Chapter Five

Gabriel

When I got to the office, I had my secretary set up our date since she was much better at that kind of thing than I was. When she was done she brought me the information and set it down on the desk. At lunch, I sent Penny a text with the details. I was taking her to the Lovehouse, an upscale American restaurant and bar smack-dab in the center of Central Park. It was one of those restaurants that was loved by locals and tourists, so it was hard to get a reservation. It was perched on the edge of the lake, and all the seating was prime. I was pretty sure she had probably been there before, growing up in that kind of family, but I thought it would be a nice break from the bustle of downtown.

She texted me back, confirming she would be ready by seven. I tried to ignore the electricity burst in my chest when I saw her name on the screen. I didn’t know why she did that to me, but it had to be because I saved her, not because I was getting weak in my resolve against women. She was beautiful and charming, but I had to remember that women were after one thing, just like my ex-wife had been. Jay constantly told me to get over it, but I knew I couldn’t trust any woman, not with my company name resting on my shoulders.

I went through the rest of my day, trying to keep tonight off my mind, reminding myself it was just a date like all the others. I ended up working late, so I was glad I wore a nice suit since we were going to be meeting in the lobby and I wasn’t going to have time to go up to my apartment and change. When I finally got there I walked straight in, spying Penny standing sweetly to the side as people rushed past. She looked absolutely beautiful in a pair of wide-legged black pants, a satin white blouse, opened just enough to see some cleavage, and a pair of black heels with white tips. “You look beautiful,” I said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. “You ready?”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing pink right away. “And yes, I’m starving.”

We took the town car into the park and when we arrived we were ushered right to the private area I was always given. The restaurant was lively for a Tuesday, but it was getting to be that time of year where tourists flocked into the city to see the holiday decorations. She looked impressed, and that made me feel good. Devon, the chef, was a very good friend of mine and I never had to make a reservation. As soon as I walked in they would show me to the best seating in the restaurant and recommend the best food on the menu. It was a very rich boy thing to do, but I never said I didn’t take advantage of those kinds of things whenever possible. Especially when I had brought a date I wanted to impress.

As the food began to arrive and the wine started to flow, I leaned back in the chair and smiled at Penny. She looked amazing under the flickering candlelight. I wanted to know more about her, and no doubt she wanted to know more of me as well.

“Tell me about yourself,” I said, smiling.

“Well,” she said, with a deep breath. “I grew up in the city, I graduated from Yale with a software engineering degree, and now I live in my father’s apartment.”

“Okay,” I laughed. “Where do you work?”

“Hmm, technically nowhere, I guess,” she said. “I developed a new software program for digital artists that will blow away anything that is on the market today. I’ve been pitching it to different companies and am waiting on their responses. I’m thinking if it goes well and gets picked up, I’ll use that money to start my own software company.”

“Nice,” I said, impressed.

“How about you?” she asked.

“Me,” I said, chuckling. “Well, I grew up with company owning parents, went to Harvard for a year, dropped out, and started my real estate investment company at nineteen. Now it’s a huge conglomerate, and I run the company out of the different offices, but mostly from here in New York.”

“Wow, only nineteen, that’s impressive,” she said, sipping her wine.

“What does your father do?”

“He’s an investment banker,” she said. “He moved into the Avalon when my mother left him. I think it was my freshman year at Yale. His name is Randall Wesley.”

“Randall Wesley,” I repeated very much knowing the name. “I’ve actually come across his name in my work before.”

“Oh really? That’s awesome,” she said, oblivious to the look on my face.

This was definitely going to be interesting, especially since I knew her father very well, and not necessarily in a good way. I changed the subject to the city and her hobbies and sat there listening intently, answering questions about myself as I went. When we were finished with dinner, I paid the bill and then took her on a walk through Central Park. They had some of the twinkling lights for the holidays strung through the trees, and it felt almost whimsical as we walked along.

“Tell me about your mom,” I said.

“Well, like I said before, she divorced my father several years ago and then moved out to the west coast,” she said with a sigh. “She lives in LA with her twenty-four-year-old boyfriend.”

“Does that bother you?”

“A little, I guess,” she said, shrugging. “I mean I’m not a child, I understand that couples divorce. I want them both to be happy, but my mom is dating someone younger than me, it’s a little weird. My dad keeps calling it a phase, but it’s been years, so I don’t think it’s as much of a phase as he thinks it is. What about your parents?”

“My mom and I are really close,” I said. “My dad, well, he’s like that rich old man who no one can ever please. Obviously, he was outraged when I dropped out of school. Now, even with the company as huge as it is and me being labeled a billionaire, he still thinks I’m not living up to my potential. I don’t know what it is, but he’s always been really tough on me. We haven’t been close in a really long time.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, scrunching her nose. “That has to be tough.”

“Yeah,” I said, letting out a deep breath and stopping. “It’s been tough, but I have an amazing life and I have accomplished so much. I try not to let my father’s opinion get the best of me.”

“Good,” she said turning toward me.

I stared down into her beautiful eyes and something came over me, something I couldn’t control. I stepped forward and cupped her face in my hands, lowering my face down and kissing her lips softly. Immediately her body melted into mine and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her close, feeling an electricity between us that I hadn’t felt in many years. In fact, I hadn’t felt anything remotely close to it since I met my now ex-wife. The feeling was confusing, but I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around Penny and lean into the passion. She was more than beautiful. She was smart, charming, and free-spirited in a way that made me want to broaden my horizons and think about the world around me. It was insane that this girl could have that kind of effect on me in such a short amount of time. I’d already told her way more about myself than I’d told anyone in a long time.

As our lips pulled away from each other, she looked up at me and smiled big, a giggle escaping her throat. I chuckled at her amazing personality and leaned back in, kissing her on the cheek and taking in a deep breath of her perfume. She released her arms from around my neck, and I took her hand, walking back toward the restaurant where the car was parked. The moon was shining brightly in the sky overhead and the sparkling lights of the city poked up over the trees inside the park. This night had turned out better than I thought, and that kiss was the perfect way to end it.