Accidental Sugar Daddy: A Single Mother, Billionaire Romance

by Kaci Rose

  He smiles, "Well the money I just transferred to your pay app says otherwise."

  I shake my head and look out the window not sure how I'm supposed to feel.

  "Thank you," I pause. "Do you have time to take me clothes shopping? I'm sure there are better things you could be doing with your time."

  He laughs and his eyes light up looking at me.

  "Yes, I can be a workaholic, but I've made it a point to slow down and take time off if there is something for me to do."

  We pull into an upscale boutique downtown. I love this little place; I have window shopped here before. They have some great stuff, I've just never been able to afford any of it.

  He goes to help me out of the car, but I'm hesitant.

  "What do you not like the stuff here?" He asks.

  "Oh, I do, I just also happen to know how much it costs." I stand on the sidewalk just staring at the store.

  He leans to whisper in my ear, his chest pressed to my back. His warmth slipping through my shirt wraps me in a feeling of safety I want to drown in, but at the same time know I need to be worried. The last guy to make me feel safe ran out on me and vanished.

  "You do know I’m a billionaire, right? More than I could spend myself if I tried," he says and his velvety voice shoots shivers down my spine to my core. I'm so turned on between the contact of his chest to my back and his hot breath on my ear.

  I have to take a deep breath to compose myself. "That's not the point. It doesn't mean you should spend it unwisely."

  Still whispering into my ear, he says, "And buying you clothes is spending unwisely?"

  I can't do anything but shrug.

  He takes my hand, and we walk into the store. We are greeted instantly by a sales associate, and I almost feel like I'm having a Pretty Woman moment. You know where the sales associates fawn all over her when he shows up ready to spend boatloads of money.

  But the sales associate is super sweet, and he tells her to get me warmer clothes since we are heading into the fall season. Then he sits down in comfy looking chair near the dressing rooms. The salesgirl pulls me away.

  "Hi, my name is Cindy," She is all smiles asking, "Let’s start with what do you like to wear?"

  "Mostly jeans but I think I'll need some dresses too like cocktail dresses, casual nothing too fancy. I like comfortable stuff I can easily mix and match."

  She nods and takes a few measurements and says, "Let’s start with a few pairs of jeans."

  She pulls a few pairs of skinny jeans, one in a dark wash and another in black, and pairs them with a long sleeve sweater and a few tops. Then she takes me over to the dressing room.

  I try on the dark wash jeans and the sweater and step out to show Owen. His eyes are riveted on me as soon as I step out of the dressing room. I have to admit, it's nice to have someone’s attention like this.

  "Do you like it?" he asks.

  "Yeah, it’s not something I'd normally buy for myself, but I do like it. Do you like it?" I ask him.

  "Does my opinion matter?"

  "Well, you are buying the clothes and I’ll be wearing them around you. I'd say your opinion matters."

  "I don't think my opinion matters, but yes, I do like the outfit, especially the jeans." He smiles and doesn't try to hide the fact that he is checking me out. I put a little sway in my step as I walk back into the dressing room.

  I put on the next outfit, the black jeans, and a top.

  I come out of the dressing room again and his eyes rake over me. I love having his attention like this. It’s been a long time since I felt like a sexy woman and not just a mom.

  "I really like those jeans, but I'm not a fan of the top," he says.

  I smile, "I agree."

  I continue to try on clothes including a few dresses, skirts, and tops. The whole time he gives me his attention and his opinion. He never rushes me or complains about being there.

  A few times when I am walking around with the salesgirl, I catch a glimpse of him checking emails on his phone, but he puts it down and gives me his full attention when I'm near.

  I admit to myself this is a much better clothes shopping experience than any I have ever had.

  When I'm done, I end up with ten outfits, three cocktail dresses, two pairs of shoes, and two belts.

  He pays for the clothes and then helps me load them into the trunk of the car and we head out to the restaurant.

  I study him as he looks out the window and after a moment, he catches me looking at him.

