I head back downstairs and pinch myself over how much fun I’m having. I always enjoyed going out in New York City, but surprisingly I’m really enjoying this quiet night in, especially now when I compare it to my college nights that kept me out well past midnight.
I look through a stack of movies next to the TV and find a few with titles I don’t recognize. I pop one in, and recognize an A-list star on screen, but can’t place the movie. Suddenly a subtitle appears that says, “For Your Consideration Only.” I Google the actor’s name and see some pictures from this movie on IMDB. This movie isn’t due out for another three months.
“He’s getting screening copies for the Oscars. Is he a judge?” I mumble to myself.
Just then the door flies open.
“Speak of the devil,” I say.
“And the devil is excited to see his little angel,” Cole says.
“How was your meeting?”
“As quick as possible.”
“Come again?”
“I wrapped it up as quickly as I could and came back home.”
I look at the clock. “Oh yeah, you are early. I didn’t notice.”
“You didn’t miss me?”
“Of course I did,” I say, holding out my arms and motioning with my hands for him to come to me. “It’s just that I was having so much fun with Benjamin.”
“What did you two do?”
“We played games and made popcorn.”
“It sounds like I really missed out on the fun.”
“You sure did.”
“But we can have some fun of our own.”
“Grown up fun?”
“Adults only,” he says wrapping those strong arms of his around me and lifting me up off the ground as he plants his lips squarely on mine.
He scoops me up and carries me to the couch. It doesn’t take long before he’s got my T-shirt off and he’s working on my bra, which I was able to wash and dry since we got back from the beach.
He slides his hands inside my sweats and I feel my panties pooling. I’m wet and ready to go.
“Cole?”
He looks up from his horizontal position. “Yes, Benjamin.”
“I’m thirsty.”
“Okay, I’ll bring you some water.”
I try to lower myself into the couch cushions as much as I can. Thankfully the back of the couch is in a position to just barely block Benjamin’s view from above. I wish now I would have put a little less salt on the popcorn.
“You can go back to bed, buddy. I’m coming.”
Benjamin must be frozen in place at the top of the stairs, as little kids do when they’re tired. They just don’t move, and I’m guessing that’s the case with Benjamin, but I don’t dare look over the top of the couch to see.
Cole’s back in less than five minutes. “Where were we?”
“We were about to-”
Ding-dong
“Who can that be?”
“You want to check?’
“No. Probably just an aggressive door-to-door salesman.”
“At this hour?”
“Some of them will try anything.”
Cole starts kissing me, and his lips feel incredible.
“You taste like salt and butter.”
“Oh, sorry, I can brush my—”
His finger comes up to my lips, silencing me.
“And you taste delicious.”
I smile and he kisses me again, this time using his tongue. I do the same tasting the meat from his dinner mixed with what tastes like olive oil. I don’t know who tastes better, him or me.
Ding-dong. Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Cole! Open up! I know you’re in there.”
“It’s your dad!”
CHAPTER 14
Cole
I straighten myself out, and head to the door.
What in the world is Corey doing here at this hour?
“Hey, Corey. What’s happening?”
“Cole! Buddy!” Corey says stumbling through the front door and into my arms.
“Whoa there, cowboy. Have we been drinking?”
“Just a couple,” he says and I turn him in my arms so he’s facing back towards the door. It gives Anna just enough time to make a run for it.
I hear footsteps on the stairs. She’s going for the master bedroom. Perfect.
“Anna, can I have another water?” I hear Benjamin say from upstairs.
Shit! Benjamin’s awake.
“Anna? Why are you talking about Anna?” Corey asks.
“Not Anna, Corey. You’re going to have a haaannngover tomorrow.”
“Nah. I never get those. I can hold my liquor,” he says right before his stomach heaves, but thankfully he keeps everything down.
I’ve got to get him in bed, but where?
“Did you drive?”
I pray he’s not going to say yes. “Hell no! I took an Uber. Did you know there’s this app that you can download to..your…” His speech tails off as he passes out in my arms.
I put him an a fireman’s carry and take him to the couch. Tomorrow morning is going to be interesting.
CHAPTER 15
Anna
Somehow my dad’s up bright and early forcing me to hide in Cole’s bedroom until he can give him a lift home. Luckily Benjamin is still asleep so I’ve managed to dodge a bullet.
