Proposition: A Dark Billionaire Romance

by Angela Blake

  We passed by a few tables and I smelled the aroma of fish and soup. It got me worried a bit - soup, noodles and fish were like the worst kind of food to eat on a first date. I didn’t want this Dylan to kiss me and taste fish instead of my flavored lip gloss.

  After what seemed like forever we turned a corner and went up a flight of stairs. This took us all the way to the third floor and the usher led us to a VIP room in the furthest corner. It was small, fit for about six people, and was designed just like all the rest except it had far more elaborate leather seats.

  Waiting for us, seated in this room, was Dylan Blackthorn.

  Ysa and Matt casually walked up to him and greeted with a shake of hands but I stood there, just outside the VIP room, and like an idiot I stared at him. He must have been the most handsome specimen of a man I had ever laid eyes on. Even though he was probably twice my age, he looked like a younger man. The only hint was the grey hiding in his hair and trimmed beard but otherwise he looked much younger for his age.

  He stood nearly six-feet-two inches, a whole foot higher than I was, and had on this elegant couture grey suit. Dylan had jet black hair that was ruffled up and yet organized at the same time, like one of those vampire hairstyles popular on TV these days and he had the most gorgeous pairs of deep brown eyes. He was a living, breathing example of human perfection.

  “Olivia?”

  My attention snapped and I heard Ysa calling out my name over and over.

  “Olivia, Olivia, Oh-lee-vee-yah,” she went on like a lifeless drone. She was waving at me. “Hey, wake up. Stop staring at Dylan.”

  Ah fuck. Did I really just stare at him like a fucking moron?

  “Huh? Oh, I’m sorry,” I tried to excuse myself and walked into the room. I was going to shake Dylan’s hand but he reached out with both arms and gave me a tight hug. Oh God, and he smelled so good too. I wish he didn’t have to let go.

  “It’s fine,” Dylan told me as he let go (to my dismay). He then looked down at me and smiled before saying “As long as it’s someone as hot as you looking my way.”

  What the fuck do I say to something like that?

  “Uhm, thanks,” I mumbled out.

  Dylan took a seat and he gestured for me to sit beside him. Opposite of our side of the table was Ysa and Matt. She was looking at me with a wicked grin and her husband was already too busy looking at the menu.

  I took my seat and tried to avoid looking up to my side. I could feel Dylan looking in my direction so I simply bit my lip and tried to ignore it.

  “I ordered an appetizer,” Dylan told Matt. “I got us some pork dumplings and crab rangoon.”

  “Oh good,” Matt exclaimed. “I was going to get the dumplings too. All righty then, I’ll just go over the main courses. I’m definitely getting us some beer, what about you babe?”

  Ysa shrugged, “Just get me anything but soup and no lite beer. I want something heavy babe.”

  I looked over and saw Ysa’s hand dive underneath the table and towards Matt’s crotch. This was a VIP room, after all, and with the curtains closed it was unlikely anyone would disturb her from jerking him off other than the waiters coming in to give us our food. I then looked up at Dylan, wondering if he knew what they were up to, and discovered he was still looking my way.

  “Hey,” he greeted in such a casual manner it kind of caught me off-guard. “You want some naan bread?”

  “Naan?” I have never even heard of it in my life.

  He smiled, “It’s a kind of Indian bread, just really thin. You can use it and dip it in sauces or in all sorts of curry.”

  “Thought this was a Chinese place?”

  He nodded and explained, “Yeah, but a lot of Chinese culture was influenced by the Indians. Just think about Buddhism - that’s actually a part of Indian mythology and lore but it’s worshipped all over China, Japan and other Asian nations. Naan is also a big thing outside of Indian.”

  Wow, he just lectured me about Indian bread appetizers. That was one sign he was much older than I was. He’s had more time to read about the non-essentials like freaking bread appetizers. It was quite amusing though.

  “Hmm, I never knew that,” I told him and tore my attention away from the damn menu. I instead focused all my time on him now. “Let’s have some and then you can tell me more about you.”

