Single Dad’s Plaything: A Single Dad First Time Billionaire Romance

by Natasha Spencer

  Pushing the gas pedal and starting the car moving was easy and thoughtless. The first ride was a few blocks away at a macaroni and cheese place. The restaurant specialized in the dish along with salads. Kalyn had been there once on a failed Tinder date. She’d been hoping for a free meal considering how ugly the man had been but not only did she have poor company with a bankrupt looking man but he’d also walked outside when the bill came for a cigarette. She waited for twenty minutes before she paid for the check herself. The man was just standing on the corner by the restaurant waiting for her. He asked her for a ride home and had told her she was frigid when she didn’t want to have sex with him that night.

  “Kalyn,” the woman said. She was well dressed and smelled of success.

  “Yes that’s me,” Kalyn replied.

  The woman got into the back of the car and then shut the door. The ride began and took them into the Berkeley hills. The woman was well kept. Her nails were perfect. Her hair exquisite. She wore the type of lipstick that would never become smudged on one’s teeth. Kalyn dropped her off at what looked like a mansion. The woman sashayed to the door. She of course was wearing heels and despite coming from a restaurant that specialized in macaroni and cheese had the class and taste of a kobe steak. Kalyn sat for a moment in the driveway and watched the woman disappear. She was probably someone’s mistress.

  Kalyn sighed. A few more hours and she might be able to make rent. Just a few more hours. She used to think to herself that she would survive anything one minute at a time. Then there would be one more minute that she would survive. Then another. The minutes added up into hours.

  Eventually Kalyn hit her mark and she made her way back home. Her apartment was too expensive but whose wasn’t? She’d gotten the place with her old boyfriend. Not Peter but another one who had been just as bad and just as useless. She loved the apartment though and she knew that moving out would mean having to leave the Bay area entirely so she worked hard for her rent.

  She walked upstairs to her second-floor apartment and unlocked the door. She could hear scuttling paws on the floor. Kaboose was there waiting for her. He looked ecstatic and beyond. He’d been abandoned at a shopping mall one day and Kalyn had found him. She’d brought him to an animal adoption shelter but no one wanted to take him because he was too old.

  He was a tough old dog though living up to the breed’s name. Kalyn had done her research on the breed and found that the dogs used to be bred to fight badgers. She was sad that she didn’t get to spend more time with him and thought more and more about bringing him to the salon. She’d seen other stylists do it and she was sure that Deborah would be okay with it but she couldn’t afford to risk it. Even though the salon was slow Kalyn needed the money.

  Kaboose yipped at her and did a figure eight through her legs. She put on his leash and the two went for a walk through West Oakland. The area was changing a lot because of the new tech money. Sometimes she would see people with their pure-bred dogs walking around the block that just yesterday only had pit bulls.

  Kaboose went to the bathroom and the two went back to the apartment. Kalyn sat on her couch and stroked Kaboose. She flipped through various movies on Netflix and wondered when her life would change.

  “I love you Kaboose,” Kalyn said.

  He looked up at Kalyn with doe like eyes. His face had more than a few tufts of gray hair but his eyes were still large and dark though. He nuzzled his nose against Kalyn and fell asleep.

  “You’re the only man in my life,” Kalyn sighed. She let the glow of the tv screen lull her to sleep and she feel into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 2

  Sun shot into Gary’s eyes despite the protection of his sunglasses. The glasses were black acetate and titanium. They cost several thousand dollars per pair and were worthless. Nothing was protecting him from the rays of light.

  Gary sighed.

  “Will you put more sunscreen on me,” he told his wife.

  Joy was sunbathing next to him. She was topless on the top of the yacht. The Andaman sea breeze blew and the champagne bottle between the two was sweating. The ice had already melted and when Gary went to take a sip of his bubbly it was warm.

  “We need more ice too,” he said.