My phone vibrates and I see a Gmail message has come through. I open it and see that PIMCO is interested in another interview, but they’re hoping I can do it tomorrow. They apologize for the short turnaround time, but I know what this means. I need to say yes or I’m probably out of the running.
I put together a professional reply, while sitting on the edge of Cole’s bed in my pajamas, and hit send.
A response comes back just a few minutes later that I’m confirmed for 2 p.m.
I stand up and walk out the French doors on Cole’s balcony.
I’ve never been in a home with a view like this. The sand is directly below and the water isn’t more than a stone’s throw in front of me. I can hear the rhythmic waves breaking on the soft, sandy shore and suddenly any stress I had starts to melt away.
How incredible is this?
Cole didn’t even try anything last night, not that I didn’t want him to. We just cuddled and talked the entire time. I like that, as much as we both want each other, we’re also connecting mentally just as much as we’re trying to physically. He said it was too risky last night. If Benjamin got up again it would be a disaster if he somehow figured out what we were doing. And if my dad stumbled up the stairs it would also be terrible.
The funniest thing is what we talked about. We geeked out about financial markets, math, and analytics. Probably the most boring thing in the world for most people, but for us it’s fascinating.
A few of my friends had gotten married just after graduation. As much as they enjoyed their husbands and being married I just didn’t see that complete spark between them. They said they were soul mates, but it always seemed like something was missing. It seemed like everything was just good enough, and not perfect. After watching them I was actually starting to wonder if that’s just how life works. There is no perfect, there is only good enough.
But not anymore.
Cole is perfect. Everything about him.
He told me how he got interested in foreign currency exchange a few years ago and how he was able to make a lot of money buying and selling currencies just before or after they got stronger and weaker.
He was literally a genius when it came to this kind of stuff, and the results of his brilliance were evident right where I was standing. He paid off the mortgage on the modest apartment in Silver Lake where he was living, then discreetly moved here, to Malibu. He still spent time at his place in Silver Lake when he wanted to be low-key, and he still visited his parent’s old house, where his brother and his wife had lived, but he never really let on that he’d made so much money. I guess the one exception was his Maserati, but nice cars are a dime a
dozen in L.A.
He didn’t come right out and say it, but he told me the numbers he was working with and the percentage of profits he made. Being a finance major it didn’t take me long to do the math in my head. Cole was a billionaire…a certified billionaire. And that was after taxes. He was set for life.
And all I was thinking about is how much better my life had become since he came into it. Correction…since Benjamin came into it. Benjamin led me to Cole and together the two of them are the most incredible dynamic duo ever.
I always thought that one day I’d have kids of my own, I just never imagined they might not be the kind that I bear myself. But that didn’t have to be the case, especially with the way I was getting along so well with Benjamin.
And even though I was looking for a job, there was no reason I couldn’t start a big family while I pursued my career. Plenty of women hold down a corporate job and still raise a successful family. Why couldn’t I?
And although I don’t claim to know anything about being a mom I do know one thing. All mom’s work whether you get paid or not.
Working in corporate America may result in a nice paycheck, but working as a mom pays you back in a better way entirely. The love of a child and the man you’d do anything to spend the rest of your life with, hand in hand, is priceless.
CHAPTER 16
Cole
I’ve never met a woman in my thirty-seven years who really understood me the way she does. I have an unusual sense of humor, and strange hobbies, but so does she. I was resigned to the fact that I just marched to the beat of a different drummer, and that’s ok, but I was never going to meet a woman who’d be interested in my unusual ways.
Until her.
Last night she proved it. We joked about everything. We even joked about financial stuff. What couple does that?
We did.
We stayed up almost the entire night talking. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. The funny thing was her dad was passed out on my couch just downstairs, and we should have been worried about being found out, but we totally forgot about him. We were just so focused on each other and the fun we were having.
But as much as I liked all the fun we had, it was nice to see other sides of her as well. She’s a really smart girl, sharp as a tack. I’ve been thinking about starting my own financial services firm, giving back to inner city families. I want to teach them how to invest and show them the power of compound interest. I hinted at the idea last night and she seemed just as excited about it as I was.
What a perfect fit. We could do it together. Her and I.
I get out of my car and walk up to my house. I’m excited to offer her a job working side by side with me on this new project.
