expression looked too relaxed that it made me queasy.

“There is something off about all of this…” I stated out loud.

I saw a slight twitch from his perfectly smug face. And then suddenly the seemingly perfect morning turned into a nightmare. From the point William grabbed my hand and picked up his phone from his inside blazer pocket, I knew this day was one I should have expected.

I saw a man walking up from behind me with a bag in hand. From the sunglasses he wore, I had to do a double-take to make sure it was Mark. Why did he look like he was in a James Bond movie?

All of the sudden William shoved me into the car, and Mark got into the driver’s seat. The car zoomed forward, making me hold on to my seat.

“What the hell is happening?” I finally burst as Mark drove the car towards the main street. As I looked back at my apartment building, it was then I noticed the paparazzi flashing their cameras a minute too late. For a moment, it felt like I was in a middle of an action movie.

“I’m cashing in on that word of yours now,” William vaguely replied.

“What?”

“You promised me a date, remember?” he asked innocently like I was the villain in this situation.

“So you’re kidnapping me?”

“I’m not kidnapping you. I asked your father and boss’s permission to take you anywhere today…” he trailed off when my facial expression hadn’t changed.

“Like that was going to impress me. Is this your idea of a surprise or a prank after I pulled the stunt on moving away but didn’t? Because I’m not amused,” I grumbled with clenched teeth, eying him deadly. But I felt a pang of guilt. I did pull such a stunt on him.

“Okay. It was a god-awful plan in the first place. I hadn’t thought of doing it this way. But then those guys followed and somehow found me after getting them off my trail. Mark wasn’t really happy it.” He stated, glancing quickly at his trusted chauffeur/butler of some sort.

“I apologize, Ms. Peterson. This won’t happened again,” Mark interjected.

I blinked in surprise that he spoke up.

“It’s okay, Mark. You don’t have to apologize. There was no way of knowing what those guys would do.” I felt a bit guilty for being impolite. “But this doesn’t get you off the hook.” I glared back at William.

“Okay. I really did need to ask since I knew you would start being difficult at this point on.” William affirmed. The happy vibe he was in was gone.

“So you kidnapped me. I have to get to work today. And since you said you asked my boss, you knew that fact.” I countered.

“It’s the weekend Andy. And I asked your boss. It was voluntary if you wanted to go to work on a weekend. You only get paid the extra hour if she asked for it.”

“So I wanted to make an impression on my first week in my new workplace.”

“Lie. You knew I would do something this weekend because I’m too busy to do anything within the week. So you orchestrated this lie.” He accused confidently.

I blinked back in surprise at the tension of our conversation. It wasn’t even over a week since I agreed to let him take me out on a date, even though we already went out once before. But what differs with our current situation is that we were supposed to be on mutual ground with our feelings for each other. Though it doesn’t seem like it.

I shook my head in disbelief and glanced out the window, sighing heavily. “I don’t know if this is going to work between us…” I trailed off before my voice choked.

“Don’t you dare pull that talk with me!”

I flinched in surprise before looking back at William. His eyes showed a mix of anger and defeat.

“I knew who I would be dealing when I realized what I felt about you. I know it wouldn’t be a walk in the park or chocolates and roses. We both aren’t like that. We don’t want all the gooey and cuddling that came with being in a relationship. And I fully consented and fought for it.” He took a deep breath after his long speech.

“Gooey and cuddling?” I asked in wonder as I tried to process his sudden outburst.

It was a delight to see a different side of him. After seeing him that day when he realized I didn’t leave, I knew the full extent of his persistence. And at this point, I was the villain.

“Yes. I know how it sounded but I said it,” he stated arrogantly.

I closed my eyes and massaged my forehead, easing out the headache I was getting. “I apologize for my rudeness. I was caught off guard and I don’t like being surprised with something I’m wasn’t prepared to do.” I finally admitted in defeat.

“Am I hearing you clearly?” his voice was soft from astonishment.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

He suddenly grabbed my hand and gave it a slight squeeze. “I would like to also apologize for surprising you today. I was going to ask properly this time, but then with the circumstances…”

“Got it. But next time, when you make a plan, tell me what it is and I will tell you if it’s possible,”

He squeezed my hand again before he flashed me a smile.

“Now, can you tell me where we are going?” I cleared my throat, quickly changing the topic. Suddenly a bit of sexual tension lingered in the air. And with someone else in the car, it wouldn’t be wise if he acted on it.

“The Hamptons,” he replied swiftly it took me a second to process what he said.

