“No. Just me.” I paused. “I was the crazy one.”
“Why crazy?”
“Have you seen me in any movies or on Broadway?” I laughed.
“Not yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if you made it soon.”
“Yeah right.” I laughed.
“Don’t be so down on yourself, Sarah. I mean, you were able to fool the people at Zoom.”
“Yeah.” I quickly decided to change the subject as I was hoping that he would give me another job in his company. “So, where are we going?”
“To dinner.”
“Duh, where?”
“Just wait and see, Sarah.”
“Fine.” I turned and looked out of the window watching the commuters walk to their apartments from their jobs in Manhattan. I loved how alive and real Brooklyn was, even though I was anxious to move to the city as soon as possible. “So tell me why we are fooling your family again?” I turned back to face him, curious why such a good-looking and rich man would need to fool his family.
“Have you ever watched Home Alone?”
“Hello. Of course I have. Kevin!” I screamed. “Arrgh.”
“Uhm, ok. Thanks for that, Sarah.” Harry laughed. “Well the family in Home Alone is just a scratch on my family.”
“Ok.”
“And their biggest wish for me is to get married and to have kids.”
“So why don’t you?” I questioned.
“I don’t want to.” His voice was abrupt.
“Why not?” I was curious as to why he never wanted to get married. I was also strangely disappointed.
“I find that marriage just constrains people. I don’t want to be constrained. Plus, I don’t believe in love and most women want that in a marriage.”
“You don’t believe in love?” I was shocked and sad.
“No, not really. I mean, I believe in love of family, love of friends, love of sex.” He turned and grinned at me. “But one true love? Soulmates? Nope.”
“Wow, ok.” I bit my lip wanting to ask more but not wanting him to think that I cared about his answers. “Is there a reason why you don’t believe in those things?”
He laughed and his voice had a bitter tinge in it when he spoke. “I’ve had models, actresses, teachers, nurses all tell me how much they loved me, how much they wanted to be with me, when all they really cared about was the money. My billions. And my image. They liked the glitz and the glamour. I’m secondary to what I can provide. If I had nothing, they would be long gone.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” My voice was earnest. He was hot. Women would want to be with him no matter if he was a pauper.
“Come on Sarah, even you are only with me now because you want your job back.” He laughed. “Let’s be real here. Women just latch on to men that can provide something to them. Which is fine. But let’s not say its love.”
I sat back and thought for a second. What he said wasn’t untrue. I had told myself and him that I was going along for the weekend because I needed the money and because I wanted my job back but that wasn’t really the only reason I was going. I was going because I thought he was ridiculously hot and because I enjoyed sparring with him. I liked the way he made me feel. And that had nothing to do with his money. “I guess you’ll think whatever you want to,” I replied. There was no way that I wanted him to know that I was more into him than I was letting on.
“See, even you have nothing to say to that.” His voice sounded sad and then he turned on the radio. “Want to listen to some Miles Davis?”
“Say what?” I frowned at him as Jazz music reverberated through the car. “Who’s this?”
“You don’t know Miles David?” Harry looked at me and shook his head.
“Is he related to Larry David?” I thought of the bald guy from the TV show ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’
“No.” He laughed. “So what kind of music do you listen to?”
“Katy Perry, Rihanna, fun., Coldplay, The Verve.”
“The Verve?” He smiled. “Aren’t they kinda old for you?”
“I love them.” I reached over to the radio and starting changing the channels.
“Hey hey.” He swat my hands away. “Don’t you know you can’t just change radio stations like that?”
“What?”
“You never heard the saying ‘don’t ever touch a man’s radio.’”
I laughed. “Do you mean the line from Rush Hour where he says ‘don’t you ever touch a black man’s radio?’?” I burst out laughing. “You’re funny.” I had tears running out of my eyes from all my laughter and I just couldn’t stop myself.
“I’m glad you think that’s funny.”
“Oh Harry.” I stopped on a Top 40 radio and sang along to the Lil Wayne song that was playing.
“I’m thinking I should take you to a club instead of a nice dinner.”
“Yeah right.” I looked at him with a smirk. “I could not see you in a club, Harry Green.”
“Well, there are many things you couldn’t see me doing but I do them.” He licked his lips and I shivered.
***
“So, how’d you like it?” Harry smiled at me paternally as I licked the residue of chocolate off my spoon. My stomach was full and I was completely satisfied. Every course had been delicious and the chocolate cake had been the most divine and silky cake I’d ever had.
“Hmm, this meal was so good.” I beamed at him. “Thanks.” I smiled into his eyes as I remembered my manners.
“Good.” He called the waiter over to the table. “Two glasses of Champagne, please.”
“Oh I don’t know,” I protested.
“But we have to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Our new partnership.”
“What new partnership?” I looked at him in confusion.
“The one we are about to make.”
“Uh ok.” I felt a chill run through my spine. Oh no, I thought. Here it comes. He’s going to tell me that he wants me to be his submissive. I’d read ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ along with everyone else. I knew what this was about. I bit my lip and thought hard. I’d never done anything that kinky before but there was a first time for everything, right? Though I didn’t think I’d make a very good sub. And I didn’t particularly want to get beaten.