Chapter 8
Alexis rode in a cab on the way to Amal, one of the finest Italian restaurants in the world. Though not a fan of Italian food, specifically pasta and tomato sauces, Alexis was able to look through the online menu to find a few things that she wouldn’t mind trying without making her order so incredibly complicated that she would upset the waiter and the chefs. Knowing how Nathanial’s last encounter ended up with the Swiss super model, Alexis wanted to appear as low key as possible, not angering anyone on the staff and maintaining a completely cordial mood while in the building. She did not want to complain or make a scene because, while not a Swiss super model or celebrity, Alexis was still the face of the American Oil Trade and Refiners and she needed to maintain a certain level of professionalism in case someone did take a snapshot.
The cab pulled up to the restaurant in perfect time, arriving right at nine o’clock. The driver stepped out and opened the door for Alexis, allowing her to step out onto the curb and not off into the street. He was from Africa, speaking with a thick accent that was friendly, but could be difficult to understand. He wore a beautiful black suit with a black driver’s hat that set off an appearance of elegance, something that can only be acquired from the cab drivers in Dubai. She reached into her purse and paid the driver, handing him a fifty-dollar American bill, which he happily accepted, before stepping away for him to close the door. “Thank you, and have a wonderful evening, ma’am,” he said as he shut the door behind her, extending his hand and shaking Alexis’s hand as she smiled warmly in response. “Oh, here, take this,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his card to hand it to her. “If you need another ride tonight, please, do not hesitate to give me a call. I will be happy to meet you here when you are finished.”
“That would be wonderful, can I text you?” she asked, turning her head to look up at the beautiful restaurant, noticing the beauty and grandeur from the outside.
The driver laughed. “Absolutely,” he smiled. “Just in case your date isn’t going as planned, you can text me and leap into the back of the car and we can escape before he knows what’s going on,” he continued to joke as Alexis placed his card in her small handbag.
With a hearty smile, Alexis nodded to the cab driver as he walked to the driver’s side door and entered the vehicle, leaving Alexis to turn and gaze at the majestic building. The structure was magnificently designed and built with intricate details and ornate architectural accessories. After climbing a small staircase, the customers would stand on a landing overlooking the entire restaurant. An outdoor seating area filled with incredibly comfortable chairs, tan with brown legs, positioned up against tables with vinyl tablecloths to protect them from the elements. The outdoor walls were constructed of white marble tile, imported from some random corner of the world and thick, clear glass to allow light in from the sun, moon, or order lights. The waiting area for the restaurant was outside with the maître d′ stand right beside the door and a large, outdoor bar was positioned adjacent from the stand so that the guests who were having to wait could enjoy a cocktail until their table was ready. This area was filled with plush benches, all made from hand carved wood and thick vinyl, giving off the appearance of being made from leather. Amal did not leave much to the imagination when it came to beauty and design. With a specialty in fine dining and Italian cuisine, Amal was the preferred location for romantic encounters.
Alexis wore a beautiful, tan dress with sequins and stones emblazoned throughout the fabric. The straps were an inch thick while the top of the dress began near the top of her breasts, exposing a small amount of cleavage while not appearing to be too slutty. It went down to her shins, showing off her smooth, silky, tan legs which were held up by a pair of matching, open toed heels. Her hair was down and straight while curving up at the ends and her makeup accented her magnificent eyes. Her jewelry accented the colors of her dress and her skin tone, opting for golden bangles and bracelets, as well as a golden necklace with an ivory stone in the pendant hanging down to her chest. In her hair, a golden hairpin with ivory stones rested in the center of her hair, just above her shoulders to bind her hair slightly as it trailed down her back.
Alexis walked up a small set of stone stairs to reach the landing in front of the restaurant, noticing the grandeur immediately. The servers and assistants were all wearing incredibly pressed and delicate suits, tailored to match their exact dimensions so that no one would look out of place or disheveled. Their shoes were polished leather, sparkling with the outdoor moonlight and their demeanors were all incredibly professional and courteous, not displaying a hint of displeasure as Alexis approached. The table settings were well done and choreographed, aligning the silver flatware and the serving dishes in specially designated locations to the inch. “This place is a bit out of my league,” she thought to herself as she stood at the top of the landing to take in all the scenery, looking around to see if she could find Nathanial in the sea of businessmen standing near the door. The customers by the door were congregated around the maître d′, waiting for him to announce their name to alert them that their tables were ready. Alexis, not seeing Nathanial anywhere, walked up to the short Indian man at the podium.