  That got the old hunk into a good mood. He pressed a button that called in the waiter. As soon as the waiter peeked through the curtains, Ysa withdrew her hand from Matt’s open zipper. She bit her lip and looked at me and we both tried to keep ourselves from laughing.

  While we were getting all giddy like kids, Matt and Dylan ordered the food and drinks. Dylan then turned on the television in the room and Matt flipped through the channels until he found a sports channel.

  After the food came in and we were eating, I was starting to get a little more comfortable. I completely forgot about how exposed I looked in this red dress and just spent the hour chit-chatting with Dylan about everything and nothing.

  Turns out we had a lot of things in common. He and I had no love for baseball, we both loved to swim and he had this extreme fascination with movies. That last one really got my attention and I felt my whole body light up like a bulb when he told me he tried making his own short films in the past.

  “So you didn’t go to film school?” I had to ask while we were munching down on prawn dipped in some kind of sweet and sour sauce.

  He shook his head, “I couldn’t. Back then I just had to go to a business school because my brother died and the company fell into my hands. Turns out I’m good with numbers.”

  “Sorry about your brother,” I felt compelled to say.

  He shrugged like it was nothing, “Nah, it’s nothing. That was like twenty years ago. I bet you were probably four or five years old at the time.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh and nod. “Yeah, I do hope it’s okay that I’m much younger than you.”

  “I don’t mind,” he answered. He glanced at Matt and then back at me and said, “To be honest, I was hoping Matt was going to bring in someone nice and young. I mean, look at him and Ysa - they’re really happy.”

  “So you want a young girl too to call you ‘daddy’ while you fuck?” I said and almost instantly I wanted to slap myself. Why the fuck did I just say that?

  Oddly enough, he didn’t seem offended.

  “Sure,” he answered me. I couldn’t tell if he was being snarky or just telling the truth. “Every old man wants to feel some young gal’s lips around his cock. That’s the American Dream right there.”

  I burst out laughing and asked “Isn’t the American Dream all about reaching your goals and succeeding in life regardless of birth and station?”

  He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “That’s quite deep from such a cute, petite little person. Well, you got to look at it from an old guy’s perspective, like mine. I’ve already lived a life, had my ups and downs. At this point all I really want is to feel alive.”

  “And fucking a young hot chick makes you feel alive?”

  Dylan smiled, “Doesn’t it make you alive, regardless of how young or old you are?”

  He had a point. I couldn’t really argue with that.

  “Hey,” Ysa suddenly butt in. “Dessert’s here.”

  The curtains opened and another set of plates came in. Dylan and I changed topics as Matt and Ysa were no longer distracted. While the boys were talking business and football, all I could think about was how true Dylan’s words were. All my life I didn’t like it whenever I saw old men and young ladies going out but this brought on a new perspective. Maybe they were just enjoying life.

  If that was the case, what the fuck was I doing with my life?

  “Mind if I call you tomorrow? How about tonight?” Dylan suddenly asked just as we were getting ready to get up and leave. “They already gave me your number, just so you know.”

  My jaw dropped and I looked at Ysa accusingly. She only looked back with a devilish smile across her f
ace. I then looked up to Dylan and nodded, “Uh sure. Anytime, I guess.”

  “What time’s best? I don’t want to end up bugging you at work.”

  I thought about it for a second and then figured the timing didn’t really matter. Work was slow at the HR department and wasting ten minutes on a call wouldn’t really affect anything. There were times where I literally spent almost an hour playing silly video games on my phone just to pass the time.

  “Any time after eleven,” I told him. At least by then I’d be halfway through my shift and ready for my lunch break.

  “What time do you get off?”

  “Three-thirty,” I rolled my eyes. “Means I got way too much fucking time afterwards.”

  He read the message behind my words and asked, “Want to hang out tomorrow?”

  “As long as you’re paying,” I had to be brutally honest. I mean, why else would I go out with an old guy, no matter how fucking handsome he was?