  Joy was napping, or pretending to nap. She’d been lazy of late more than a little lazy. She had the perfect body. Gary had paid for it. He paid for the nips, the tucks, the trainers, and the silicon. She was sculpted perfection. All the sculpting had turned her into a statue. She barely moved an inch and when she did it was with more than a fair amount of groaning.

  Gary ran his eyes up and down her body. Her platinum blonde hair matched her white bikini. He’d remembered the price tag on the little pieces of cloth. It had been double the cost of his sunglasses, not that it mattered. Gary had hit it big, real big, with tech and he was enjoying himself and helping Joy enjoy herself but Joy didn’t really seem to be enjoying him these days.

  When they’d first gotten together Joy had been filled with drive and ambition. They’d both started from the bottom. He was working long hours on his various startups and she was doing administration work and public relations. With their success, they’d grown apart even though they still inhabited the same space.

  It was Gary who thought that buying a yacht and taking a summer on the Andaman would help out their relationship. He still loved his wife but there was no more lust anymore. There was no desperate yearning for each other and the sex that they had was routine.

  Gary was still attracted to her and even at some points he could feel himself ache for her but she’d changed. She just didn’t have the same passion anymore. Even the great things that he was able to provide now that they were filthy rich didn’t seem to amuse her.

  “I’m sleepy,” Joy said.

  “Maybe it’s all the sun.”

  The boat rocked back and forth on the water. He’d purchased the yacht and hired a crew for the season. It hadn’t cost much, especially because wages in Thailand were lower. They’d spent a week on the water, drinking, eating, and getting massages. On days they were bored they would sail back to the mainland and stay in a resort. They’d taken in a lot of Southern Thailand’s best resorts.

  Everything blurred together for Gary. The sun and the sand all seemed the same wherever they went. He had a hard time telling people apart and while he knew he was in a foreign country everything just melted together.

  A light breeze picked up and the smell of salt and sun screen lifted into Gary’s nose. He sat up on the deck of the yacht. Joy was still laying down. Her arm was draped across her face to protect herself from the afternoon sun. Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead and Gary could see small drops of perspiration on Joy. It looked like morning mist but instead of on green grass it was on her tanned body. His eyes took in her breasts, the pointed upwards with silicone support. The mounds of her breasts dropped dramatically to her stomach which was flat and toned from the expensive fitness trainers that she employed. Her legs were splayed out, open to the sun, but he knew they weren’t open for him. He tried to remember the last time they had sex. The last time they had made love.

  He got up and looked into the water. It was transparent and he could see fish slowly making their way from deep in the ocean towards the beach. A bright blue one swam after a school of yellow. He moved closer to the rail and saw a turtle making its way towards the sand as well. He wondered if it was egg laying season yet.

  The water was too clear to see his reflection but he caught glimpses of his outline. It was distorted by the refraction of light on the water. He picked up the champagne bottle and emptied it in one long pull. The liquid gave him gas and he belched loudly.

  “Gross,” Joy said without moving or looking.

  He nodded and threw the empty bottle into the ocean. It splashed loudly and he watched it as it sank into the sand. A green fish with black stripes swam towards it in curiosity and then darted away having found no use for the item of luxury.

  “
You need to do something,” Gary said.

  “What do you mean? I am doing something.”

  “We spend our days wasting away.”

  “I’m not wasting I’m tanning.”

  “What’s the point of this,” Gary said. He looked out to the horizon. The sun had moved from its high overhead perch and was beginning to set.

  “This is what we wanted.”

  “Was it,” Gary said. Joy didn’t hear him. She lay still on the boat deck. He continued to out towards where the sky met the sea. It seemed impossibly far away. No matter how close he got the horizon would always be in the distance.

  “I’ve always liked hair dressing. I’m going to start a salon,” Joy said.

  Gary grunted.

  “It will give me some time to get out and about. Although I do enjoy these sunny days.”

  “You enjoy laying around doing nothing,” Gary said.

  “Who doesn’t? What’s the point of wealth if you can’t be lazy.”

  “What’s the point of life if you don’t have passion?”

  “Is it so wrong to want to be comfortable?”

