Wrong for Me (Bad Boy Romance) (12 page)

“Just go
on the date,” Jessica sighed. She turned back around to run her fingers through
her shiny brown hair, now at cute shoulder length, before turning back to face Alyssa.
She grinned. “Cute, right?” Jessica did a playful little flip of her hair
before chuckling at her own silliness. She walked over to Alyssa and patted her
hand. “Really though, that do you have to lose? Just go and have a good time!”

“It just
doesn't make sense,” Alyssa sighed. She was still hesitant in accepting
Philip’s invitation to dine with him. She thought it was odd that out of all
the women at the gala he had set his sights on her. She had only been there
because her boss was a special guest due to his latest project.

She
didn’t belong there and felt it more and more every minute she stayed there.
More than that, she didn’t even know how she should dress for the date if she
were to accept it. Even her gown for the gala had been a rental.

Jessica
sighed dramatically and made a show of rolling her eyes.

“You're
always so full of doubt and then you complain your life is dull. Take some
risks, Alyssa, and you'll see your life will be a lot more exciting. I'm not
going to keep insisting. If you don't want to go, then shoot him down.” Jessica
looked at Alyssa before turning on her heel and walking out of the bedroom.

Alyssa
exhaled and looked up at the ceiling as if she would find the perfect answer
written up there, but it was just as white and plain as always. She hopped off
the dresser to follow Jessica into the living room. Her friend was right. She
needed to make a choice and move on. Talking about it endlessly wouldn’t change
the fact that she either had to say yes or no.

She saw
Jessica playing on her phone when she walked into the living room. Just as she
was about to open up her mouth to bring up the Philip debate again she decided
against it.
 
Alyssa could already tell
her friend was getting annoyed, so she thought it best to just let it go. She
sat next to Jessica and pulled out her own phone but realized there wasn’t
really anything she wanted to check. She sighed.

“I have
to go,” Jessica said suddenly as she stood up and snatched her bag from the
coffee table. Alyssa peered at her.

“Okay,”
she said sounding and looking confused. It was strange that Jessica had just
suddenly decided to leave, but Alyssa wasn’t going to question her about it.

She
watched as Jessica walked out the door and then leaned her head back against
the couch.

“Philip,”
she mumbled. She thought that if she was debating it so much maybe a part of
her was at least curious to have dinner with him. After all, it wasn’t every
day she had a social call with an extremely wealthy and well-known man. She was
curious to know how he carried himself and to see how he was treated by others.

She was
certain few people went about life the way he did, but it wasn’t something she
had every witnessed on a personal level. She wondered if they would talk enough
over dinner for her to get to know the side of Philip that was never portrayed
by newspaper and magazine interviews. He wasn’t exactly a celebrity, but his
name was quite well known.

She
unlocked her cell phone and stared at her screen before opening up her
contacts. There was his number, stored but not labeled. She tapped on it and
pressed the phone to her ear to hear the ringing until his deep voice came on
the other end.

“Hello?”
Alyssa curled her fingers inward as she felt her heart race. Calling him was a lot
more nerve wracking than she would have imagined.

“Philip,”
she said in an unsteady voice, “This is Alyssa. Alyssa McConnell, we met at-”

“The
gala. Yes, of course I remember. I did ask you out to dinner so one would hope
I would recall who you are.”

Alyssa
felt like she had been slapped in the face. He was so forward. She hadn’t
expected him to bluntly state his proposition, if he brought it up at all. The
way he said things came so easily that it threw her off. She had never spoken
to anybody who spoke with such ease, no matter the subject.

“Right,”
she muttered with an awkward chuckle.

“What
can I do for you, Alyssa?”

She
heard background noise that sounded as if he were standing outside or walking
down a busy street. Something inside her resisted the urge to tell him, but she
had made the call and so it was time to decided. She didn’t want to chicken out
no matter how fast her pulse was at that moment. She was just glad to already
be sitting down.

“I was
calling you to, uh, well,” she paused and took a deep breath. She felt so silly
sputtering and stalling. “I would like to accept your dinner invitation.”

Philip
chuckled and Alyssa felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. Thank god she
was on the phone. It had been hard enough for her to actually call him and
accept without having him laugh at her.

“You
make it sound so formal, Alyssa. This isn’t a business dinner, you know.”

She
calmed down a bit and realized she had indeed made it sound like a business
formal event when, in reality, he had essentially asked her out on a date. At
least she had assumed it was a date. She felt panic well up inside her once
again so she started to rush the conversation.

She
forced a chuckle and responded, “Right. We can schedule it later, then?”

“Why later
if I have you on the phone right now?”

Alyssa
clamped her mouth shut and puffed out her cheeks. He had a point. She just
wanted to hastily get off the phone since she was being nonsensical.

“Right,”
she said, but didn’t say anything more, not even giving an indication of when
would be a good night to get together for dinner.

“Are you
available Wednesday evening?”