“Excuse me,” she said calmly, leaning in to be heard over the echoes from the men behind her. “I’m supposed to be meeting Nathanial Jenkins. Has he arrived yet?”
The maître d′ looked over Alexis for a few short seconds before answering. “I’m sorry, but can I have your name?” he asked before looking at his tablet to see who was on the reservation with Nathanial. He was an Indian man with tan skin, black hair, and a very thick accent, making it somewhat difficult for Alexis to understand him.
“My name is Alexis Matthews,” she answered calmly, still leaning in so that she could be heard over the light ruckus behind her. “He told me to meet him here at nine.”
“Yes ma’am, I’m aware,” answered the man rudely, almost as if he were already prepared to defend himself from any passing objection or breach in protocol. “Your table is ready and she will take you to it. Mr. Jenkins called ahead and said he would be late, but to make sure you were well taken care of prior to his arrival,” he continued, still with an incredibly rude, matter of fact tone. Alexis nodded before stepping away from the podium and looking at the beautiful young Indian woman in front of her. “Oh, Ms. Matthews,” stated the maître d′ as he placed his arm out to delay her entry into the restaurant. “Mr. Jenkins is an amazing man and a dear friend of this restaurant. With that being said, please do not make a fool of yourself and embarrass him tonight.”
Alexis chuckled as she looked over at the small Indian man. “Sir, I’ll have you know that I don’t give a rat’s ass where any of your cheeses come from, nor do I really care about the origins of anything here,” she said with a smile, swearing at him in a polite tone as she turned to face the young lady again. As she took her first few steps, she could hear the man chuckle behind her, clearly leaving an impression on him of not being incredibly up tight or needy. The young Indian lady, wearing a stunningly beautiful purple dress that accented her dark skin and black hair, glided through the restaurant with a smile on her face. She led Alexis to her table, pulling the chair back for her and pushing it underneath her before handing her the menu. “Your dress is absolutely gorgeous,” she said to the hostess as she placed the menu in her hands.
“Why thank you,” she replied kindly. “It’s not often I get complimented when I’m at work.”
“Are the customers here generally rude and up tight?” asked Alexis, making conversation with the young Indian girl while she waited for Nathanial to arrive.
“Many of them are,” she replied. “I love it when Nathanial comes here though, because he always puts a smile on everyone’s face, no matter if they serve him or not. He is a genuinely good person and we are thankful he has finally decided to come back after the last incident.” The hostess paused and smiled at Alexis placing her hand on her shoulder before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I think you won my boss over, by the way,” she whispered quietly, peering around to make sure he was not looking. “He comes off as rude and unnecessarily defensive sometimes, but he means well and when Nathanial called earlier to place the reservation, he was overjoyed that he was returning.” She leaned up and wiped off the table around her, moving around debris that wasn’t there, but trying to appear as if she was being productive. “Nathanial does not spend the most money when he is here, nor is he the greatest tipper, but the way that he treats people makes him an absolute joy to be around and I wish you nothing but the best this evening.”
Alexis smiled warmly as the hostess removed her hand and nodded. “Thank you,” she said politely as she watched the young lady walk away, only to see Nathanial walking up in the distance. The hostess, without thinking, opened up her arms and hugged his neck as he approached, before releasing and pointing at Alexis, smiling and nodding in approval. He looked incredibly dashing, wearing a black, silk dress shirt with grey slacks and a matching blazer, all set off by a gold chain around his wrist and a gold ring on each hand. He smiled as he walked up to Alexis, who started to stand before Nathanial motioned for her to stay seated, walking up and hugging her around her neck and kissing the top of her head before taking his seat across from her.