“The what now?”

“It’s in New York.” He added, turning away from me as he pulled out his phone again.

“New York?”

“Well, it’s not the Caribbean but the house I’ve rented from a friend has a stellar view of the ocean. And the view alone is breathtaking.”

“Are you planning on staying there for the whole weekend?” I asked in confusion until it sunk in. “Oh! Heck no! Not on the first date!”

“Technically, this isn’t our first date anymore.”

“Prior to the stunt you’ve pulled after the said date, it no longer counted as a date.”

“A date is a date, Andy.”

“And The Hamptons isn’t the Caribbean,” I poorly argued.

“So you are pissed that we aren’t going to the Caribbean?” he asked, taken off guard by my analogy.

“No, I’m not. I was making a point. Those are two different things. The Hamptons and the Caribbean can’t be compared because they are different… Okay, now you're making me sound like an idiot.”

I watched as he plastered his smug smile on his face again. “You looked really cute trying to defend yourself. I should work you up more with arguments,” he admitted.

“You’re a sadist. You know that right.”

“No, I’m a masochist. I take pleasure when you get worked up and you start arguing with me,” he coyly stated.

“Unbelievable.”

“You love me because of it.”

---------------------

According to his plans, we took a first class flight to New York. I wasn’t even surprised he had my passport as a backup even though I had my I.D. at all times. Once we checked in, there was little time to wait for our flight. At that point, I wasn’t nervous about going to the trip itself. I was more nervous about what was on the bag packed for me for this trip. Which made me think, who packed it for me?

“Your father packed your things. Mark only waited for you to get out of the apartment before getting your things,” William replied after we settled in our seat, waiting for takeoff.

“My dad went through my underwear drawer and rounded up some clothes for me for the weekend?”

“Would there be a problem with that?” William asked while trying to keep a straight face.

“Yes. He doesn’t know where my underwear drawer is,” I replied sourly.

“If you don’t have any underwear for the weekend, we can always stop by at Victoria Secret before driving towards the Hamptons,” he offered cheekily.

“I should not be saying any of this out loud on a date,” I pursed my lips in regret.

“If you haven’t been following how our relationship is going, I wouldn’t be surprised on the third date we would be doubling with Terry and his partner.”

“Are you considering a double date with my friends?”

“From your relationship with him, I knew it would happen.”

“True. I bet in a few weeks he would walk in unannounced and invite us for a drink.”

He chuckled in thought and pulled his phone out one last time to put it on airplane mode.

------------

In an hour, we were making our way through the busy streets of New York City. And as William promised, he took me to a Victoria’s Secret boutique. From how the saleslady started fawning all over him, it was easy to grab the cheapest pair of underwear and head towards the register.

From there, we headed towards a restaurant for a late lunch. I wasn’t even surprised that he owned something in the Big Apple. It would take a while for me to stomach on the fact that his Mogul image wasn’t exclusive to one state. The Maxwell name was known throughout the country.

After lunch, we headed straight to the vacation home at the Hamptons. I wasn’t aware what the place was until we arrived. And I thought things such as millionaire’s village only existed in fiction.

Once the chauffeur William hired for the weekend dropped us off at the house, I expected to see a small cottage in the midst of the grandeur of architectural homes within the area. But the huge white wood and glass house I was staring at said otherwise.

“Are you sure we are staying here only for the weekend? I couldn’t imagine the rent that goes with it,” I stated in wonder.

“Do you like it? Well, you should see the view from the front porch,” he said proudly.

I was about to ask him something when I saw him carrying both our luggage. My hand reached out towards my bag on instinct but he twisted the bag away from my reach.

“I could handle this much. But if you don’t want me to sneak a peek of your shopping bag, I suggest you take those instead,” he offered as I was about to protest.

I closed my mouth and glanced down at my Victoria Secret shopping bag. With a slight blush, I picked up the bag and gestured him to lead the way.

Entering the house, I was engulfed by the interior design that I hadn’t noticed. The house was painted with nothing but white and accented by wood. The curtain, furniture, even the table was either white or made of glass. It made the house feel spacious and clean.

“Who did you say owned this house?” I asked after tearing my eyes away from the modern kitchen across the stellar view of the beach.

I stopped walking and slightly gasped when I finally saw the promised view. William’s reply was drowned by my surprise. The back yard was covered with trimmed grass that ended as it met with the white sand towards the ocean. William had to tap my shoulder to snap me out of my ogling.