SEDUCING THE BILLIONAIRE

Chapter 24

It was supposed to be a one night stand, have sex, scratch that itch and move on. So why was I standing on top of a mountain watching the beautiful sunset and feeling so serene with this man besides me?. It was supposed to be a one night stand and yet there I was, soaking in the happiness like a sponge.

"This is really beautiful" I said with a happy sigh as Clement wrapped his arms around me from the back.

"I'm glad you like it" said Clement, the hike had been great and there was such a beautiful waterfall where we had dived at the bottom for a swim and taken some videos and pictures. It was just the two of us out there which made it even more perfect.

I really didn't think that would be the way I would be spending my birthday but I wasn't complaining either, I had actually lived been out there.
After watching the sun set, we climbed back down and drove the rental car to the airport for our local flight, driving would have taken way too long but by 19:00hrs we were back in Lusaka.

"I made a reservation for dinner" Clement told me "I figured we could have have a birthday dinner for you before you go home".

I hadn't planned for a birthday dinner so I didn't have an outfit but I was too excited so I agreed and we passed through a boutique where I bought a dress then he drove us to his apartment where I had left my car that early morning. We took a shower, separately, at his place then took my car because I wasn't going to return there after dinner.

"I'll return with a cab" he told me.
.
The restaurant he had selected was in the outskirts of the central business district, it was the only restaurant along the gravel road but once you entered past the gate it was like a whole different area, really beautiful with soothing music and a serene ambiance. Our reservation was for 20:30hrs and we got there just a few minutes before that. We were directed to our table and the menus brought.
Clement and I were casually chatting while looking through the menu when I felt a presence behind me. Clement stopped talking and looked up, slowly I turned my head and found Jerome looking down at it. Damn it! I knew eventually someone would spot us but so early? And on my birthday dinner?.

"Ah.. Hi" I tried not to stutter.

"Hey" Jerome smiled "I saw you here and thought I should say hi"

"Thanks" I awkwardly smiled through a clenched jaw "this is Clement... A.... Friend...from university"

OH gosh this was not going well at all.

"Hey" Jerome reached out and shook his hand "nice to meet you.".

"Likewise".

"Well, let me not disturb your dinner" he looked down at me again as I tried to decipher what he was thinking "happy birthday Audrey" he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead.
"enjoy your evening, you deserve it" he whispered before walking away.

"Am guessing he knows Duke?" clement asked me

"that's his best friend and lawyer" I told him and he looked like he had something hard and bitter stuck in his throat.

"Oh gosh Audrey am so sorry, maybe we shouldn't have come out here" he apologized

"hey..." I reached across the table and took his hand in mine, he squeezed it gently "don't apologize, let's just enjoy our dinner. Don't worry about Jerome.". I told him.
.
I don't know why but I knew that he would talk to me first before going to Duke, he would probably give me a chance to break things off with clement before Duke caught wind of it.
Apart from that awkward encounter, dinner was lovely. The food was amazing and he had told them that it was my birthday and ordered a cute cup cake with a candle on it.

"I figured it was better than a cake" he smiled and he was right, taking a big birthday cake home would raise a lot of questions.
After our dinner I offered to drive him home, that was almost 22:00hrs.

"its late," he said as he stood by my car door "I can call a yango, you go home" he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss "happy birthday once again".
.
I was all smiles as I was driving home and upon getting there I found the house quiet, of course it was, the time was now 22:30hrs.
After parking the car I went in, before I could go up the stairs to the bedroom I heard soft music playing outside, curious, I went to check where it was coming from and found a dinner for two table set in the flower garden. It was a candle light dinner and it looked really beautiful. Duke was seated holding a bottle of wine, drinking direct from the bottle.

"Duke? What are you doing out here so late at night?" I asked him as I got closer.

"Happy birthday Audrey" he said, sounding sarcastic as he raised the bottle towards me as if making a toast then took a gulp of the wine "I hope you like cold food, it has been sitting here for hours."
Oh my gosh, was this supposed to be a surprise birthday dinner for me?

"is this?... Is this for me?" I had to ask, why didn't he call to ask what time I'd be coming home? Oh wait, I had barred all incoming calls.

"where were you?" he finally questioned. I had left home very early before anyone woke up.

"I went to see a waterfall, do some hiking and sight seeing" I answered him.

"alone?"

"does it matter?" I was in no mood to start having this back and forth with him concerning who I was hanging out with.

"this is crazy Audrey, you just come and go as if it's a hotel, when was the last time we did any meaningful family bonding?? You just come and go.... I make this effort to prepare this for you and your phone is off, you don't even bother showing up!" he got up angrily, trying not to stagger back.

Was he really trying to blame me for where things stood with us? If he had not been a selfish prick by now we would have been a real family, I was not going to work according to his time-line.

"Duke, you hired me to help you get custody and have the adoption approved, that happened. I asked you to divorce me but you refused saying am not going anywhere so what exactly do you want from me?" I questioned him.

"I... I... I want another chance... I ended things with Connie yesterday and I want us to try and be a real couple, a real family" he said and I was dumbstruck, I really didn't know what to say to that.
A part of me was surprised and perhaps just a bit excited but another part was reminding me of how he had treated me, how he only started paying attention to me and wanting me AFTER I had lost weight due to depression, the depression cause by him and his mistress. What if I gained again? I had actually even started gaining slowly because I was no longer depressed and my appetite was back. What would happen if I went back to the body which wasn't "his type"?. I really couldn't just fall happily in his arms after everything that had happened.