DANCING WITH A BILLIONAIRE

Chapter Four

CHAPTER 4

In all of this, Eloise was most grateful that Steve didn't leave the Carrera GT with her. It was a beautiful car no doubt but nah, it wasn't worth the risk to her. Better to get to her destination in a cab than crash it. Anyway, a quick Google search was all she needed to find Venus et Fleur. One of the most luxurious floral shops around according to Yelp; and to be honest they were right. The flowers here were gorgeous but damn, who knew flowers could cost a grand and more. She picked a perfect set of roses she was sure Sophie would like - she loved them, and honestly any girl would - and then asked for a card so she could pen a note. She thought about f*****g Steve over by being literal: '… You look as pretty as these flowers or some s**t like that, Steve!' but then she would be gambling with her job so she decided to behave. Instead, she wrote: 'Saw these today and they reminded me of you. Thought I'd show you. Steve :)'. Of course if not for her job she would have added horns to that smiley face because that's what Steve was - a devil who didn't know that it's not cool to mess with people. It pricked her conscience that Sophie would get these and think he was a sweet guy meanwhile he wasn't.

Done with the note, she gave Sophie's address so they would be delivered to her and then she made reservations at Per Se. Her next stop now was the Chanel shop at Madison Avenue where she had a really hard time picking what to buy. The dresses in stock were so beautiful that if it were up to her she would buy everything but then that wouldn't be cool with Steve. After some back and forth she decided to buy a black dress that spoke to her and then matching accessories, just like she saw in a magazine. Again she wrote a note with it, telling Sophie to meet at Per Se by 6 pm before sending them off. Once that was done, she called Steve to fill him in on how everything was going.

"Wait for real you're done already?" he sounded surprised from the other end.

"Yea. Def sure I just said that"

"Alright wait for me there I'll come pick you up" he hung up before she could say anything else.

Now that she had free time, Eloise thought about texting her boyfriend, maybe returning his call, but he would be busy at work now so she decided to do it later. Ron was working on a fintech startup company with his friends, and according to him this phase in the company required all his attention when he was at work.

It was just a few moments after the call that Steve finally arrived; coincidentally he was around the area. He drove them to Cad & The Dandy's so she would help him pick a suit to wear for the date. The drive was smooth and getting to the place, she fell in love with the shop instantly. Compared to the places she'd just been at, it looked so homely if that was even a word.

At the shop, Eloise just sat on one of the couches and watched as Steve was assisted to pick suits that he could try on. Her job according to him was to decide if they were fine or not so she didn’t bother to help, f**k him. However, it was hard to decide which one to get because all the suits looked good on him. A shame that God wasted that perfect body and face on a person so undeserving.

"Are you f*****g with me now because how do they all look good to you" he was wearing a black suit that mirrored his attitude now.

"I'm serious this one is good too. These guys make really good suits" she answered innocently but that didn't please Steve

"So which one should I wear then?"

"Honestly" She finally stood up "If you ask me, I don't think you should be wearing any of that. They look too corporate. You're going on a date, not a board meeting. You should lean towards something more casual but classy. Something like this" she pointed at a gray single-breasted notch lapel jacket on a mannequin. "pair this with a black shirt and pants and you should be good to go."

Steve did not trust her judgment at first but after he tried it on he was grateful that he brought her. The outfit looked so good on him that he did not need to ask her again. It was close to 6 pm now before the outfit was finally adjusted to his perfect fit and then they drove straight to Per Se. They did not have to wait long before Sophie arrived.

Eloise's jaw dropped when she saw her, and for a moment she wished she could rewind time to write a poem on those notes instead. Sophie had large and widely spaced expressive green eyes, delicate full lips that she didn't mind kissing, a slim nose, high prominent cheekbones, and a delicate jawline that made her look sculpted, and these were complimented by her tall slender frame and long legs. Sophie had a soft expression and smile that made her look ethereal. This was the kind of woman men went to war for. And she sounded like a siren with the way her voice floated gracefully. If she could, Eloise would've sat with them just so she could keep hearing her laugh; but that would be weird, so she went to wait in the car instead to give them privacy.

Not having anything else to do Eloise finally decided to call Ron - he would be back from work now.

"You know for a minute I thought you weren't going to call," he said as soon as he picked up.

"Sorry about that, I was busy" she apologized sincerely

"I can relate. What were you busy with?"

"Work. I work for the Bennetts now. The Bennetts that my mom works for"

"As a help?" the post sounded demeaning in Ron's mouth.

"No as a personal assistant to their son Steve, don't know if you know him"

"Are you kidding me? Of course, I know him. Who doesn't? Congratulations on the job babe, I'm happy for you" Ron sounded excited for a while and then his voice became low "Anyway, I called last night because I wanted to talk to you about something.

"About what?" Eloise was waiting to gloat now once he apologized but he didn't do that.

"I want us to take a break. Our relationship is suffering and I think we need to take time off to find ourselves" he dropped a bomb so big on her that she didn't know how to react.

"Wait, babe? Are you breaking up with me?" she couldn't believe her ears; maybe this was a prank.

"No, I'm not. We're only taking a break for the benefit of our relationship"

"Don’t say that!" she was furious now "You're breaking up with me. Every time people go on a break they never get back together"

"Look babe I can't deal with this now, I'll call you later okay?" Ron hung up leaving her stunned. It felt like a dream; like someone had just pulled the rug out from under her. One minute her life was getting back in order and then this happened. Ron was her first boyfriend, her first love, her first everything, and now this was happening? He just dumps her? She sat frozen as she thought about this, her lips trembling and her eyes welling up with tears that she refused to shed. She could've kept it together but thinking about how her papá would've called her a crybaby if he could see her now broke her and she finally gave in; streams of tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed without control. Whether she was crying for Ron or her papá, she could not tell; she just wanted to relieve this aching lump in her chest. Eloise went about this for minutes, letting her pain out that she did not notice when Steve came out. It was only after he touched her that she flinched in response.

"Calm down it's alright. What's the matter?" his voice was soothing like the calm after the storm.

"It's nothing" she sniffled, wiping off the tears on her face. She looked innocent and it made Steve feel bad for her.

"It doesn't look like it's nothing Eloise, what's the matter?" he pressed; he was in the car now. She tried to talk, to share her burden with him, but the tears and the lump in her throat could not let her get the words out so she sobbed instead.

"My boyfriend just dumped me" she managed to put the words out through her sobs, and he hugged her out of pity. On a normal day, she would be mortified that she was sobbing in front of Steve, but she didn't care today, and neither did he. Steve did not say anything, he just hugged her and allowed her to express her pain. It was after a while when he felt it was necessary that he finally spoke.

"You shouldn't cry over him, he doesn't deserve you. If he did he wouldn't dump you. I'd never do that if you were mine" his voice was low but there was emphasis in the way he said that that made Eloise look up to meet his blue eyes. What did he mean by that? What did he mean if she was his?