Chapter 9: Give Billionaires a Chance

"You said what?!" This was Pam's reaction when Emily told her about the second time she saw Byron.

The two friends were chatting at one of their favorite cafes. Being able to spend time with her best friend and the delicious pancakes reassured Emily that her life wasn't a complete disaster.

"I said I didn't want to see him," Emily declared. She knew Pam would be outraged when she told her about rejecting the billionaire.

"Don't you think you overreacted just a little bit?"

"Maybe a little."

"Or, like, a lot?"

They were both practically shouting to be heard over the music and the noise of clattering plates in the busy cafe.

Emily was still unsure about this point. "What if Byron really is a stalker, though? I couldn't handle having two stalkers."

"What if he isn't?" Pam asked.

If he isn't... the possibility was so tempting. Emily had hardly stopped thinking about him despite all the reasons she had to avoid him.

"He showed up at your house in a limo after you had a really nice date. That's romantic! I wish Mike would do that, except we already live together, so that would be weird."

"You're so lucky you have a really nice boyfriend," Emily said. "You don't have to wonder about him."

"I know," Pam replied confidently, "but I'm kind of jealous of this new relationship butterflies that you've got going on. So exciting!"

"It's not a relationship," Emily protested. "He probably doesn't want to see me again after the way I treated him."

"Oh, trust me, he does," Pam said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Are you kidding? You obviously impressed him with your awesomeness. That's why he came back the next day. And then you rejected him? The man is probably not used to that. I'll bet he is very confused right now, and that's a good thing. He's probably intrigued."

"So you don't think he's dangerous?" Emily asked.

"You had a bad experience," Pam said with a sigh, "but you can't start suspecting everyone you meet of being dangerous. Let me ask you this, what happened after you told Byron to go away?"

"Well... he left."

"Okay, and has he come around again in his limo?"

"No."

"You see? He respects your wishes."

Emily found this really convincing, and to her own surprise, she wanted to be convinced.

"Even if it doesn't work out," Pam went on, "you're not going to have another stalking problem. All I'm saying is give billionaires a chance."

Even if it was not so noble as 'give peace a chance', it was a good slogan.

"Okay, I'll do it. But I don't know how to contact him."

"Not to worry," Pam said, "consider it one part of my three-part plan for you."

Emily was mystified. "What's the three-part plan?"

"Okay." Pam sounded excited. "Part one: get Josh out of your life. Part two: find you a new career. Part three: get you together with Byron Pomeroy."

Emily downed all her coffee in one go. "I'm ready," she said, slamming down the cup. She was partly joking, but at the same time it sounded like a really good plan.

"The only problem is... I don't know how to contact Byron, unless I happen to run into him again... Maybe send him an email?"

"No, don't be silly," Pam said, "I'm sure we can find a way for you to see him in person."

"Yeah, that would be best," Emily agreed, "at the very least, I want to apologize for the way I behaved. He probably didn't deserve that."

"Let me see..." Pam was already scanning through some webpages on her phone. "He must have some kind of public events for his company or—ooh, even better!"

"What?" Emily tried to lean closer to the phone to see.

"A charity gala. You can get dressed up, it'll be fancy. And it's to support a good cause, an animal shelter. That's very... you."

"He actually supports an animal shelter," Emily said, "That's nice." Emily could already picture the dress she was going to wear, one she had designed herself. It might not be as glamorous as an expensive label, but it would make her stand out from the crowd. "It seems like a pretty exclusive event, though."

"Don't even worry about it," Pam said, "I can get us tickets through some of my business contacts. And when you show up, he's never going to know what hit him."