My beautiful billionaire player

CHAPTER 10

To my knowledge, none of the other women I've dated have been as playful as she is. She is a significant amount of years younger than I am accustomed to dating because I often go for much more mature ladies. A minimum of fifteen years. Perhaps even twenty. Will she wonder whether I'm too old for her the same way that I'm wondering if she's too young for me? I'm hoping that the answer to both of these questions is yes. "Next month, I'll be thirty years old. Is that something that concerns you at all?"

“Nope. I'm reaching the age of thirty in around eight years."

You're in the clear, Victor. It's possible that you'll have your hands full dealing with this one. Are you prepared for her and everything that she might bring?

"Are you currently attending school, or do you work full-time?"

"I'm a musician."

Oh, I see, so that's why she's so talented at singing and playing the guitar. "I overheard you at the club the other night."

"I couldn't tell if you were there when I sang since I couldn't see you."

I decide not to confess to her that I was the person sitting in the far corner acting creepily like a stalker. "You're wonderful. That rendition of 'Crash Into Me' is one of the unique renditions I've ever heard of the song. I don't think I'll ever forget about that."

She appears embarrassed, as if she is not used to receiving compliments. "Thank you." After stumbling into one other at the club, it was a very remarkable coincidence that we ended ourselves at the same vintage dinner.

Should I explain to her how I solved all the problems so that I could see her once more? Why, of course not! Since I was already aware that you were going to be there, I don't believe that it's possible to call it a coincidence. I wanted to know if you were going to be with your friend's brother, so I bribed my waitress to find out.

She is staring at me in a curious way. "Oh, I see. That explains why that waitress was being so dang nosy!"

I wear a proud grin on my face. "Yes, and I also took measures to ensure that your friend's wine would be temporarily misplaced in order to entice him away from you." You do understand that he is quite head over heels in love with you, right?

"You are the king of all forms of deception."

I have taken note of the manner in which she chooses to ignore my comment regarding the attractiveness of her roommate, and it has prompted me to wonder whether she is skilled in the game of manipulation as well. "I prefer to call it determination."

"And do you always approach things with that level of determination to succeed?"

To get what I want, I will sometimes go to extreme tactics, but I suppose that's something I'll keep to myself. "Within acceptable bounds."

"I'm not entirely sure that I want to hear any more about the strategies you employ in order to achieve the outcomes you desire." That's probably the best course of action to take.

I've made up my mind to give her the freedom to select our next topic of discussion. "So, what is it that you would like to know more about?"

The focus of her attention now switches to the wine glass that she is holding. "Please elaborate on the role you play in the wine industry," she asked.

That shouldn't be too difficult. This is something I could recite in my sleep. "The vast majority of the wineries found in both Canada and New Zealand are owned by the company that I work for. You could say that I serve as his right-hand man. I move around from vineyard to vineyard so that I can keep an eye on everything, from the books to the harvest.

It is clear that she is agreeing. "I see. Do you have any relatives?

“Yes.” She is looking for a more in-depth response, but I'm not going to give an inch.

"How often do you run into them?"

"I visit while I'm checking on the vineyards."

She gives me a confused look. This is about as effective as pulling teeth with you. I'm just trying to get a better grasp of who you are. I am not asking you to reveal anything that could be used to identify you.

Because none of the other women showed any interest in learning about my family, I am not very well-prepared for what to say in response to your question. "My grandparents reside in the suburbs of Toronto. I have a sibling who is younger than myself. He has a wife and two tiny daughters of his own. In addition to that, I have a younger sister who is still based at home. She is a year younger than you and attends a culinary institute for her education. That is the only thing she will learn from me. "How about your family and friends?"

"I'm here with simply my mum."

Is it true that she does not have a father? "And what about your grandfather?"

"That's a very detailed account."

It's possible that it's not polite of me to inquire about her past given that I'm not eager to discuss my own family in great detail, but I'm curious about what happened to her. "I have nothing that requires my presence right now."

It seems as though she is preparing herself to provide a lengthy explanation. When my mother became pregnant with me, she was on the cusp of a successful career as a musician. "My father was a well-known country music artist. They became acquainted when my mother secured a record deal with his label." She shrugs. "Despite the fact that he was married, they began having an affair. When his wife found out that her husband had a pregnant mistress, she did not take the news very well, especially given the fact that she herself was pregnant at the time. It turns out that I have a half-brother who is approximately the same age as me but who I've never actually met. Isn't that just so endearing?"

She brings her wine glass up to her lips and begins to drink. "As you can see, I wasn't kidding around when I stated that I had daddy issues."

"Because of this, you questioned me right away about whether I was married."

She is moving the food around on her plate with her fork. "This is just one of the many possible explanations."

"You didn't eat much of the food. I was under the impression that you wouldn't be nervous about eating in front of a potential date."

Again, she gives a shrug. "You might say that I have a nervous stomach."

"So, if you're done, you're thinking about leaving this place, right?"

“Sure.”

We exit through the same rotating doors we used the night before, but the circumstances of our departure couldn't be more different. As Michael finally arrives, we are waiting on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant when he pulls up to the curb from the other side of the street where he has been waiting. He comes out of the car to open the door, but because I'm not really familiar with Victoria, I have no idea where I'd have him take us if I asked him to. "This is really a lovely evening. Do you feel like walking?"

“Sure.”

I let Michael know that I would give him a call as soon as we are all set to be picked up.

He slams the door behind him. "Of course, sir."

Which path should we take? "That's up to the lady."

She gives a quick peek in both directions before shrugging and indicating that you should go to your right. "If you always do the right thing, you'll never make a mistake."

As soon as we got started walking, I couldn't stop thinking about her shoes. Even if she looks amazing in them, there is no way that she will be able to walk around in comfort in that. "Those heels are lovely as heck, but don't they hurt your feet?" I ask. "Those heels are killing my feet," she said.

Her laughter may be heard. "I'm used to walking around in heels of this height. I'll be okay. However, it is really thoughtful of you to consider the comfort of my feet."

It's hard for me to tell if she's being truthful or not. Please let me know if they are painful so that I can arrange for Michael to come pick us up. I don't want you to be in any kind of distress.

"I will." She takes me by surprise by putting her arm through mine and then pulling it out. "I want to express my gratitude for the lovely flowers and delicious breakfast that you sent. By ten o'clock, both Sasha and I were feeling rather tipsy. It went extremely well.