Chapter 5

Aidan

I arranged to meet Chrissy at the bar of a classy restaurant at nine pm a couple of days later. She was waiting for me when I arrived and hopped off her stool to greet me. Mostly when I met a date, they would stand while I shook their hand or at most let me air-kiss their cheeks. Chrissy flung her arms around me and enfolded me a tight embrace. “It’s good to meet you,” she told me, finally letting go.

“And you. Shall we go in and see if we can be seated?” I asked her.

“Oh, what’s the rush?” She patted the seat next to her. “Come sit down and choose a drink. I’m buying this time.”

Another surprise. Usually ninety-nine percent of the time I was expected to pay for everything. Then I remembered, Chrissy didn’t know I was a billionaire. For once it was nice to have a secret to hide behind. Lori and I had decided that I should say I was a bartender at Abandon and that’s how I’d met her.

I watched as the bartender cleared away five wine glasses from where Chrissy was sitting. “Same again, please.” She asked, “and get the man here a beer.”

“Could I have a scotch, actually?” I asked her.

She crooked her mouth to the side. “I suppose so, though I’d have preferred to have been dating a beer drinker.”

What the actual fuck?

We chatted normally after that for a while so I put the strange beer/scotch situation down to a quirk or a reaction to a previous ex. I’d have considered ending the date and returning home if she’d have carried on being weird.

It was time to go through to the main restaurant and so Chrissy followed me to the dining area and took the seat opposite mine.

She perused the menu for a while. Every time I or the waitress asked if she was ready to order, she asked for another few minutes and uhmed and ahhed. I was more than ready to eat by this stage and could feel myself getting wound up by having to wait. I reminded myself this was Lori’s friend and come what may, I needed to stick this date out.

Eventually Chrissy decided and chose her starter and main. I ordered mine and then looked at the drinks menu. “Would you like to order any wine at all?” I asked her.

“Oh, yes, I’d love a bottle of red. Could you pass me the menu over please?” Oh God, not another delay? I was about to suggest one when the look she gave me showed me that she fully intended to choose the bottle herself. She chose the most expensive bottle on the list. The waitress took our food and drink orders and moved away.

“So do you date a lot? I asked her.

“About once a week,” she told me. “Sometimes my dates aren’t who they appear to be. They’re totally fake people. What they say on the dating app is a crock of shit. Like they’ll say they’re a fitness instructor but they can’t get up a flight of stairs without almost dying. I’ve had some terrible dates.”

“So you work for a fashion magazine?” I think it best to bring her away from the subject of fake occupations.

“Yes, I source most of the clothes for each issue. Have to make sure everything is perfect.”

“Right,” I said, thinking that I didn’t give a fuck about her having to pick one sweater over another, though it lent some insight into why she was so fucking choosy and difficult. In fact, I was quite bored. I kept comparing sitting here with Chrissy and the stilted conversation we were having, alongside the easy camaraderie between myself and Lori at lunch just a few days ago.

The wine arrived, and I was asked if I wanted to taste it.

“Actually, could I taste it please?” Chrissy asked.

“Yes, Madam, of course.” A small amount was placed in a glass in front of her. She picked it up and swilled it around her mouth.

“It will do,” she said and dismissed the waitress. Then she poured herself a full glass and put the bottle down right at her side of the table.

“Do I not get a glass?” I joked.

“Oh, did you want wine? I thought you were drinking scotch? Not supposed to mix them are you?” She beckoned the waitress back who I thought was doing a fabulous job of keeping a smile on her face and not drop kicking my date.

“Yes?”

Chrissy pointed at me. “He’d like a scotch please. What sort would you like? You must tell the girl, she’s not psychic.”

Lori had asked me not to discuss her with Chrissy so my safe topic of conversation was gone. I wondered if it had been Chrissy who had been Lori’s roommate and discovered her after her overdose but I doubted it. No, it couldn’t have been. I felt Chrissy would have stepped over her and complained about the body being in the way and then helped herself to Lori’s belongings. I now knew what purgatory must be like.

When the first course arrived, Chrissy took one bite of her pate before beckoning the waitress, stating it wasn’t good enough and returning it for a different course.

When the second course arrived things took a definite turn for the worse, even though at this stage I’d not felt that was possible.

My steak had arrived, and it was cooked to perfection. My mouth salivated at the thought of slicing through and chewing on a juicy morsel.

Chrissy had ordered a blue cheese salad.

I watched as she poked it around her plate. She kept looking at my meal and sighing.

“Is everything alright, Chrissy?” I asked her.

“I made a mistake ordering this. But I can’t send it back as there’s nothing wrong with it. I wish I’d had the steak like you ordered now. It looks perfect.”

“It is,” I told her while I placed a piece in my mouth.

She pushed her salad to one side. “I’m going to order one.”

I dropped my cutlery back to my plate. “But it will take a while and you already have a meal.”

“I don’t want it now. I want steak.” She told me.

I closed my eyes for a second praying to any entity out there to give me strength. “I already ate a piece of mine but would you like to trade? It would save waiting for another steak to be cooked.” I didn’t want anything prolonging this date any further than it had to be.

“That is so kind of you.” She said. I handed her my steak, and she tipped half of her salad next to it before handing it to me.

Half a fucking salad. Six feet tall, 182 pounds and eating half a fucking salad. The next thing I knew, she whipped her cell out and took a photo of me with it.

“I’m not really comfortable with you taking my photo. Could you delete it?” I asked her.

“Oh, don’t be so fussy. I’m just going to send it to Lori and tell her how lovely and kind you are inside and out. Then I’ll delete it.”