“Pardon my tardiness,” he said as he sat down in the chair. “An oddly incredible phone call at a very inconvenient time reached me before I left my home, and there was no way I could take a message and delay it. I hope you understand.”
Alexis smiled and nodded, reaching across the table and grabbing a glass of water that was waiting on her, bringing it to her lips and sipping on it. “I completely understand,” she said, holding up her handbag with her cell phone sticking out of the top of it. “It’s an unfortunate part of my career; always being available, even at the worst of times.”
“Well I’m glad you understand,” he stated solemnly as the waiter walked up to the table, bringing a bottle of chardonnay with him, and pouring a glass for the two of them before setting it beside the table, in a small metallic container filled with ice. Alexis remained calm, though immediately started thinking about the night and analyzing what was happening already. He was a bit tardy because he had a business meeting, making her wonder if it was in regard to what Hannah and she had discussed earlier. She also noticed the glass in front of her, filled with her favorite alcoholic beverage without having to order it, which struck her as odd, but not terribly as chardonnay was a common wine to serve in restaurants. However, as her thoughts wandered, she thought about how the night could go and what all could happen.
She went into the night with no expectations but with a great deal of hope and intrigue. She wanted the night to go well because she felt a genuine connection with Nathanial, something that she never felt before when it came to another man. Her relationships in the past were always brief, which she placed on the fact that she always chose her career over anyone else. With the exception of Hannah, no one ever got close to Alexis, which for the bulk of her life, was perfectly acceptable. While she yearned for her career to be the focal point in her life, being driven and consumed by her ambition to fuel her professional life to its absolute maximum, Alexis slowly started to feel differently toward things. Her feelings about her personal life changed, though until she met Nathanial and allowed herself to let go and let him into her life, did she realize this. Alexis always appeared to be detached, calculating, and out of reach to most men, which for the bulk of her life, was Alexis’s objective. Now, after putting herself out there to get Nathanial, she was trying to find the perfect balance of professional and personal to give her the other things that she was missing in life.
The server, an older, pale gentleman with a grey, horseshoe haircut and a deep French accent, greeted the two as he made sure the glasses of wine were positioned perfectly to fit the décor of the restaurant. “I’ve already notified the chefs of your arrival and your first course will be out promptly,” he stated kindly, not being incredibly courteous or friendly, but still being professional. Alexis started to think about the evening and how her plans of eating things that she knew she would like backfired. Now, she began to think about how she would react if she saw pasta or any of the other Italian cuisines she did not fancy. Within seconds of the waiter leaving, a larger Italian man brought out two small, empty plates, and a platter with what appeared to be sautéed scallops. Alexis placed her hands in her lap and sat patiently as the larger assistant server placed the appetizer in front of them while positioning the plates perfectly. Without a word said, he stepped away from the table with a slight nod and went back into the kitchen.
“I don’t think he speaks English,” chuckled Nathanial under his breath. “Maybe you should break out a few other languages to see if we can get him to open up.”
“We may need to get both of them to open up,” she replied, implying their French server was also a bit too uptight. “How’s your French?”
“Not optimal,” he replied honestly. “I can speak a lot of languages, but unfortunately, I cannot speak French very well at all. I can understand it and I can have a basic conversation, but after that, it’s ugly.”
Alexis laughed as the two looked at the appetizer. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries,” he said as they he grabbed the serving utensil to plate the scallops for her. “But, I also got the number for your friend, Hannah Burchfield, and called to talk to her for a few minutes while you were getting ready. You look stunning by the way,” he said, confusing Alexis while also inserting a compliment into the middle of his announcement that he spoke with her best friend. “I made the reservation here because, in all honesty, I was craving this place and it’s been a while since I have been able to show my face in this establishment from the embarrassment of my last encounter here. But, after a few hours of me reflecting and pondering my financial future, I got to thinking, what if Alexis doesn’t like Italian? I started to panic, and, I went through the employee database for COT to find that you traveled with your friend, Hannah. I got her number and called her, conveniently while you were in the shower, to discuss with her what you eat and don’t eat, as well as the type of wine you prefer.”
