Date night between Mia and Daniel usually consisted of great conversations at fancy restaurants, walks in the park, and once, an afternoon picnic. Daniel always paid, but tonight, Mia offered to foot the bill. It was a cheap date – Chinese takeout and a movie rental. That wasn’t too much for her to charge to Adrian’s credit card without permission.
This would be the first time Daniel had her over at his place. Her place wasn’t an option right now because there was one minor detail that she hadn’t been forthcoming about.
Her hidden agenda made her question if his wealth was all it appeared to be, and all she hoped it would be. Her hopes were confirmed when she arrived at his home. She instantly began to envision herself living there, behind those automated driveway gates, leaning against the white pillars that aligned the front of the home overlooking the manicured lawn. Her mind wondered. How long it will take for him to give me the code to the gate and a key to the house?
Daniel was standing in the doorway as she pulled her car into the roundabout driveway. The setting sun made it difficult for him to see her eyes widen with glee. Quickly scanning over the property, her head turned from side to side while she made mental notes of the changes she would make after moving in. She could see her name appear on the deed as his faded out once she divorced him and became the new owner of the estate.
“Hey babe,” Daniel said as he opened her car door, interrupting her vision.
Although she had only seen the outside and front yard, Mia blurted out, “This house is amazing!” More intrigued by the scenery, she didn’t bother to return a greeting. Instead, she turned up her charm. As he helped her out of the car, she interlaced her fingers with his, pulling him in closer. Wrapping both hands around his waist, interlocking her fingers against his back, she rested her head on his chest, listening to his rapidly beating heart. She knew at that moment she had him in a vulnerable state. Her next move — more charm and lots of patience.
“You must show me around. I am totally in love.”
“With me I hope?” Daniel looked to her awaiting a response.
“Maybe,” she said as she grabbed his hand for the second time. Her mind flooded with scheming thoughts. If telling you I’m in love with you will get me this house, then sure, I’m in love.
“I can give you a quick tour before we eat if you’d like?”
“Of course.”
By the end of the tour it felt more like an open house than date night. She didn’t mind; she now had a to-do list with endless possibilities, and an interior designer on speed dial. She was confident that this would be her home. She viewed Daniel’s tour as a walk through to familiarize herself with what was soon to be her new residence.
“Five bedrooms, and four bathrooms, and it’s just you?” Mia asked.
“Yeah, I hope to have a wife and kids to fill in the space.”
“You have anyone in mind?” she asked in a flirtatious way while playfully batting her eyes.
“Maybe,” adding a wink. They both laughed at his response.
“Well played,” she said as he echoed her coy response from moments ago.
The remainder of the night moved along smoothly as usual. Daniel seemed to be the total financial package and Mia was desperate to know why he was single. He didn’t offer much of an explanation when asked, other than not finding the right woman. She in turn provided him with the same vague answer. She had done enough research on men to know that he would eventually let his guard down and reveal the reason behind his relationship status, and he did, much sooner than Mia expected.
After a deep breath, Daniel took both of Mia’s hands in his and explained, “I was engaged before and I caught my fiancé cheating with my business partner.”
Mia gasped, feigning concern, but her curiosity was stronger. She asked, “How did you find out?”
“I left my cell phone on the charger in my office, when I realized it, I ran back to get it, walked in on them.” Recounting the story, Mia could tell the hurt was still there.
“Wow!” The reaction given wasn’t one of shock but one of familiarity. She’d committed worse acts and depending on what she was getting out of it, nothing was off limits. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” The apology wasn’t because she felt bad, it was simply to have something to say to keep the conversation going.
“It’s all good,” he said. “I’m over it.” She knew that wasn’t true, which caused concern for her. With him being hurt, he was sure to be guarded. She wanted to know more details for her sake, but she allowed him to control the flow of when that information would come.
“Now what about you?” he asked, changing the subject to her. “Why is such a beautiful, successful, woman such as yourself single?”
She figured she would follow suit and say she was cheated on as well to forge a connection as well as gain his sympathy. Maybe the foundation of the relationship would build based on them coming from similar circumstances. What they discussed throughout the night shifted from one topic to another. She took note of every like and dislike so she could mold herself into the perfect woman. One important thing that she learned from Daniel is how he didn’t believe in having friends of the opposite sex while in a committed relationship. He expected the same from his woman. She looked at every bit of information as another game piece.
As the conversation moved onto the topic of parents, Daniel cautioned Mia about his mother. According to him, Mrs. Fitzgerald was tough as nails and a bit on the crazy side. She didn’t think any woman was good enough for him and had her own unique way of running them off. Mia assured him that when that time came, she would be able to withstand the pressure. After filling her in on his parents, he asked about hers. He seemed to come from a good strong family and there was no way she was about to let him in on how dysfunctional her family was. She did what she did best, she lied.
“My parents are dead,” she said as she lowered her head, hoping that reaction would get him to ease up on the topic.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you.”
They both sat in silence for a moment after such an awkward exchange. Mia was hoping that he didn’t ask her anything else and Daniel wasn’t quite sure how to transition from that topic. He didn’t want to upset her, but he wanted to know more.
“May I ask what happened to your parents?”
“They were killed in a car accident when I was younger.”
“That’s tough,” Daniel said, as he was lost for words.
“It’s okay. If you don’t mind I don’t really want to talk about my parents.”
Given the circumstances, he obliged. Out of all the dates that they had been on, it was only a matter of time before personal questions arose. She had been down this road before with other men but he had a whole lot more for her to gain than what she was used to. She wanted to work carefully and just to be on the safe side; it was best to call it a night.
He walked her to her car and kissed her goodnight. That was the first kiss the two had ever shared and it was perfect. It was the type of kiss that once planted causes your leg to bend backward involuntarily. She smiled and giggled but soon remembered what his purpose was to her. As he opened the door to her car and she sat in the driver’s seat, he leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and told her the words that she had been working so hard to hear. “I love you and one day I am going to make you my wife.”
As she pulled away, she sent Adrian a text:
You’ll never believe what happened. I finally found the perfect one and I need a very unorthodox favor like I’ve never needed before.