She returned the cell to her purse and then proceeded to eat the steak like it was the best cock she’d ever put in her mouth. I didn’t want to get turned on by the pain in the ass but she was making the most suggestive noises while sitting in the restaurant consuming her steak. She made Sally from the film When Harry Met Sally look like a mime artist. She was so loud people at neighboring tables began to stare.

After she had finished her meal and our plates had been cleared away, we perused the dessert menu and Chrissy declared she didn’t want anything.

“Are you sure?” I asked her, “Because I’m going to have crepes and I don’t want to share.”

“No, I couldn’t eat another thing.” She told me. “That steak has filled me right up. It was the most delicious steak I’ve ever had.”

Yeah, thanks for that.

“I couldn’t eat another thing.”

Well, I could because I’d only had some lettuce, spinach and a bit of cheese.

Chrissy finished off the wine while I waited for my crepes to arrive. When they did, she was nothing short of predictable.

“Oh, actually they look divine. Could I try a little and then if I like it, I’ll order some.”

She leaned over to my plate and cut a third off one of my crepes before eating it. Then she pulled a face.

“Oh, not as good as they look.” She said.

Yeah, a lot like you, I thought.

“Right, well if you’d excuse me I shall just go and powder my nose and then I’ll be right back and we’ll discuss a night cap at mine.”

God, not a chance. I nodded at her and thought to myself that I had the time she was in the bathroom to work out a plan of escape.

While she was gone, I ordered myself a further scotch and asked for the bill. I couldn’t wait to get home but I needed a further drink of alcohol to numb myself from any more of Chrissy’s obnoxious behavior.

The bill arrived but Chrissy had still not returned from the bathroom. I became a little concerned. She’d had rather a lot of wine, perhaps she’d keeled over or something?

I decided to send her a text as a first step. Just to ask if she was okay. I sent a quick message and placed my cell back on the table. Within a second it beeped back.

Chrissy: Oh I’m on my way home. While in the bathroom I kinda felt there was nothing between us, right? So why prolong it? So I’m headed home. Almost back now. Oh, and I got the drinks earlier so you can pick up the bill.

I rubbed my forehead. This was hands down the worst date I’d ever been on. There was no wonder I tended to just pick a quick fuck, up at the club. I wasn’t sure how I would tell Lori that her friend was a complete bitch, but I’d find a way. It didn’t seem to me that recommendations or dating apps were the way to go in finding a woman.

Knowing that my date wasn’t coming back, I beckoned the waitress back over. I apologized profusely for her nightmare customer, gave her a huge tip and then ordered a second lot of crepes and a final scotch. God, I deserved them. I sat back, savoring my alone time and wondering if I actually needed a woman in my life at all. Perhaps a regular call girl would be more suited to my lifestyle?

When I got home, I was slightly the worse for wear. It was however, only just after eleven so I decided I would call my best friend.

She answered on the second ring. “Well, hi there. How did the date go?”

“Hello. I figured that analyzing dates might be a friend thing, so I thought I’d call. Your friend, and please excuse what I’m about to say, was a complete pain in the ass and Satan himself would have found her too hot to handle.”

“Seriously?” The voice that came back down the cell sounded surprised.

I told her about everything that had happened through the night and at several times Lori burst out laughing. “Oh dear, there’s no wonder she’s on a dating site if she’s that awkward to please.”

“Well, it’s a good job I really am a billionaire because she spent a goddamn fortune.”

“You got dumped.”

“She just left. Can you believe that? She didn’t bother telling me, just left the restaurant and went home. I could have still been sitting there waiting for her.”

There was more laughter down the line.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I can’t help feeling responsible for your bad date.” Lori said.

“No, it wasn’t your fault. You thought you were helping. But no more dates with your friends. It could make things awkward if I find all of them to be Satan’s sisters.”

“So, what will you do now?” She asked me.

“I really don’t know. The thing is, it’s the launch on Friday for the club and I wanted a date on my arm for the night. Now. I’m just going to fly solo and take the ridicule that will come my way. Let them think they’re winning the bet. I’ve plenty of time yet.”

“Exactly. You don’t need someone until Christmas, plenty of time. Why let dating spoil your big night? Everyone will want to talk to you, anyway. They won’t want you distracted by having a female on your arm. Plus that would make a new date feel uncomfortable if they kept being abandoned while you spoke to other people.”

“Yes, you are absolutely right, yet again, Lori. Thank you so much. I will stay date free for the launch and worry about dating and bets after that. Like you say, there’s plenty of time yet. You are such a good friend already. You know that?”

“How much scotch have you drunk? Get yourself to bed, Aidan. No doubt you have lots of business to deal with tomorrow.”

I yawned. Come to think of it I was absolutely wiped out.

“You’re right. Yet again. You need to just be with me all the time, Lori. Like just put me on strings and be the puppet master because you are a brilliant lady and I will bow to your awesomeness.”

“I’m going now. Night, Aidan.” She said.

“Night, bestie.” I told her and turned off my cell. I laid down on my bed and was asleep in seconds.

When I woke the next morning it took several minutes before I remembered the nightmare of the evening before. Christ, I’d never been on a date like it. How much had she drunk and her manners, they had been appalling. I would have to be careful not to diss her too much to Lori, if she was Lori’s friend, but God, I hoped Lori never got her an invitation to Abandon. Fuck, I never wanted to see Chrissy again. I was concentrating on the final stages of the launch now. Abandon was my current woman and date and I would make sure she would have a fantastic time on Friday. Nothing else mattered right now.