Chapter 2
Joshua
It had been a long morning. I was used to handling multiple projects at once, but sometimes all of the intricacies at Scintilla could get overwhelming. It had taken over four years to get everything just right and it was finally paying off. I was just glad it was Friday. I’d just poured a cup of coffee in the break room when my buddy Christopher, who worked in the advertising department, swooped in and took it out of my hand.
“Thanks so much, man. Thoughtful of you,” he said, taking a sip. “Ow! Hot, hot!”
“Sorta like your mom,” I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Low,” he said. “That was low, man.”
I just smiled. “Got any plans this weekend?”
He rubbed his hands over his gelled orange-red hair. “Nope. One big non-event. Like my life.”
“Seriously, you gotta get out there again,” I said. “You guys broke up, what, two weeks ago?”
He blew on what was supposed to have been my coffee before taking a careful sip. “Don’t wanna talk about it. Tell me about your girlfriends, so I can live vicariously.”
“They’re both perfect tens. The one, Kalie, is like a fucking model. She’s got a body on her that would blow you away.”
He clucked his tongue at me like an old lady. “Looks aren’t everything.”
“That’s what ugly people say.”
He laughed. “And who’s the other one? You always have at least one in reserve.”
“Tricia—she’s hot as hell, too. Her ass alone…” I straightened my shoulders and tried to look big, like I deserved such a gorgeous woman. It was the truth, though. These women were both fine specimens, and I’d been seeing Tricia for about two weeks. That was pretty much a record for me.
“Can’t you leave some for the rest of us? Dickhead.” He paused and looked almost wistful. “Maybe you’ll end up marrying one of them.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Christopher seemed to think I had it made. I mean, I was a billionaire and I wasn’t even thirty-five yet, so I had that going for me. I’d also struck out on my own from my family’s business, and had happened to develop the ultimate dating site. Now, this all took a lot of time and effort, so I liked to think that I’d earned my success. At the same time, I was getting more and more bummed out by the fact that I still hadn’t met “The One,” as I liked to refer to her.
“Oh, let me guess. Joshua Tolbert has love problems.” Christopher’s sarcasm was legendary.
“I’m not saying I have problems, but I’m getting frustrated with not being able to meet the right girl. I mean, it’s cool to have lots of girlfriends, but I’m getting bored with meeting the same type over and over.” I looked down at the floor and Christopher got quiet. We didn’t usually talk about this kind of stuff.
I wanted to think that since I’d taken the big step of breaking away from my family business to do my own thing that I’d also be lucky in love, too. But it hadn’t turned out that way. I’d saved up all of my money to get this company up and rolling. Sure, Jamie had helped, but I’d been the one who’d invested the most and taken on most of the work. And I was starting to feel a little bit resentful that with all of this success, I still hadn’t met the right woman.
“Maybe you need to ditch the suit and tie.” Christopher raised his eyebrows and gestured to my outfit.
He had to be kidding. I always dressed sharp for work. It gave people even more of a reason to respect me, and I liked that. The clothes weren’t my problem. For some reason, I wasn’t able to connect with a single woman, even after I’d met and spoken to hundreds of them.
“I think tonight will be my lucky night.”
“Oh yeah?” Christopher said.
“Yeah. Special dinner. Sushi. Birthday sex.”
“Tricia or Kalie?”
“Tricia.” Maybe she was more than a “type.” Maybe she could even be The One.
“Good luck, man.” Christopher downed the rest of his coffee and walked away.
Just as he left, an employee came into the break room, asking for my signature on a time sheet.
“So are you doing anything special for your birthday?” She looked up at me with this shy-girl kind of face.
“I might be.” I signed her paper and checked back to see if there was any more coffee in the pot. A tiny bit. I poured it into a cup, mentally cursing Christopher.
When I turned around, she was still standing there. She looked awkward in that pantsuit. It was out of style, and didn’t do anything to accentuate her form.
I didn’t know what to say to her, so I finished the coffee and put my empty mug on the table. I gave her a quick wave goodbye, and walked back to my office.
When I got to my door, she was still standing by the break room. I wanted to say something else to her, but had no idea what. “Well, thanks for the birthday wishes. Have a good weekend.”
She nodded and, as if stepping out of a trance, moved toward the cubicles.
I knew I was going to have a good weekend. A Tricia weekend.