It’s the perfect morning, and I’m ready to surprise her when I walk in that door.
“Hey, good morning.”
“Morning.”
“You look like you’re in a hurry.”
“I am. I’ve got an interview tomorrow and I have to go prepare.”
“Oh.” I say, feeling deflated. “Is Benjamin awake?”
“No, he’s still sleeping.”
“Okay. Thanks for staying here while I drove your dad home.”
“No problem. It was my pleasure, but now I’ve got to run.”
“Okay,” I say as she kisses me quickly on the cheek as she rushes out the door.
So much for my plan. I guess the old saying is true. Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. I just got reminded of it.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
It’s an invitation for a slumber party tomorrow night. Benjamin’s invited. I recognize the family hosting it. Good people. I grew up with both parents.
“Good morning, Cole,” I hear from the top of the stairs.
“Hey buddy. Get some sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because you’ll want to be rested up for tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Slumber party at your friend Steven’s place.”
“Slumber party? At Steven’s!”
“Yep.”
“Awesome!”
I confirm the RSVP, and get to work on setting up an RSVP of my own. I’ll have tomorrow night free and I know just where and with who I want to spend that time with…and exactly what we’re going to do.
CHAPTER 17
Anna
Pop!
The cork pops off the top of the Dom Pérignon, and bubbles come out of the top.
Cole has rented the King Premier Ocean Front room at the Malibu Beach Inn. I don’t even want to know how much it cost. I’m slightly embarrassed that he spent so much money on this evening, but I have to admit I appreciate all the time and energy he has put into preparing it. We could be stuck in a cardboard box together, but with him I would have the time of my life.
“To your soon to be employment,” he says.
“Cole, thank you, but I told you it’s just another round of interviews. I don’t even know if I made it through.”
“Oh you made it through all right.”
“What do you mean?”
He hands me a champagne flute and we step out onto the balcony.
“What I mean is one way or another you’re going to have a job as soon as you want it.”
“Thank you,” I say looking at him to cheers, before turning my gaze back to the ocean. On the one hand, the last thing I want to think about right now is work. The ocean breeze is perfect across my exposed shoulders, thanks to the top I picked out. The water is rolling so slowly I swear it drops my blood pressure and anxiety about finding work right away. On the other hand it would be good to eliminate all this stress of job searching, and start paying my dad back for what he did for me. “But I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
“I found out you were applying at PIMCO. I’ve got a contact down there. We met a couple years back on a big trade. He’s in charge of the division you’re interviewing with so I can speak with him next week when we meet up. We get together a couple times a month. Great guy.”
“That would be incredible if you don’t mind doing that. Thank you.”
“But that’s not all. There are a lot of other firms in L.A. that would love nothing more than to have your bright young mind come work for them.”
“Well, the phone’s not exactly ringing off the hook.”
“I can make that happen.”
“I’d like to say I can do it on my own, but I can’t deny that a little help right now would go a long way.”
“Just say the word and it’s done, but…there’s something else I want to tell you.”
“There’s more?”
“Yes.”
“Why is there always more when it comes to you,” I say leaning in to hug him, and also playfully grab low on his thigh as if he penis reaches the top of his kneecap. Thankfully it’s not that large, but he’s definitely very, very well endowed.
“When I rushed home the other morning, I was coming with news. The news that I want you to work with me.”
“Work for you?”
“Work with me, not for me. Big difference.”
“But I’m not qualified for that.”
“You’re perfectly qualified. I have the contacts and the experience, but you have that human element…that personal touch. I’ve seen the way people warm up to you. I mean look at how quickly Benjamin took to you. And it’s not just him. You have this way about you. This, how do they call it in France? This Je ne sais quoi.”
“Je ne sais quoi?”
“A certain way about you. Something special that I can’t put into words.”
“Like charisma?”
“Sort of, but even more.”
“You’ve got to be joking me. I couldn’t sell water to a fish.”
“But that’s just it. You don’t have that hardened business edge, like I’ve fortunately, or unfortunately, developed. You’re genuine. You’re the light to my darkness, but together we’re always sun
shine to the right crowd. You can go into that inner city and show them that we’re genuine. I just look like another guy in a suit trying to make a buck.”
Billionaire's Babysitter: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 20) Page 5