Smiling and holding her eyes open, she reached into her bag to pull out her cell phone, prompting Nathanial to laugh as he placed the scallops on her plate. “Love you,” she texted to Hannah, thanking her for helping Nathanial make the night even better for them.
“The deal is on,” she immediately replied back, sending a message to Alexis simultaneously. Alexis’s face contorted a bit as she held her phone, waiting a few seconds for another reply. “Also, love you too. Enjoy your night.” She smiled and placed her phone back into her handbag and set it underneath the table by her feet, looking down at the plate of small white scallops sitting in front of her. With a genuine look of satisfaction, Alexis grabbed her fork and cut into the scallops before starting to eat them.
“So, tell me about this panic,” stated Alexis, wanting to know more about why Nathanial was panicking over the food.
He laughed as he swallowed the scallop. “I love this place and love taking people from around the world here, but I also know that tonight isn’t just about me,” he said calmly. “I honestly wanted to impress you a little bit, simply because you don’t strike me as the person I generally go out on a date with.”
Her curiosity piqued a bit as she looked around the room to notice the staff walking around, all seeming to look over at the table from time to time to see how Nathanial was doing and how Alexis was reacting and behaving, wondering if there would be another incident like before. Alexis nodded as she stabbed another scallop with her fork. “And who do you normally go out with?”
Nathanial sighed, placing his fork down and sitting up in the seat to compose himself and think up the best possible answer, as to not seem sleazy or disingenuous to Alexis. “Honestly, because of my success, society seems to think that I am meant to date the richest and most famous women in the world,” he explained, though also bragged a bit. “The women that I tend to see are on vacation here, reaching out to me from various locales, whether it’s Monaco, Cairo, Moscow, Tokyo, or wherever happens to be the center of their universe. They reach out to me because of my connections in COT. Most of these women have friends or family who invest in the various oil companies around the world, and I am known as the billionaire playboy of the oil industry. The tabloids have referred to me as the safe billionaire in Dubai, because I’m a transplant from America and I still hold onto my cultural values from there.”
“These women are typically beautiful and incredibly well taken care of,” he continued, giving in to speaking frankly instead of taking exceptional care for his words. “They’re not very smart academically or good with business and finances, but are adept in fashion and modern culture that gives them a certain value that I cannot appreciate.”
Alexis looked on at Nathanial with a bit of a perplexed look after his last comment. “You cannot appreciate them?” she asked, puzzled and wanting some clarification on his previous comment.
“No, not like that,” he defended, motioning with his hands a bit while he tried to relax. “I appreciate who they are as women and try my best to enjoy my time with them, but what I cannot appreciate is the thing that gives them value in society. I am not someone who is into modern popular culture, because I am a slave to the cultures of the past, especially the 1920s in Chicago. I am not someone who can appreciate fashion, because to be honest with you, someone else buys my clothes for me because I don’t care about keeping up with the various trends. Those internet companies that popped up a couple of years ago that will send you clothing every few months for the season has been a life changer for me, because I just pay the bill and they send me a trunk with about seven custom tailored outfits in it.” Alexis laughed heartily as she sipped on her wine, looking at Nathanial with an impressed gaze as he continued his story. “To be honest with you, the women that I typically go out with while I’m here in Dubai do not satisfy all of my needs. While yes, I am physically attracted to them because they are incredible specimens of beauty, they don’t satisfy what I want in a partner.”
“And what’s that?” asked Alexis, adjusting her hips in her seat as she crossed her legs and leaned back a bit, though still sitting with perfect posture.
Nathanial reached for his chardonnay and sipped on it, making an awkward face as he sipped from the glass. “The first is to find someone who doesn’t prefer dry wines,” he joked as his face contorted a bit. He set his wine glass down and drank from the small glass of water on the table, washing out the taste of the chardonnay before shaking his head a little bit. He picked up his wine glass and poured the rest of it into Alexis’s before motioning for the server. “Beefeaters and ginger ale, please, sir,” he requested of the waiter, switching to a gin and soda after one sip of chardonnay.
“Gin with Italian food?” jokingly poked Alexis.