  "What?" he asks

  "You aren't quite what I thought you'd be."

  "How so?"

  "Well, I thought you'd sit on your phone and ignore me to the entire shopping trip, for one. Two, you give me your complete attention. I don't know, I guess I didn't expect that."

  He gives me a small smile and looks back out the window. "One of the men that works for me, he’s just a few years older than me, suffered a heart attack last year."

  He turns to look back at me. "He worked as hard as I did and kept the same hours as me, pushed and expected no less from those who worked with him. It's why we got along so well. I was at the hospital with him when the doctor came in saying he had to slow down because working so much was killing him."

  He takes in a deep breath. "I remember looking around the hospital room. He has a wife and kids who were there for him and I realized it could have been me in that bed and who would have been in the room for me? Just my mom, that's it. He has slowed down since then and living life. It made me realize I was married to my job. I didn't want to be in the hospital like that. So, I slowed down, delegated more, spent more time with my mom and friends.

  "It was a wake-up call." I reach out and squeeze his hand. He looks at my hand on his and I hope he feels a tingle like I feel with his skin on mine. When I pull my hand away, he continues.

  "Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what I want from life. I know I'm lucky to have built my company from nothing. I’ve taken care of my mom and she doesn't have to worry about anything, she spends her time volunteering and doing the hobbies she loves. She's happy. I guess I still need to find what makes me happy."

  I nod, I understand that. I've had those fleeting thoughts of what I want, but then the thoughts of what the girls need creep in and take over. I love my girls and they are always my priority.

  But the thought of what you want to do. If I was in his shoes, no girls to take care of? I really don't know.

  "When you were a kid, how did you see yourself at your age?" I ask.

  "I don't know. Typical American dream, wife, kids, a dog, a nice house, working the nine to five," he says.

  "Is that not your dream anymore?"

  "I have the house and can work any hours I choose. The rest isn't as easy to find as you think."

  "Well, you start by letting your guard down and letting people in. You know REAL dating, not this." I motion between the two of us. "You have to be willing to be hurt, it’s part of life. Maybe start with the dog?"

  He chuckles. "Yeah, maybe. What about you have you dated since your divorce?"

  "I have and dating sucks. I've had some strange first dates and few bad ones, a few second dates, two third dates, and no forth dates."

  "I feel like there’s a story there," he says.

  "Well, I guess maybe I'm pickier. If by date three I'm not feeling a spark, I'm not wasting my time. It takes a lot to go on a date, getting ready, finding a babysitter, giving up time with my girls. I'm not going to put the effort in if it's not going anywhere."

  "And none of those guys were going anywhere?"

  "Well, one of my third dates showed up late with a stain on his shirt and proceeds to tell me his cat vomited all over him. And he didn't bother to change his shirt. Oh, and that was cat one of eight he owned. So, no fourth date or even a kiss goodnight. I had Mia SOS me out of there." I laugh, remembering her horrible fake phone call.

  I continue, "Had a first date conveniently forget his wallet. One brought his mother with us.
I checked his driver’s license to make sure he was at least eighteen. He was, but I got along better with his mom than him. Another one suggested on date number one that when we got married, we'd send my kids off to boarding school. I just got up, walked out, and didn't even bother with him. Another one asked if I would be willing to give full custody to their dad so he'd have more time with me. And one blind date showed up drunk, took me to a movie and passed out about twenty minutes in. I walked out of that one too."

  He laughed, "And you’re still an advocate for me to start dating again?"

  "How else will you find a wife? You don't want one in this situation, are you going to mail-order a wife? I don't see any other options for you. If you know of any secrets, please let me know."

  He shakes his head as we pull up to the restaurant. It's another fancy one with small portions and high price tags. I groan, not meaning to.

  "What?" He asks.

  "You really like your small portions, huh?"

  "You don't like the food?"

  "Mmm, I'm more of a meat and potatoes kind of girl. This has never been my thing, but by all means, let's go."