  “I don’t know,” Gary said. The horizon wasn’t getting any closer and he was standing still.

  “Well you’ve been wanting to settle down for a little while,” Joy said. She was getting to her feet. “We can go back to the bay. It’s been a while. Maybe you can find yourself a project, something to keep you busy with. I’ll start a salon. With something to do you won’t have time to be miserable.”

  “Yeah. I guess so. Maybe I just have too much free time.”

  “I’m going to take a nap,” Joy said. She started back towards the main deck of the yacht. Gary could hear one of the deck hands open the cabin door for her.

  “Didn’t you just take a nap,” Gary shouted.

  “I was tanning,” Joy yelled back.

  “Tanning,” Gary said. “She was letting herself get burned.”

  Gary picked up the bottle of sunscreen by the empty champagne bucket. He contemplated throwing it into the water but instead squirted the last bit of lotion out onto his hand and applied it to his shoulders and arms. He rubbed a little onto his face. He had a sunburn already. His face was red and hot. He was blistering.

  Chapter 3

  “I’m sorry guys,” Deborah was standing in the front of the salon. “I didn’t think that things would end this way. I thought we had more runway.”

  “Really Deborah,” Mel said. “Did you really think we had more run way or did you just not plan things out?”

  “I planned, I budgeted but I also had to cut hair on the daily. I was busy with my scissors. I’m sorry I just didn’t pay attention. It’s hard to manage everything.”

  “Well what are we going to do now,” Mel said.

  The three of the stylists were standing just inside the salon. The shop was supposed to open in just a few hours but they were having a meltdown meeting.

  “Will we get paid for our month, for our week,” Kalyn asked. She was thinking about the electricity bill for her apartment. It wasn’t overdue yet but in another week, it would be. She had to get Kaboose dog food. She should also get him a walker, something that she was thinking she might be able to afford if things at the salon were going well which obviously right now they were most definitely not. Rent was due in two weeks as well.

  “I think we should be able to get you wages for the week. We’ll have to cancel all further bookings. I’ll also slowly cut down your hours but I’ll still be able to pay you until the end of the month. I’m really sorry about this. Obviously if you get unemployment I’ll notify the labor department and let them know that it’s fine.”

  “Unemployment doesn’t pay the rent. It doesn’t even buy a burrito.”

  “What can I say Mel,” Deborah said. Her tongue was getting sharper and Kalyn could see that her friend was becoming defensive and rightfully so Mel was attacking her but Mel was on the offense for good reason. They had all made a leap of faith to start working for Deborah.

  “My stove is broke,” Mel said. “How am I going to fix my stove.”

  “Your stove,” Kalyn said.

  “Yeah remember the housewarming party that I had? Matt was drunk and knocked into the stove. He broke one of the dials. Danny tried to fix it but it didn’t work. I’ve only been able to turn the oven onto 500 degrees. You know what you can bake at 500 degrees? Nothing! You can boil, you can broil but you certainly can’t bake!”

  “Oh,” Kalyn said. She knew how serious Mel took her baking. She’d gotten good at it, quite good and supplemented her income, well before the dial disaster with a part time baking company called Goth Goodies. Things had been tight for her and she’d been as sharp as her shears at the salon because of the lack of work.

  “I was hoping that next month I would be able to fix it with the money that came in. Now no fixed oven. Now more gluten free cookies for the mothers of Claremont street,” Mel said.

  Kalyn snickered.

  “Listen, I know this isn’t ideal but we’ll figure something out. I’ll figure out a way for you guys to get another job or something. This isn’t the end of the world. We’re survivors. We’re from Oakland not San Francisco.”

  “Actually, Kalyn is from Concord and I’m from Dublin.”

  “Well you know what I mean?”

  “Is this the wrong time to ask you where you’re from,” Mel said.

  “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

  “That’s the beauty of sarcasm, right?”

  “Ambivalence is beautiful,” Kalyn said.