“I’m from Chicago. We drink gin with birthday cakes,” he replied back quickly, prompting an immediate outburst from Alexis. “So, while the choice of wine can be viewed as a deal breaker, there are a few other things I’m looking for in someone,” he continued, still smiling as he watched Alexis compose herself. “I want a woman who is smarter than I am and just as ambitious, understanding that my motivation is to make as much money as possible so that my grandchildren, four generations removed, will not want for anything. With that being said, I also want a woman who is career driven, but also envisions settling down one day and having a family, whether in Dubai, London, New York City, wherever. I’ve accepted that I don’t have to live in Dubai for the rest of my life. I live here because it’s the closest place to COT, and all of my investments are with the various companies that operate inside of it. With the power of the internet and airplanes, I can essentially live anywhere on the map and still be able to satisfy all of my business arrangements.”
Alexis nodded as she listened intently to him talk, describing a lot of the same things and honestly enjoying the fact that he was not married to the idea of staying in Dubai, though trying not to look too far ahead. “So, you really want a woman who is smarter than you?” she asked curiously.
“Of course,” he nodded, taking a bite from the last scallop on his plate as the waiter brought his drink and set it on the table. “I need someone that I actually love to tell me when I’m being an idiot.”
“Wow,” laughed Alexis, enjoying the candid conversation with Nathanial as the waiter removed the appetizer dish and the smaller serving plates while the larger Italian man brought their next course, placing both individual entrees in front of the two. She looked at the plate to see roasted pheasant with a Parmesan and garlic glaze, one of the dishes she was considering before she arrived at the restaurant. “I honestly wanted to try this,” she said calmly, looking over the dish with awe. “This looks better than the picture that I saw on their menu online.”
Nathanial smiled as he turned the plate slightly, upsetting the larger Italian man who had just put it in the perfect position. “It’s one of my favorite dishes here,” he agreed. “I also asked your friend Hannah if you liked pheasant, of which she replied that you enjoyed eating most things that once had a heart beat,” he paused briefly, nodding to himself. “She’s a very unique girl.”
Alexis nodded as she picked up the knife and fork and started to cut into her pheasant. “That’s one of the reasons why I love her,” she replied sincerely. “Honestly, she is everything that I wish I could be, and I’m sure I’m everything she wishes she could be. Where I tend to show more restraint and rational thought in my everyday life, Hannah does not. She instead acts on impulse and immediate judgment, making her an incredible negotiator.”
“But you’re pretty successful too,” stated Nathanial sincerely. “I looked over your profile this afternoon at just how incredible you are at your job. I don’t think I have ever seen someone coordinate the logistics of an entire operation like you in my entire life,” he said candidly, pausing to place a bite into his mouth. “I bet if given the opportunity to come to this restaurant, you could streamline the entire operation in a matter of hours and make this place run even smoother than it already does.”
She looked around the restaurant as she started to analyze things before shaking her head and laughing. “No!” she stated with a smile. “I’ve done well in my career because of the people that I have around me. While I have educated myself on many of the policies and procedures of the world, especially port codes and tariffs, I could not be where I’m at today if it were not for an incredible support staff guiding me along and some amazing negotiators procuring the products for me to move. I owe my entire career to them.”
Nathanial nodded, impressed by her response and her humility. He reached for his drink and sipped from it slowly, clearly enjoying it more than the glass of wine that Alexis had finally finished, though Nathanial did fill it up again with the contents of his glass. “So, you would say that you are loyal to the American Oil Trade and Refiners before anything else?”
“Yes,” she replied quickly, not hesitating to compose her answer or think about her choice of words. “In every decision that I make professionally, I always think about what’s best for the company.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked across at Alexis with a very sudden, serious expression. “Then why did you step in and broker a deal to save the Australian company? Is there any possible way you can link that to helping your employers?” Alexis paused, opening her eyes in fear as she listened to Nathanial’s tone change from happy and joyous, to more perturbed and frustrated.
She looked down a bit, not looking him in the eye while she thought about her answer, allowing the awkward silence to set in before looking back up at him. “Did it save the company?” she asked, dodging his question so that she could get her immediate answer.
