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Chapter 17
Michelle
I sat in the local cafe, stirring my latte with a swizzle stick while waiting for Michael Anderson to arrive. All I knew about him was that he was five years older than me and was a venture capitalist. He also didn’t consider himself to be a relationship type of person. He told my dad that he liked to spend a lot of time alone in his room while surfing the internet.
That didn’t matter to my father, though.
In fact, when Michael asked if he that’d be a problem, my father shrugged his shoulders and said, “Michelle knows this is a business move.”
Michael walked into the cafe, saw me, and sat down at my table. Everyone in there turned to look at him, and I had to admit that he was physically attractive.
Michael was a few inches taller than me, with short, cropped hair and brown eyes. His face was nicely shaped, with a strong jaw and a nice nose. His broad shoulders filled out his suit, which I assumed was either Armani or Gucci, and he was wearing a gold Rolex watch. He definitely had plenty of money and was physically attractive, but I soon found out that’s all he had going for him.
“Michael Anderson,” he said while extending his hand across from me. I shook it and immediately wanted to run out of the cafe. It was cold and clammy, and he didn’t even smile when he said his name. His eyes immediately went to my chest, and stayed there for several minutes, until I finally spoke to snap him back to reality.
“So, Michael, what is it that you do exactly?” All my father had said was that he was in finance and made a lot of money, which was like saying peanut butter and jelly go on bread. I wanted to know his background, credit score, exact business dealings, and so forth. If my father wanted to view this as a business contract, then I’d damn sure be treating it as such.
“Well, I’m an investor, and I earned my business degree from Harvard University. I ran a few hedge funds, funded two start-up companies, cashed out when they made it big, and now I rely solely on the stock market. It’s a funny thing, the stock market. The key is to keep an eye on what Congress does. Anyway, so yeah, I graduated from an Ivy League school.”
I hated guys who bragged about where they went to college. “Oh, that’s nice. I considered going there to continue my education, but I haven’t had time. I work up to sixty-hours a week at Affinity Finance. Plus, I don’t really think that it’s necessary. My father has taught me everything that I need to know about business. So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I don’t have a lot of spare time, but I do enjoy golfing and tennis. My days are usually spent watching the stock market, although sometimes I go on social media. I have to admit, however, that I do have a bit of a porn addiction. But don’t worry, Michelle. All of my usernames are associated with fake email accounts, so it won’t ruin your reputation. Unless, of course, you’re addicted to porn too.” He smirked at me, and I could tell that it was an attempt to make a joke that failed.
I couldn’t even bring myself to smile at that comment. In fact, knowing my father, they probably discussed some of their favorite porn stars and adult films. The worst part was that I’d have to spend the rest of my life with that asshole, listening to him beat off in another room while watching porn movies all night. Because there was no way in hell that we were sharing a bed. If he wanted to have children with me, then it’d have to be through artificial insemination.
“Golfing is one of my favorite pasttimes,” I said, trying to steer the conversation back to something normal. “I’m a member of several golf clubs in this area, so we should play sometime. I have to admit that I own pink golf clubs, though.”
“Did you know there’s a genre of golf porn?” He giggled like a little kid as he said it, and I wanted to sink underneath the table. Michael must have read the expression on my face, though. “Sorry, I just wanted to be honest with you. Anyway, I earned my first million dollars by the time that I was twenty-five years old. Your dad seemed really impressed by that, by the way. I’m assuming all of your money is inherited?”
“Um, no, Michael. I’ve closed plenty of business deals and made my own damn money, thank you very much.”
“Mmm,” he said. “I like a sassy woman.”
“Yes, well, let’s not forget that this is a business deal, Michael. And since you were so honest with me about your porn addiction, let me be perfectly honest with you: I’m only doing this so that my father funds the business that I want to start. Plus, I know damn well that you’re only doing this to run Affinity Finance.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Michelle, and I’m really not a bad guy. In fact, I have a lot of plans for our future. Now, when I take over the company, I told your father about how everything will happen. Even though you’ve worked directly for him, I think we both know that I’ll be the one charge. It just looks better, sweetheart. Nothing to be upset about. On our next date, I’d like to show you some five and ten-year plans for growing Affinity Finance.”
Just looking at him pissed me off, and I realized that he had a very punchable face. In fact, I pictured myself forming a fist and hitting him right in his mouth if only to get him to stop talking. I needed to find a way out of marrying that douchebag before I beat him to death with one of my pink golf clubs as he raved about golf porn.
“When all of this happens,” he continued, “I’ll expect you to kind of be in the background. Look, I know it’s the twenty-first century, but everyone knows that men are better at business. Regardless of how smart you are, it’s better for Affinity Finance’s image if you’re more of a background figure than an employee. Plus, you’ll have your little business to run.”
“It’s not that little,” I spat at him.
“Anyway, would you be interested in seeing a Broadway play with me tonight? I figured since we’ll be spending the rest of our lives together, that we should probably get to know each other a little bit better.” Once again, he was staring at my breasts, and it became evidently clear that unlike the Stepanov brothers, he had no intention of ever getting to know me.
“Um, I’ll have to pass Michael, but thank you.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. By the way, I should tell you that I’m a virgin. I hope that’s not a problem.”
I shook my head.
“Let me level with you, Michael. You’ll be lucky if you and I even share the same bed, all right? Based on everything that you’ve told me so far, I’m not surprised that you’re a virgin. It seems like you spend all of your time beating off to porn, golf porn nonetheless, and trying to marry into a business. You better thank your lucky stars that my father chose you, because I, for one, wouldn’t even want to share a bathroom with you.”
By the time our initial meeting was over, I wanted to vomit. Michael had told me everything about his plans for the company and asked absolutely nothing about myself. It was clear that he didn’t give a flying fuck about me or who I was as a person, and it made me crave the intimacy of the Stepanov brothers.
I went into the ladies’ room and pulled out my cell phone, and my eyes lit up as soon as I saw text messages from Nico and Hugo. I leaned against the wall and felt tears forming in my eyes. I would have done anything to be with them at that moment, and I knew that Hugo and Nico would ridicule Michael. In fact, I wanted to see them punch him right in the face for talking to me that way.
I opened up each text message.