  “Okay. Great meeting guys. Great meeting. We’re about to go under and you’re debating on the importance of sarcasm. Well while you two are busy having an important philosophical discussion I’ll be trying to figure out a way to save the business.”

  “Would it be sarcastic to say that you were the one to get us into this mess,” Mel said.

  “I don’t think that counts as sarcasm,” Kalyn said.

  “We are opening in ten minutes and you both have clients.”

  “Right. Right. Right. Well make sure I have ten minutes to spare between clients so I can run to the liquor store and buy a fifth and some lottery tickets. We need all the luck and lack of sobriety we can get to survive this mess,” Mel said. She shook her head and went over to her work station. She started to prep everything for the day.

  The doors opened as usual and everyone’s chairs filled up. For a day of impending doom things went smoothly and Mel was even able to go to the liquor store to buy a fifth of Hennessey and some lotto tickets. The three didn’t speak much to each other as the hours passed.

  Mel was pouring out shots of Hennessey for the three of them and Kalyn was doing a final bit of sweeping before closing the doors for the day.

  Deborah was at the front doing computer work when the door opened.

  Joy walked in. She was carrying a Gucci purse and still wore her sunglasses. She was wearing a blue soft shift dress with a v neckline that showed off the top of her cleavage. Kalyn could tell that the dress had been imported because she’d seen it advertised on a website after Kelly had talked about not being able to afford it. Kalyn wanted to see what sort of dress Kelly couldn’t afford. It was a 37-inch shoulder to hem, sleeveless summer dress. There wasn’t much fabric too it but what cloth there was was exquisite.

  It wasn’t just Joy’s dress that made an impression it was also her shoes. She was wearing Giorgio Armani ankle strap low heel sandals. There was an impressive cutout detail in the heel and the suede upper was perfectly strapped around Joy’s heel.

  Mel was salivating. She loved high end shoes on women. Mel was always going on about different shoes and how they made women look. While she didn’t own a pair of shoes besides her black leather boots she knew everything there was about a well-turned heel and the perfect shoe to model it off.

  “You the owner,” Joy said. She took off her sunglasses and looked for a moment at Deborah and then began t
o walk around the salon.

  “Yes. May I ask whose asking? We were about to close. If you’d like to book an appointment,” Deborah said.

  “I don’t think you’ll be needing to worry about that. You lease the space, or rent?”

  “She rents it,” Mel said quickly. She was standing rather close to Joy. Her hands were tingling by her side. Kalyn could see the lust in her eyes. Mel was going mad. Deborah shot her a dirty look that she wasn’t even on the same planet to recognize.

  “Excuse me but as I said before we were just closing up.”

  “Well you can stay open for a little while longer,” Joy said.

  “That’s not our policy,” Deborah said.

  “Well it’s my policy and I’m buying this building and I’d like to buy the salon along with it.”

  “I’ll have to discuss that with my lawyer,” Deborah said.

  It was Mel’s turn to give a dirty look. Deborah saw it and sighed.

  “Could I have your name,” Deborah said.

  “Joy,” Joy said.

  “Do you have a last name?”

  “Duplan.”

  “Okay Joy Duplan, do you have a contact number or a way to reach you,” Deborah said.

  “Or maybe a card, I can take your card,” Mel said. She was like a puppy inching her way towards Joy. Mel had a nervous excited energy about the woman.

  “I’ll have my lawyer contact you as well. It was great meeting you,” Joy said as she walked out the front door.

  “Gawd fucking damn it,” Mel screamed. “Did you see that woman!? Did you see those legs, those shoes!?” Mel collapsed into one of the salon chairs and started to puff hard. “I’m in love L-U-V!”

  “She seemed a little fake to me,” Kalyn said.

  “I mean her fake breasts were absolutely beautiful,” Mel said. “She was a real woman and that ass. It wasn’t an Oakland booty.”

  “Yeah not like yours at all,” Kalyn said.

  “It was sculpted prefecture. So much firmness. I wanted to drop to my knees and worship her.”