Chapter 2
Nikki walked back into the restaurant, to thank Conrad for the introduction.
“So did he take you on his plane or anything?”
Nikki looked at him kind of strangely for a moment.
“No, we had some Chinese and took a walk up to the bluff.”
Conrad looked incredulous. “Do you even know who he is?”
“Yea he said he owned some business with apps or something. He told me, but you know how I am about that technology stuff.”
The bald man chuckled to himself and went to the counter. He leafed through a stack of papers and found a magazine that he had been reading a few days before. Handing it to her, he loved the wide-eyed expression that she had seen on his face.
“Most eligible bachelor, huh? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you would know. Everyone knows who he is. He just sold one app for a couple billion. I can’t believe you took him to Wong’s.”
“What? I love Wong’s and he didn’t tip very well for a billionaire.”
Conrad roared and shook his head. “So are you going to see him again? He told me he is looking to settle down and have some kids.”
“Calm down. I met him once and he seemed nice. He told me to call him, but didn’t give me his number, so I don’t know. I am tired. I will see you guys tomorrow.”
Nikki went up the back stairs and up to the small apartment. It was cramped but she was not there very often and she had found a new type of family since she didn’t get to see her own but a couple of times a year. Conrad was a friendly father figure and his wife Jilliane was a good friend that had went to school with her mother. While she was sure that they kept tabs on her, she didn’t mind having people around she trusted. Nikki had been warned many times that she should be careful that the big city didn’t change her.
Things had changed though and Nikki’s date that evening was a good example. She was starting to want to push back her ideas of waiting until marriage. Men like Dyson did not come around a lot and she knew that like many, once they realized that she was a virgin, would either try twice as hard to change it or backed off for someone that was a bit easier to bed. When the women did a search of him online, it had numerous pictures of him snuggled up to an array of women. When she closed her laptop and lay down on her bed, she figured it was just as well that she didn’t have his number.
***
Nikki was up with the sun, crawling out of bed to find her coffee pot already gurgling brown nectar. Her nose took in the smell as she stirred in some cream and went out to the balcony in her robe. It was her favorite time of the day, before the city really woke up and came to life. It was sleeping like most of its residents and as she looked out at the buildings in front of her, she actually felt like she was on top of the world.
The sun was coming up beautifully and she went back inside to grab her camera. She took several pictures before she set it down and picked her warm mug back up. She did not notice a man staring up at her from the sidewalk until she looked away from the pink-tinged sky. He waved up to her and Nikki realized it was the man that she had almost run into the day before. She waved back and smiled, looking back up as more of the horizon was filled with color.
Nikki went into her apartment and got dressed. She went out for a walk, as she did most mornings, though she decided against her mountaintop oasis. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she was going down to her friend’s house, but she hadn’t actually thought it yet. When she got outside and took in the morning, she was surprised to find the guy she had waved to still there.
“Oh hey. Are you looking for someone?”
“No, I was hoping you would come down here. Conrad isn’t here yet, is he?”
“No, he won’t be in till at least eight. Where do you know him from?”
“We were in the military together.”
“Oh, I met one of you other guys yesterday, Dyson?”
“Yes, he is my partner in business now.”
“Apps right?”
“Right. So how do you know him?”
“We went out last night, nice guy. Small world huh?”
“Yes, increasingly smaller. So are you going to see him again?”
Nikki laughed and nodded her head noncommittally. She didn’t want to talk about it with his partner. They were alike in some ways, but in other ways, completely different. The biggest thing the two men had in common was their size. They were both built more like high school football players, than business men. She remembered the articles she had read before and realized he too was richer than sin.
“Well nice meeting you. Conrad will be here in a while.”
“Do you want to go to breakfast with me then, help the time go quicker? That is, if you don’t have anywhere to be.”
“Not really. Sure I will go with you.”
Nikki expected to walk, but he pulled her towards a dark tinted car. He opened the back door for her and climbed in after she was seated. He nodded to the driver in the front and the car pulled away from the curb quickly.
“So you don’t drive?”
“Not when I don’t have to.”
Nikki was intrigued, but a bit put off by the man. He was a lot different than his partner in the way that he acted. If Nikki hadn’t already known, she thought she would have seen it. There was an air about him that was unmistakable.
“So how do you like it here Nikki?”
“It’s okay. Been here about a year. The sunrises and sunsets are almost worth all the hassles. I am from a small town back east, so I guess it is just a lot different here. Takes some getting used to.”
“So how have you managed to stay single with all of the choices?”
“I date once and a while, but haven’t found the one yet I guess.”
“The one?”
“Yeah you know, the perfect one, soul mate.”
“Ah. Never believed in that.”
“That’s a shame. I was hoping you were going to say, “until now.” Nikki got out of the car before the driver could go around to open it for her. He looked at her like a naughty girl.
“So what is this place?”
“This is my business. We actually have a great kitchen in here and it is where I usually make breakfast.”
“You or a maid or something?”
His blue eyes went to hers and she laughed. He had never felt like the way he did then. He felt silly and wanted her to think he was capable.
“I will make you breakfast. I wasn’t always rich you know.”
“Uh huh.”
She followed him into the all glass building. There were small seams of metal within the walls, but everything seemed to be this barely see-through glass. It made the inside bright and airy, though it did not feel like a legitimate business. They walked through an open room with several tables and chairs. She was impressed with the design and when they got to the kitchen, she was surprised. It was all stainless steel and glass and looked fully functional. Nikki sat at one of the silver stools around the counter and watched the man tried to impress her further with his cooking skills. Since she was unable to boil water most of the time, it was not that hard.
The two talked while he moved around the small office kitchen. He had taken his jacket off and she spent some of her time checking out the man’s large body, flexing as he moved. Her thoughts were dominated with the way her own body felt to look at him. There was something about a hot guy in the kitchen. She barely had time to consider how strange the last couple of days had been, before he was putting a plate in front of her.
Nikki wasn’t sure what it was, but it smelled good. David saw the hesitation in her eyes and put a bit on a fork and fed it to her. While she was chewing it, she still wasn’t sure what it was, but it was good. He fed her again before she pulled the fork out of his hand.
“Here, you have something…”
His finger rubbed against her bottom lip and then stilled as he leaned closer. Nikki’s heartbeat thudded in her chest, as her eyes fluttered closed. She waited for a kiss that never came.
“Good morning David. I see you have another breakfast guest.”
Nikki’s eyes opened and she recognized the voice from the night before. While she was doing nothing wrong, she still felt incredibly guilty of being there, about to suck face with his partner. David too, looked a little discombobulated.
“Hey Dyson. It is a little early for you, isn’t it?”
“Yea, but I have been thinking about this woman I met last night. Just couldn’t sleep. Why are you here so early? Are you going to introduce me to your “friend?”
The quotation marks were made in the air behind the blonde woman. Dyson admired her curves from behind and thought of how close the two men’s taste compare. There was a moment of silence and then Nikki turned around. Dyson’s jaw hit the floor and then his eyes squinted at his partner David.
“Good morning Dyson. Sorry I kept you up last night. So yeah, this is pretty awkward so I am going to go.”
She turned to David and thanked him for breakfast. Her eyes snuck a glance at the redhead and his green eyes flamed at her. She made a half-ass comment of them all getting together before she walked out of the glass doors. Forgetting that she was a mile from her house, she sighed as she started down the road. Nikki needed some time to think about the strange couple of days she was having. She also secretly reminded herself repeatedly to yell at Conrad for introducing her to someone to begin with.