Chapter 4
Alexis and Trisha sat in a restaurant in Chinatown with two small plates in front of them and two larger ones in the center of the table, sharing food with one another. The restaurant was very bright with fluorescent lights above them illuminating the entire restaurant. The walls were covered in white wall paper with a floral pattern with green panels underneath and a divider between the layers. Stereotypical Asian music played in the background as the two girls looked across the basic table with only a center leg to keep it up and standard, plastic back chairs to support them.
“So, are you still talking to that real estate broker you met last time you were in New York?” asked Alexis as leaned back against the chair, resting her back on the hard plastic.
“Yeah, I’ve been talking to Davis a bit here and there, letting him know about how my progress has been going with the relocation,” she said, dropping the name of the man she had a brief encounter with. “What about you? Have you still been talking to his friend, Steven?”
Alexis smiled as she looked down at her phone. “No, I haven’t spoken to him since that night,” she said with a shy grin. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied with my career and a few other things going on in my life.”
“Like what?” asked Trish.
“I don’t know,” she replied sarcastically. “I think my career took off and I decided to travel around the world.”
Trish laughed while she listened to Alexis’s sarcasm. “Text messages work around the world, Alexis,” she explained with a hint of sass. “You can be half way around the world and still receive a text message.”
Alexis smiled and continued to look down at her phone to see a message blinking on it. She ran her thumb over the screen to unlock it and look at the message. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” read the message as the color escaped her face. It’d been two days since she had spoken to the man who captured her heart in Dubai and he was reaching out to her.
“I started dating a man in Dubai and stayed with him for a few weeks,” said Alexis as she kept her eyes affixed to the phone. “I fell for a man who I thought was going to be great for me, and in turn, I thought I’d be great for him.”
“Well what happened?”
“It turns out we weren’t good for each other,” she replied. “He’s a great guy and I want the best for him, but I just don’t think we are compatible with one another.”
Trisha grinned. “How so? You liked him at first and then you suddenly changed your mind. What happened?”
Alexis composed herself and placed her phone on the table. “He was forced out of his company, which to be honest, he didn’t have much business to be involved with it anyway. However, he was forced to sell his shares and he resented me for supporting the other people. Hannah and I saved his company from bankruptcy and he even admitted that he knew he would be asked to sell at some point. Nathanial, however, didn’t think it’d be that soon. He was caught off guard and his ego got in the way of us and, unfortunately, I couldn’t handle it anymore.”
“So, is that who’s texting you now?” asked Trish with a coy smile. “Do you think he may have realized what he’s missing?”
“Maybe,” said Alexis as she picked up the phone and unlocked it again, typing a response to Nathanial before placing the phone back down. “He wants to talk and, honestly, I feel like I owe him that.”
“Alexis, you don’t owe him anything,” she said. “I’ve never met the man, but I will tell you this, no woman owes a man anything. Relationships are amicable and symbiotic. Without both parties working equally as hard with one another, it can’t work. Clearly, the two of you just weren’t meant to be. He’ll move on.”
Alexis smiled. “I just feel like I didn’t get the closure I wanted or needed.”
“Closure?”
“Yeah, I hate how it ended and how I saw that side of him,” she continued. “He was clearly upset and he lashed out at me. Yes, I’m mad at him for it and yes, I don’t want a relationship with him at this second, but I do want to talk to him. Now that he has had a couple of days to think about it, I wonder what’s going on in his mind. I really want to know what he thinks about everything.”
Trisha glanced across the table with a look of bewilderment. “Alexis, you are a gorgeous young professional who could have her pick of men, and you’re over here hung up on guy around the world. You need to shake this off and move on.”
Alexis looked down at the table as her phone buzzed again with the screen illuminating to show a new text message. “You don’t have to answer this,” said Trish as she looked across at Alexis.
“But I do,” she replied. “It might be work.”
“What would work want at this hour?”
“It’s morning in Asia,” said Alexis with a smile. “I have to be available to answer text messages.”
Trish looked skeptical as Alexis picked up the phone and unlocked it. “I’m in New York. I really want to talk to you about everything. I don’t like how everything ended.” Alexis smirked as she read the message from Nathanial.
“Fine, why don’t we meet up later tonight? I’ll text you where to meet me,” she replied as she placed the phone down.
“You’re going to talk to him, aren’t you?” asked Trisha.
“He came to New York,” replied Alexis. “He came out here to talk to me about everything.”
Trisha nodded. “He flew out here just to meet with you?”
“Yeah, is that weird?”
“Is he a billionaire?” asked Trisha in a curious manner.
“Yeah, he’s incredibly wealthy.”
“Then this is not unusual behavior,” replied Trisha. “I’ve never met a billionaire, but from what I’ve gathered from television and other people’s stories, flying around the world is nothing new.”
Alexis chuckled as she leaned forward and took a sip of her water. “Yeah, he does have a private jet too,” she explained.
“Oh, so he can get around as he pleases,” quipped Trisha. “I swear, why can’t I find a billionaire?”
“You said you were talking to that real estate broker still. That’s a great business. Maybe he’s got some money?”
Trisha thought about it for a moment before shaking her head with a smile. “He does well,” she replied. “In fact, he may come out to join us tonight if we decide to go see the town.”
Alexis looked across the table and thought about that before reaching for her phone and texting Hannah. “I’m going to tell Hannah we’re going out and that she can bring her man to meet us. I think it’d be fun for all of us to get together.”
“Are you going to invite your ex?”
“I think I am,” replied Alexis. “As much as I love you, I’m going to need Hannah and a stiff drink before I talk to Nathanial Jenkins again.”
Trisha laughed heartily as she took a bite from an egg roll. “I understand,” she said as she chewed the fried roll of cabbage. “You may need several drinks before seeing him.”
“I think you’re spot on, Trish,” she said as she continued to sip on her water.