She
could tell he was carefully prodding her in the right direction. It was as if
he could sense how much trouble she was having just speaking to him and was
finding a way to steer the conversation without being pushy. Gentle guidance in
conversation was practically an art form and she catalogued it in her mind as
something she liked about him. That was a good start. Then she thought about
the actual question he had asked.

“Yes,”
she said slowly.

“Are you
sure?” he asked quickly.

Even
from a one syllable word he noticed how unsure she felt. Most people didn’t pay
that much attention, even if an entire speech was prepared. Alyssa wondered if
he was always so perceptive or if it was just part of his game he played with
woman.

Because
her suspicion had not died down and she knew it wouldn’t even after having
dinner with him. She would be wondering for a while why he liked her enough to
actually ask her out to dinner. She started to feel the panic well up again,
only this time she managed to fight it off a little.

“Yes,
I’m sure.”
  

“Great,”
he shot back. She could picture him smiling on the other end of the phone. She
remembered the way his smile looked when they met at the gala and she was
thankful, yet again, that she was already sitting, she was sure her knees would
have felt quite wobbly if she hadn’t been.
 

They
agreed on deciding a time and place closer to Wednesday and he bid her a good
night before ending the call. Alyssa sat on her catch staring at her phone in
the palm of her hand until the screen faded to black after a few minutes had
passed. She had really just accepted a date with Philip Walton, a well-known
billionaire belonging to the socioeconomic elite. That was when the panic hit
her even harder than before. She hurriedly called Jessica only to have her call
forwarded to voicemail.

“
No
dammit!” she whined before calling
her again. It wasn’t until the third call that Jessica actually answered.

“Is
everything okay?” she asked. Alyssa could tell her friend had stepped out of
wherever she was to take the call. She started to feel guilty about
interrupting her when it wasn’t really a pressing or time sensitive matter.

“Um,”
Alyssa responded before letting out a long breath. “Yes, sorry. I shouldn’t
have interrupted you like that.”

“Well,
you did, so now you tell me why you were calling like crazy,” Jessica told her
bluntly. Alyssa knew her friend well enough to know she was probably a bit
annoyed. “Did he ask you on a
date
?”

“Yea.”

Jessica
sighed. “This is really why you’re calling me?” She was definitely annoyed and
Alyssa couldn’t blame her.

“I accepted,”
she said in a hurry so her friend wouldn’t think she was still debating back
and forth like she had been earlier. She wanted Jessica to know she was now
confused on what exactly she had agreed to. She wanted the panic that had
bubbled up inside her to go away.
 

“You
did?” Jessica sounded genuinely shocked.

“Yes,”
Alyssa replied. “But now I don't know if he asked me out on a date or just, I
don't know, dinner.”

Jessica
laughed. It was a bit mocking, but it didn’t bother Alyssa. In fact, that was
something she would have expected from her. “Of course he’s asking you on a
date, woman. There's no doubt in my mind about that.”

Alyssa
wanted to ask how and why she was so sure. She wanted Jessica to explain the
logic to her and even give her evidence based off something Philip might have
said or done, but she knew it was unreasonable.

 
She had already taken away enough of Jessica’s
time and had gotten her answer. She needed to let it go. Not everything needed
to be answered, at least not right away.

“Okay,”
she responded before ending the call with a sigh. She knew she shouldn’t need
the constant reassurance from her friend, but the whole thing sent her emotions
whirling inside her. She was nervous, excited, and scared; all bundled up into
one giant emotion.

Whatever
was to happen, she knew it would be interesting.

Alyssa
walked into her bedroom and went straight for her closet. As she looked through
her clothes she knew it was pointless. She wouldn’t find anything in there that
she thought was good enough to go on a date with a billionaire.

She
found herself wishing they had already decided on a place so she could look it
up and figure out what sort of outfit she needed to wear. As she closed her
closet door and sat down at the edge of her bed she wondered briefly if she was
placing too much emphasis on what to wear. He had met her at the gala and might
have assumed she was wealthy. Then again, she wondered if he would be the type
to judge her for not being wealthy and owning the kind of clothing she wore at
the gala.
 

There
was really nothing in her closet she wanted to or felt comfortable wearing for
her first date with a man like him. She slumped down on her bed and pouted as
she wished she could invite Jessica over. But she was also aware it would have
been selfish and imprudent to call her friend, yet again. Then on top of that,
to ask her to dump whatever she was doing to run to her aid would be more than
annoying to her friend.

 
Maybe she was getting ahead of herself or
placing too much emphasis on the clothing. Maybe it didn’t need to matter all
that much.

Alyssa
flopped back on the bed and stared at her ceiling. It was as plain and as white
as ever. Just like before. There was no perfect answer written across it.

This was
something she needed to figure it on her own. After all, the key was for her to
treat this date like she would any other. But every time she thought about who
she was going on a date with, she found it impossible. It seemed unfathomable
that she would be meeting with
the
Philip Walton, so how was she supposed to treat it like any other date? If she
was nervous before any date how could she not be in a near panic for this one?
Now that Jessica had indeed confirmed it was a date she was going on, Alyssa
felt her stomach knot into a jumbled mess whenever she thought too much on the
implications of that word.
Date.

