2. Everyday Is A Repeat Of The Previous

Elijah

Every day is exactly the same; the same women, the same faces, the same meetings. Apart from my son, I don’t see these people as anything important in my life, the same as the woman in the shower right now. Sighing while feeling the beginning of a migraine, I pick up my things and walk out of the hotel room without so much as a goodbye to her. Not that it mattered anyway; I had forgotten her name the moment I walked in here last night.

Things are easier this way; meet up, have a passionate tryst and leave before the other can get attached. No strings, just sex. Getting feelings involved in anything is just a waste of time; besides, why would I give my heart to someone again when I already have everything I could ever want?

However, everything has become so mundane as of late. There’s no spark to my day, no excitement at all. I am positively bored with everything lately; no one poses a challenge or fight. It is all yes sirs and no sirs; has this pandemic caused people to become soft in the head? In any case, I had better get home before I am late for my appointment later.

As I get into my car, my cell phone rings and I see it is my assistant, Leo. Well, 'assistant' is a rather vague word; he is the only other person I trust in my business besides Sebastian Dumont.

“Good morning, Leo,” I say as I place my phone on the Bluetooth dock. He sighs before he answers. “Good morning, sir,” he says sarcastically. “Just a quick call to say that the sale of your property in Tenerife has gone through. The Sultan seemed pretty excited about attaining his own personal beach.” Leo says with a chuckle, and I couldn’t help the heaviness that settles in my heart. Of course, Leo wouldn’t know the significance that place has; it was before his time here. Irina and I met on that beach, and we spent what little time we had together there… But it was time to let go.

I cannot mourn my dead wife forever.

“Good. Was that all, Leo? I am quite busy this morning.” I lie, making my way home to sleep this awful headache off. “Oh, I am calling to remind you about your 7 am meeting with the CEO of Westwood Architecture tomorrow morning.” He says. I roll my eyes at this, causing my headache to deepen. “Oh, I haven’t forgotten, don’t you worry. I am not interested in any merger with that sinking ship, but the owners have intrigued me with their tenacity and how they sold themselves. So, we shall see,” I say, seeing my villa in sight. “Ah, I thought so. In any case, would you like to join me for a drink tonight? I think you could use it since you’ve been avoiding everyone lately.”

“Thank you, Leo, but I will have to decline the invitation. See you tomorrow.” I say and hang up the call before he can try to pursue me more. I am genuinely not interested in going out this evening, because knowing me, I will probably woo another socialite once I have had enough whiskey and regret it the next day. I sit back and lean my head against the headrest of my car, sighing. How pathetic; a billionaire with everything he could ever want, and he’s feeling sorry for himself in his 5 Million Pound sports car. I scoff, but my cell rings again before I can get out.

“Leo, I told you I am not interested-”

“Good morning to you as well, ray of sunshine,” came the sarcastic voice of Sebastian Dumont. I chuckle at my error and shake my head. “Ah, good morning, Luv. How can I be of service?” I ask, removing the cell phone from the Bluetooth dock and walking inside. “Elena and I are hosting a dinner party this evening and would love for you to join us,” he says, getting straight to the point.

Another ‘dinner party’ invitation then - I’ve taken this as a code word for Elena trying to set me up with one of her friends again. As much as I love the Dumonts and how they have come to be like family to me, Elena’s meddling has become quite the irritation. “I will have to decline your invitation respectfully, I’m afraid, as I already have an engagement I cannot push aside,” I say, the lie slipping out easily this time. I hear Sebastian breathe out a sigh before answering me. “I understand and will relay the message. But, please don’t forget that I am here if you need to talk.”

I smile at his words, feeling a bit annoyed at the fact that he knows me so well. Perhaps I will go out tonight after all. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, then hang up the phone before redialing Leo’s number.

At 6 PM, I give myself a once over in the mirror and grin; no one would expect this drastic change. If I wanted things to change, I had to put plans into place, yes? Snapping on my facemask, I leave my Porche and walk into the cocktail bar, sanitizing my hands as I walk inside.

Leo looks up when I walk in, and his eyes widen. “Blimey!” He says, slapping me on the back when I sit down and chuckling. I shrug and motion for a waitress to come over. “I needed a change, badly,” I say, quite chuffed with the way my hairstyle turned out. They say a haircut is as good as a makeover, and lord knows I needed one.

Leo nods. “Indeed, well…” he starts, but I have already drowned him out as I survey the room—all the same businessmen, same women, same… everything. Sighing, I remove my facemask and take a sip of my whiskey when a woman walking towards the bar gets my attention. Blonde curls cascaded over her shoulders, bright blue eyes that seemed to be smiling, sexy black dress and mile-high heels. She wasn’t my usual type, a bit on the curvy side, but the way she walked in caught my eye; her entire presence screamed confidence. I am used to being with women who knew they were sexy, but something about this woman’s confidence made me want to know her better.

I watch as she speaks to her friend, who was equally beautiful and would have been the type I take home, but I only have eyes for her now. When she removed her black face mask and pouted, I couldn’t help but wonder how soft her full, luscious lips were.

Red lips against alabaster skin; my weakness.

Her friend kept on looking my way, and I knew she must have told her that I was staring because the next moment, the blonde picked up her red wine and put it to her lips while glancing behind her. And straight at me.