  Dylan didn’t seem to find an issue, “Yeah, sure. I’ll call you tomorrow and pick you up.”

  That sealed the deal. We parted with him at the parking lot and he waved good-bye as the valet brought in his car. It was a damn Lamborghini and a red one at that. I mouthed an impressed whistle as he drove off.

  Ysa was still busy chit-chatting with Matt while we headed to our car (it was technically Matt’s), leaving me alone to my thoughts. All I could think about was the look on Dylan’s face when he first saw me and the things he said over dinner. His face and that wicked smile he had on was the very last thought I had before crashing onto my bed and falling asleep.

  Chapter Two

  “Olivia, you got those insurance papers for the new trainees up at fourth?”

  I snapped back to reality and looked up from my desk to see my supervisor, Victoria, leaning on my table. I had to fight back the urge to vomit; everybody in the office hated her. She was a class-A kind of bitch. Maybe it was because she was getting old and single with no kids. She was almost thirty-five and not a single guy could stand going out with her. Last I heard, her longest relationship only lasted two months and that was with one of our former officemates.

  “Huh?” I had to think about it twice and process what she was saying. “Papers? Oh, yeah! I got those done yesterday.”

  I scrambled through the documents on my desk and looked for a short, brown envelope. After a few seconds I found it lying underneath a stack of salary quotes. I gave the envelope to Vicky and watched as she opened it, peered inside and peeked at the papers inside.

  “All right,” she told me as she got off my desk. “I’ll be taking these over to Arnold. You done with the salary quotes? I need those today.”

  Bitch. She didn’t really need those but what the heck.

  “Uh yeah, sure,” I replied. “I’ll give ‘em to you before I head out.”

  “Thanks,” Vicky said and left my corner. I watched as she passed the other desks and made her way to the corner of the office, where she had her own space and a beautiful glass window so she could peek at us from time to time.

  At least I had something to keep me busy until it was time to go home. I didn’t have anything else to do and the only other thing on my mind except for meeting Dylan was that puzzle game I downloaded on my phone.

  By the time I could get out of this place I was exhausted and beginning to perspire. My hair was in a freaking mess and I felt the makeup on my face beginning to wear thin. How the hell was I going to meet up with Dylan looking like this?

  Even Vicky noticed how I looked when I gave her the documents she needed done. She didn’t bitch or ask me to do another tiring job and just waved at me as I left. I wanted to take a nice hot shower, stuff my face with food and sleep but I knew I’d find Dylan waiting for me right outside the building.

  I didn’t even know where we were going. What the fuck, right? I didn’t even try anymore and just combed my hair, touched up on my lipstick and tried to look as fresh and energetic as I could. Not really ready I picked up my bag and walked out of the front doors.

  As soon I walked out I saw Dylan way out in the parking lot. He was out, leaning on his car and toying with his phone, probably playing a game or just dawdling on his Facebook page. He did add me last night but I only accepted his request and then went to bed. I didn’t even know if he sent me any messages yet.

  Damn was he hot. I mean, sure, he was old enough to be my dad but he just had this unusual swag with the way he carried himself. This afternoon he had his hair slicked backwards and wore a black shirt with a heavy metal band logo on it, ripped jeans and a nice pair of steel-toe shoes. If it wasn’t for the slight dashes of grey in his hair and beard I’d mistake him for someone my age. He almost looked like Jared Leto but with a much better body.

  “Oh fuck,” I whispered to myself. I could feel a strange, tingling warmth in my chest and gut as I started walking towards him. “Just relax, you’re just going out for a date.”

  “Hey,” he called out when he saw me walking up to him. He pushed his phone into his pocket and then made his way up to me in a cute little jog. “Wow, you look even more gorgeous than I thought you would.”

  I could only scoff and say “Okay, now you’re being sarcastic. I feel and look horrible. I thought I was going to have an easy day but my bitch of a supervisor dumped a whole load of crap at me and made me finish it before I could leave.”