  He looks at me for a minute and then shakes his head.

  "If you were picking where would we go?"

  I get kind of excited at the thought of expanding his food horizons. So, I smile. "Can I pick?"

  He pauses and searches my face for something.

  "Sure, let’s see if you can do better."

  I clap my hands and giggle. I am actually really excited about this!

  "Any allergies I should know about?"

  "No," he says hesitantly.

  I think for just a minute before I have an idea. I pull it up on my phone and show it and the address to Owen's driver. He nods and we head off.

  "Where are we going?" Owen asks.

  "It's a surprise," I say and notice he looks uncomfortable.

  "You aren't used to not being in control, are you?"

  "That obvious?" He says.

  "Yeah, you are uncomfortable right now. I'm kind of enjoying this."

  He just shakes his head and sighs.

  "Will you trust me? I bet our bill is even cheaper than it would have been there."

  We pull up to a steakhouse and he eyes the place as he helps me from the car.

  "Ever been here?" I ask.

  "No, I haven't."

  "Wow. I even picked one of the more upscale steakhouses."

  "Have you been here?"

  "Once. My parents took me for my birthday, and it was amazing. Come on."

  We walk in, and he gets us a table right away. He’s nothing short of a perfect gentleman, making sure my chair is pulled out and I'm settled before he sits down.

  We order drinks and glancing at the menu, I also order the cheese fries. He looks at me and raises an eyebrow and I laugh.

  "Come on, you’re a guy, are you telling me you have gotten so high and mighty you don't even like cheese fries anymore?!"

  He shakes his head and smirks, "It's been a really long time since I had cheese fries."

  The fries come and they look mouth-watering. They are cooked perfectly, piled high with four different kinds of cheese, bacon, and served with a homemade ranch sauce. If how fast he is eating them is any indication, he is enjoying them as much as I am.

  I order a steak while he gets a coffee crusted prime rib. Both sound good. The meal includes homemade bread and honey butter, a salad, and a side.

  Our food arrives and he is amazed at how good the food is and how big a portion it is. I love seeing the spark in his eyes over the meal.

  I have him try my steak and his lips wrap around the tines of my fork taking in the juicy steak. He closes his eyes as he chews and agrees it's really good. In such an intimate moment, I remind myself this isn’t a real date, it’s a business agreement.

  We order an Oreo pie for dessert to share and he loves it too. When we get back to the car, the driver asks where to.

  So, I ask, "Well, is it still my turn to plan the date?"

  He looks at me trying to keep his face serious, but there is a sparkle in his eyes.

  "I guess so," he says.

  I tell the driver to take us to the Riverfront Park. It's a park along a river that runs right next to downtown. We get out and walk along the path by the water and take in downtown and the lights.

  "So, did you really enjoy dinner?"

  "Yes, I did, and you’re right the portions were huge, I'm so full."

  "See, there is life outside the gastropub scene. I'll have you eating at Cracker Barrel by the end of the month." I joke.

  "Hey, now a guy has his standards." He laughs. "It’s refreshing to see you eat a good steak. Most girls I've been out with order a salad and barely eat that."

  "Ahh yes, got to stay a size two to be a trophy wife."

  "I have a feeling you don't have a good opinion of the girls the other night."

  "No, I don't know, like you said they are honest and open about it and doing it for the money. They found a way to make it work. So good for them. It's the ones who lie, cheat, and steal to do it I have a problem with."

  "I agree with you there," he says.

  We walk a little further in silence and then he takes my hand in his. It's warm and my hand seems to fit perfectly, but that has to be in my head, right? I look down at our intertwined hands and then see him looking at me too.

  "Is this okay?" he asks.

  "Yeah," I say barely above a whisper as I look out over the water.

  We walk and talk about the kids. He asks what they like and how they are doing in school and seems truly interested. He asks about when their dad left and how I got on my feet and about me staying with my parents for a bit.

  As we head back to the car, we talk about how he started his business and how it grew. The conversation is light on the way home.