“Absolutely,” he replied, still perturbed but relaxed a bit. “The phone call that delayed me was from your boss, Richard, who informed me that the Americans, with my blessing, would help the Australian company recover and reestablish themselves as a premier Oil Company in COT.”
Alexis chuckled under her breath as she tried to suppress her smile, impressed with herself and Hannah that they were able to get this deal done on incredibly short notice. “Look, I did it for three reasons,” she began, adjusting her hips a bit and leaning forward, placing her forearms on the table and staring into Nathanial’s eyes. Her tone went from being incredibly sweet and docile to a lot more aggressive, showing a side of her that many had never seen. While she was always polite and professional, even when dealing with the most troublesome of people in the shipping world, Alexis never became as impassioned when speaking as she did in front on Nathanial. “The first, my company is bringing in an excess of oil that we’re not able to do anything with, unless we expand our distribution in our country further, which doesn’t seem to be on the agenda at this moment. Thus, we are in a position where we’re going to have to start storing more and more product, which involves renting warehouses, which costs more money and drives down the bottom line. And while Hannah, the most amazing negotiator on the planet, was able to fuck a deal out of Gregorio Bonnucci and get complete control over all of their family’s production, taking in all of that product is almost harmful to us.”
Nathanial stared at Alexis, opening his eyes wider at her last comment. “She won’t admit to why it happened, just that she ended up fucking him in a trailer by one of the oil rigs.” She paused a moment while she reached into the small metallic container and poured herself another glass of wine, sipping on it while leaving the bottle of the table. “The second reason is that Australia is still a prime location for business and for COT to have to lose a valuable member, even though they pretty much suck now, is still something that we don’t want to deal with. Because of the distribution infrastructure in place, and our abundance of oil warehoused in Jebel Ali, I felt that selling it the Australians, through the means that were negotiated, was a win for everyone involved.”
She paused, turning up her glass of wine in frustration before setting it back down on the table and pouring the rest of the bottle in her glass. Nathanial smirked a bit from the side of his mouth as he looked across the table at the frustrated Alexis as she fumed a bit. “And the third?” he asked, watching her breathe heavily while she gripped her wine glass.
“I like you,” she replied. “The other day when we spoke, I felt like we had a real connection. When I saw you today acting like you did when you charged through the office, making a bee line for your car, I honestly felt that something was terribly wrong. When I found out what it was, through various web outlets and news sources, I immediately felt an urge to use every resource at my disposal to help you, not the company, you.” She sat her glass of wine down as the server came and removed the dishes from the table as Alexis continued to seethe.
“Alexis, you will never know how grateful I am that you took the initiative and did that,” he stated softly. “The fact that you were able to pull a deal like this off in such a quick manner is a sign that you may very well be smarter than I am, a trait that I value more than the others.”
She nodded, relaxing a bit though still rather tense in her shoulders and back. “So why did you seem so frustrated?”
“Because I didn’t have the guts to ask you for help first,” he answered quickly, calming the mood as the server set down two pieces of fresh cheesecake in front of them. “Yesterday when we spoke in the break room and you told me who you were, I really wanted to sit down and ask you to look at that company before my meeting today and tell me what I could do to fix it. However, my pride got in the way and I had yet to get to know you, so I opted to go it alone, which is how I’ve done my business since I got into it.” He paused as he reached his hand across the table and placed it over Alexis’s. “You went out of your way to help me when I was too prideful to ask, and because of that, I’ll never be able to thank you enough. Financially, you saved me millions and have given me an opportunity to regain everything that I have already lost.”
He held her hand softly, gazing into her eyes as she relaxed a bit more, finally regaining her normal stature and demeanor. “So, you’re a man then?” she asked playfully. “Can’t seem to know when to stop and ask for help.”
“Hey, sometimes it’s about knowing what your limitations are and praying you have a woman in your life to fix it,” he replied, gazing into her eyes as he caressed her hand gently. “Maybe there’s a chance I found that.”
“Maybe,” she replied. “Just maybe.”