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That was it. The date was effectively over.
“Carla, I think it’s time you go home,” I told her, getting up from my seat.
I left a sizeable tip for the waiter, along with more than enough cash to settle the bill and apologized to the waiter for the inconvenience. As I walked away, I could hear her calling after me.
“Dylan! You can’t just leave me here like this,” she pleaded.
But it was too late. There was no way I was ever going back in there with her again.
“What a disaster,” I muttered to myself as I got back into my car.
Time was the most important asset to me, and I couldn’t believe that I had just wasted the last hour talking to someone who was about as interesting as watching paint dry. Just then, my phone rang. As I dug it out of my pocket, I sent up a silent prayer that it was work.
“Dylan,” a familiar voice greeted me over the other end of the line. It belonged to one my few closest friends, Garrett. “You free this evening?”
My heart sank a little. I was ready to go and debrief in my office for the rest of the night. But Garret was a close second, I supposed.
“Actually, my evening just opened up,” I sighed. “What’s on your mind?”
“Come over to my place,” he suggested. “We’ll knock out a couple of beers.”
After the evening I had, I could really use quality time with a friend to wash the taste of that messy date out of my mouth. I promptly agreed and told my driver to head to Garrett’s house. A few minutes later, I was sitting in his living room with a beer in my hand, while he guffawed with laughter while I replayed the date for him.
“Wow,” he chuckled. “She sounds like a piece of work.”
“I’m assuming she’s used to being spoiled rotten and hasn’t worked a day in her life,” I groaned.
“Well, it’s safe to say there won’t be a second date,” he nudged me playfully.
“Not a chance,” I replied. “She’s just not someone I can see myself being with.”
“I’ve always wondered what kind of girls you’re into,” Garrett mused. “I don’t think I’ve seen you have a serious girlfriend since… Well, you know it’s been a while.”
“I think it’s perfectly fine to have standards,” I explained myself. “I want someone who has as much drive as me. Simply being hot doesn’t cut it anymore. I want a girl who has a sense of ambition. It’s attractive.”
“Hmm, well good luck finding that,” he said, taking a sip out of his beer. “I assume most people would just be intimidated by you.”
“Not everyone.” My mind immediately trailed back to Kathy. My conversations with her had been interesting. Every time I tried to outwit her, she would immediately counter back with something better.
“Oh yeah? Then where is she?” Garrett turned his attention towards the football match on the TV. “What a goal!”
Although we had moved on from the topic of women, I still found myself thinking about Kathy. It had been a surprise to me when I walked into work the other day to find her there. I felt a tinge of disappointment at the fact that there would be no more dates since she was my employee now. Mixing business with pleasure was never a good idea.
I leaned back into the sofa and tried to focus my attention on the TV. My love life would have to wait for now.
∞∞∞
It was one of those stressful, fully packed days at the office. I walked out of the boardroom after my fifth meeting of the day and found my secretary waiting for me in my office with another tall stack of papers to go through.
“Mr. Johnson will be on the call with you in twenty minutes,” she told me as I began to sign the papers in front of me.
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her.
“What? The Johnson Associates meeting was scheduled for today?” my voice got considerably louder.
She shrunk back a little, wringing her hands together. “Yes, I sent you a memo about it last week.”
“You should’ve reminded me. Mr. Johnson is our biggest investor, and it’s pivotal that the meeting goes off without a hitch,” I replied, exasperated.