  When we pull up to my building, he helps me out of the car and gets my bags.

  "Well, that was the best clothes shopping date I've ever been on. Thank you." I say.

  "I had fun too. But there is no way you are carrying all these to your place on your own."

  I shrug, "So I'll make two trips."

  "Come on, let me help you."

  "No."

  "The kids are in bed, aren't they? I promise I'll drop the bags on the floor inside the door and go," he says, and I know he's right.

  I sigh. "Fine."

  We walk into the building and to my door. I open it and like promised, he places the bags inside the door. He says hi to Mia and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

  "See you, Friday Ellie." He says and turns and walks away.

  Mia heads home telling me she wants details later because she’s barely keeping her eyes open. I take the bags to my room and start putting the clothes away and getting ready for bed when my phone goes off with a text.

  Owen: Good night, Ellie. That was the best clothes shopping date I have been on as well.

  I can't help but smile.

  Me: Good night, Owen. Thank you again for the clothes, I'm actually excited to wear them.

  Owen: I'm glad. Get some sleep. I'm sure the girls will be up early.

  Me: They will, you get some rest.

  All night my head and heart battle. My heart wants to say this is the best relationship I’ve had since the girl’s dad. Then my brain chimes in that this isn’t a relationship.

  Chapter 4

  Ellie

  Owen texts me every day that week. I wake up every morning to a good morning text and end my day with one wishing me good night. We text back and forth a few minutes each day, nothing much to it, but it was nice to wake up and fall asleep to.

  Thursday night Mia comes over after the kids are in bed with some wine and we sit on the couch to catch up. I tell her about the date on Monday and how I now have the twenty-six hundred dollars sitting in my savings account.

  "Wow, that's almost what you make all month at work."

  "I know it's nice to have breathing ro
om and money is savings."

  "And don't forget the clothes, it's nice stuff too, so wear it. Then when this is over, you can sell it. Or you can take it to the consignment store downtown, get store credit and use it to buy clothes for the kids."

  "True, that's a good point. Plus, he isn't what I thought he'd be. He a gentleman, respectful, and pays attention to me. I expected him to be all work, work, work, always on his phone, but he puts his phone down when he talks to me and asks questions and remembers things. You know I've woken up every morning to a good morning text from him, and I have a text every night before bed."

  "Wow."

  "What?"

  "Wow, if I didn't know he was paying for your dates, I'd say he has some serious feelings for you."

  "Right? I don't know what to think, but I know I don't want to mess this up. It's not a bad way to earn some extra money."

  "Enjoy it. You have your daughters’ field trip tomorrow and a date and then the charity thing the next night, right?"

  "Yeah, you sure you can watch the kids for me?"

  "Yes, no problem. Your mom is coming over Saturday to watch the kids until I get here so she’ll be there when you leave. I have lunch with my mom and I'm sure she wants to over go over my life choices. I'll relieve your mom and be here when you get home."

  Mia's family loves her, but they tend to harp on how much more she could be doing with her life. They’re happy she’s happy, but they’re worried that her younger sister got married before her.

  I've told her she just needs to tell them how nagging makes her feel because they really do love her. She blows it off and says it's fine; she gets a free meal once a month and a story to tell over our wine night.

  "What did you tell my mom?" I ask.

  "Just that you had a date. She’s super excited for you," Mia says with a smile.

  "Let’s not tell anyone this guy is paying me for dates, okay. It just feels weird."

  "I promise, but trust me everyone will be happy to watch the kids so you can go out with a nice guy. We love you and want what’s best for you. You know that, right?"

  I do know and hug her because words escape me.

  ∞∞∞

  Owen

  I'm at dinner with my mom Thursday night and keep checking my phone. She said her friend Mia was coming over for a girl's night; it's been just a few days since we went clothes shopping on Monday, but I'm itching to see her again tomorrow. I loved talking with her during the week. She's different, I like that she's open and honest and doesn't bullshit.