It
Monday afternoon when Alyssa felt her phone vibrate on her desk, but she was
too busy to look at who was calling, much less was she able to actually answer
the call. It wasn’t until she was packing up and getting ready to leave the
office that she saw a new voice message from none other than Philip.

 
Her stomach squeezed and she felt the panic
shoot straight up her throat. As Wednesday night approached she got more and
more anxious. And now that he was calling her it all suddenly felt a bit too
real
despite how incredibly
surreal
it all was.

 
Alyssa lifted her phone to her ear, her hand
trembling slightly. She shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She hated
that she got that nervous about the date even just by thinking about it. She
hated the effect this all had on her since it wasn’t in her nature to behave
that way.

“He’s
not above me just because he has money,” she had told Jessica in the morning
before leaving to work. She couldn’t stand the fact that she was behaving as if
Philip were above her because of his status. Alyssa was a woman with a lot of
self-worth and self-confidence, but something about Philip shook all that up
and rocked her at her core.

Alyssa
listened to the voice mail. He was charming and friendly. Speaking came easily
to him and he got straight to the point without coming off as being too blunt
or rushed. She wondered how he managed all that and even showed it through
something like a voice message. It made her a bit anxious to think she would be
the awkward one at the table when they had dinner on Wednesday night.

Since he
had asked her to call him back and she very much wanted to know where they
would be going in order to prepare for it, she called him back right away.

“Sorry I
missed your call,” she blurted out as soon as he answered the phone. “I had a
busy day at work.”

“Not a
problem,
Alyssa
.”

He emphasized
her name as if to point out to her she had failed to announce who she was
before babbling her excuse. She felt like a helpless case of a woman with
Philip and it only made the anger she felt about that bubble up to the surface.
But she was prudent enough not to take it out on him. After all, it wasn’t his
fault she was crumbling in his presence or even just the thought of his
presence.

“Right,”
she told him feeling the shame crawl over her body. If she was like this over
the phone she didn’t want to think of how she would behave with him on their
date. “How are you?”

“Great,”
he said and she could sense the words
‘now
that I’m talking to you’
hanging off his lips, but he didn’t say them.

She
could imagine him smiling and she felt her knees wobble a little more. Holding
on to the back of her desk chair she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She needed to have better self-control. She wanted to stop wondering why she
could already picture his face as they spoke on the phone or ‘sense’ something
he wanted to say.

“How was
your day? I hope not bad despite how busy it was.”

“Not at
all,” she responded as coolly as possible. She wanted to practice speaking to
him now on the phone as preparation for their date. She cringed.
“Why do I have to practice talking to him?”
she wondered. It was all rather unrefined.

“Was
there a specific reason you called, Philip? You didn’t say in your message.”

“Oh,
yes,” he responded.

His tone
had changed slightly and she suddenly fell into a panic. Had she been a bit too
harsh? Did she make him feel like she was cutting him off or didn’t have much
interest in speaking to him? She didn’t want him to think she was rude. She
hadn’t meant to sound like she was pressed for time or ready to get the
conversation out of the way. She was only curious about the reason for his
call.

“I know
this lovely place with a great view of the city. Are you particular about where
you eat or what kind of food?”

“No,”
Alyssa told him honestly. She was open about to all kinds of food and had a
wide variety of tastes. But not knowing meant she couldn’t look the place up
online for a better idea of how to dress. She would have to go into it blind
and she definitely didn’t want to do that.
 

“Excellent,”
he answered with clear excitement in his voice. “I can have a driver by to pick
you up at 7:15p, will that work for you?”

Alyssa’s
mouth went dry. Her tongue felt like sandpaper and she couldn’t say anything
for a brief moment.
A driver
? It
wasn’t as if it would be her first time being picked up and taken by a driver,
but it was a rather odd feeling with it being from her date.

She was
unsure if she should readily agree or decline it. Either way could be perceived
as rude. Her mind was a mess of thoughts and she couldn’t sort them out. She
wanted to take the driver so she decided to go for it since he offered. She
needed to stop worrying so much about how she came off.

“Um,”
she said, “Sure.”

“If not,
I can set up-”

“Oh,” she
interrupted him. She cleared her throat being all too aware she had cut him off
mid-sentence. “Oh, it’s not that. I just wasn’t expecting you to send a
driver.”

“I see,”
he said. “Well, it would be no problem at all. I’d be glad to send him and he
knows exactly the location of the restaurant.”

“Right,”
she said slowly. “7:15pm will be a great time”.

She
wanted to sound enthusiastic without going over the top, but ended up a bit
flat. The call ended and she shakily slid down to sit on her desk chair. She
held onto the edge of her desk and looked at the wall across from her.

Now it
was real.

The time
and place had been sent. He was even sending a driver to pick her up. And she
still had no idea what to wear.

“Jessica,”
she muttered as she grabbed her phone off the surface of her desk and quickly
typed out a text message.

“Take me
shopping,” she muttered.