  “Really?” He asked with a frown. “Maybe I can just buy the company and then fire her.”

  I laughed and poked at his arm, “You’re evil. She’d probably try to fight you even after signing the termination papers.”

  “Wow, that strong-willed, huh?”

  I sensed a tone of admiration in his voice, “You like that in a woman?”

  He walked around his car and opened the front passenger door for me. I got in and waited as he shut the door, walked around and sat into the driver’s seat. “Well,” he said as he strapped on his seatbelt. “I like it when a woman knows how to take control but I also like a woman who can surrender everything to me. I see that as a different kind of strong will.”

  “Surrendering is a sign of strong will?” I had to repeat the words to get the image in my head right. “That sounds like an oxymoron, if you ask me.”

  “It will make sense, in time I guess” he told me as he began to drive out of the parking lot. “Anywhere you want to go first?”

  I didn’t really think about that. The whole day all I thought of was what to say and how I’d look but I didn’t really think about where we could go. “Well, you mind passing by my place first? I just want to change my clothes and take a shower real quick.”

  He glanced at me then back at the road as he said, “Why not just go to the mall with me? Let’s get you some new clothes to wear.”

  I gasped and looked at him with a confused look, “I don’t think so! I still need to take a shower, fix my makeup and all.”

  Dylan only laughed, “Trust me, you’re fucking hot as you are now. Let’s just go to a mall, buy some clothes and then let you wash your face in the bathroom. You don’t need all that fancy makeup and everything. Good lipstick is all you need.”

  That was a little sweet, in a weird way. “Thanks, I guess,” I told him. I was just too tired to argue with his point. “There is a problem though: brand new clothes cost a lot. Let’s just shop at a dollar store or something, I’m sure I can find something there that’s at least half-decent to look at.”

  “No, no, no,” he told me. “We’re going to some nice shop in the mall or down Main Street and to get you something nice. Don’t mind the price, I did promise last night that I will cover the costs.”

  For a moment I wasn’t going to agree but then I look another look at what I had on and figured there was no pain in just agreeing. “Sure,” I relented and smiled. “You are buying me some makeup too, right?”

  Dylan laughed and nodded.

  “Definitely,” he said and took a left turn. We were heading down to the main shopping lane
, downtown. “How ‘bout we stop at a restaurant first, get you all washed up and we can buy ourselves a snack?”

  Well, I was hungry. “I like that idea. Mind if I get a chicken sandwich and a sundae?”

  For some reason the way he looked at me and nodded just seemed so surreal. I couldn’t help but smile and reach out to touch his hand.

  ***

  “Hey, you look a lot better,” he said as he looked at me. I had just gotten out of the bathroom, having washed my face and fixed myself up a little bit with some lipstick. I went with red - it looked perfectly hot and maybe even a little naughty with the way it accented my pale skin and the color of my eyes. I let my hair down after it had been up in a bun all day and I guess he found it sexy because I noticed his gaze was fixed on the way it swayed around my hips.

  I sat down in the seat opposite him and took a spoonful of my sundae. I just watched as he kept his gaze on me.

  “Thanks,” I answered after chugging down on my drink. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

  “Has anyone told you you’re so damn fucking hot?”

  I laughed and shook my head before replying, “A lot of guys have called me hot but not once did they say it that way.”

  “In what way?”

  I looked up and met his gaze. A naughty little smile crept up on my face and it was too late to hide it, “In a way that kinda meant you want to fuck me.”

  Dylan smiled as well. For a moment he didn’t say a damn word and it gave me all the time in the world to just study his features. It was at this time I got to notice some of the intricacies that gave away his age, like the deeper lines around his mouth and some of the wrinkles by his eyes. It didn’t take away from his good looks - in fact, I thought these features made him look even hotter than before. He was like a really hot Santa Claus that would give me all the gifts I wanted even when it wasn’t Christmas.

  “What if I told you I did?” he pressed on. He still kept his gaze fixed directly on me, like he was luring me with his eyes.