Her reflection looked back at her and gave her a look as if to say, so why be so nervous, then?
Although it was not a date per se, Korie had never gone out with a man of means before. She also had never gone out with an older man before. She had dated men with good jobs before, but never anyone who owned his own company. She never dated anyone who made more than 5,000 dollars more than she did.
She didn’t know how to dress, how to act, or how she should present herself. It wasn’t a date, but she didn’t want to look like Cinderella before the ball, either.
“He’s just a man, an old man at that. Girl, stop trip-pin’,” she told herself.
Korie wondered what kind of man he was. As far as she knew, most wealthy men were arrogant. They felt as if the world owed them something or as if they were better than everyone else. She had to pause for a minute, however, and remember that the only rich men who she knew were the ones on TV and she didn’t really know them.
Just because he was rich didn’t mean that he was arrogant. Just because he was rich didn’t mean she couldn’t have a good time with him. Just because he was rich didn’t make him better than her.
She continued to get dressed and wondered why this man wanted to go out with her. Why not Jayna? Why not some wealthy woman? At the very least, why not some white woman. After all, isn’t that what successful black men did these days?
Over and over and over again, Korie asked herself, why her? It wasn’t until she finished dressing, finished applying her makeup, and finished putting on her favorite perfume and checking herself out in the mirror that she finally said, why not her? Korie looked in the mirror one last time and spoke.
“You’re a beautiful and strong black woman. That’s why he wants to go out with you.”
She went to her car in her house slippers and held her heels in her hand. She had agreed to meet Mr. Harris, Brandon, and Jayna at the Grand Lux Restaurant. She decided to take her own car. This way everything would be done on her terms. If Mr. Harris turned out to be an ass, she could politely excuse herself and leave. If Jayna decided to pull a move and leave early, she could go at her own pace and wouldn’t be dependent on anyone for a ride. And if everything went well, for whatever reason, if she and Mr. Harris decided to take in a late movie or something, she would be safe in her own car.
Korie started her car and headed to the Grand Lux in downtown Chicago. She chose the Grand Lux because it was her favorite place to eat. It wasn’t too expensive and if she needed to leave for any reason, she could pay her portion of the bill, and go shopping downtown and then home.
She listened to love songs on the radio as she drove down Lake Shore Drive. Inside of twenty minutes she was at the parking garage not far from the Grand Lux. She put her heels on, checked herself out in the rearview mirror one last time, and headed to the restaurant. She walked confidently in her heels through downtown Chicago toward the eatery.
Men of all ethnicities looked at her with desire. She loved the attention and finally began to feel good about herself. With all the hard work she and Jayna put into their runs at the park and at the gym she deserved to feel desired. With each step she grew more confident. With each step, she felt more secure.
As usual, the restaurant was crowded. There were couples standing outside waiting, couples inside waiting, and people at the bar waiting to be seated. On any given day you could see Chicago’s elite at the Grand Lux. Businessmen ate there as well as many of Chicago’s athletes. Because of this, there were many young gold-digging women that frequented the place as well as the wives of many of Chicago’s athletes.
Once upon a time, people went to the Grand Lux to get away from a certain element in the city. When that element found out how good the food was as well as the clientele, many people from all walks of life began to dine there; even people who could not afford to. The restaurant wasn’t expensive, but it was easy to spend a hundred dollars for two people with drinks.
Korie surveyed the lobby and looked at all the beautiful women and the men who accompanied them. There were women there of all races, women of all shapes and sizes, as well as outfits that would put some models to shame.
Korie had on her best dress. Compared to many of the women who dined there, her dress looked like something off the rack from a thrift store compared to some of the dresses other women had on.
Still, Korie didn’t feel too bad as she looked at all the young women with their body parts out. You could tell the pretenders from the wealthy, as well as the poor. Those people that were there simply being themselves were the ones that Korie could best identify with.
Korie made her way to the reservation stand as she called Jayna on her cell phone to find out if she made it there yet.
“Hello?” Jayna answered.
“Where are you?”
“I’ve been seated already.”
“So where are you guys at?”
“Ask for the Harris party. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
“Hello? Hello?”
No, this heifer did not just hang up on me, she thought.
Korie walked up to the reservation stand where there was a beautiful Trinidadian girl with her hair pulled tightly back. The young woman looked as if she should be on someone’s runway rather than taking reservations. Her skin had a reddish-brown tint and she had high cheekbones. Her smile was welcoming as she spoke.
“Hello, welcome to the Grand Lux. How many in your party?”
“I’m here for the Harris party. I believe they’ve already been seated.”
“Would that be Mr. DeVaughn Harris?”
“Uh . . . yes. Yes, it would.” Korie smiled a polite smile, although on the inside she was nervous.
“Right this way, Ms. Dillon.”
Korie followed the young, beautiful woman up the escalator and toward the rear dining area. Most days when Korie and Jayna went, they were seated overlooking beautiful Michigan Avenue.
As she was led to the back of the restaurant she noticed an elevator that she’d never seen before. She and the young lady took the elevator further up and the young woman could hardly contain her smile.
“Wow. I have been here quite a few times and I have never seen this elevator before,” Korie said.
“Yes, ma’am. Well, it’s really easy to miss and we only use this dining area when we are extremely crowded or when we have special guests dining with us.”
“Special guests? Like who?”
The young woman told Korie that many pro athletes ate at the restaurant. So did a lot of Chicago’s coaches, the mayor; even the president had dined there a time or two. Korie was admittedly impressed that she, her girlfriend, and these two men would be dining in such style. She smiled and said to herself that this evening wasn’t going to be so bad after all, although she told herself again that this was not a date.
Korie got off the elevator onto a floor that was completely empty. The floor had one single table and at the table was Mr. Harris, who stood up as he saw Korie being escorted to him.
Korie looked around for Jayna but didn’t see her. Brandon was not there, either. Initially she was a bit apprehensive, but she was a grown woman, so she decided to see what was going on. As she got closer and closer to Mr. Harris, she noticed that he was ruggedly handsome. He had a smile that seemed to bring her at ease and Korie thought to herself that he looked damned good in a suit. Still, first things first. She wanted to know where her girl was.
“Where is Jayna?” Korie had a look on her face that had a slight air of attitude.
“Well, good evening to you too, Ms. Dillon,” DeVaughn said while smiling.
Korie thought to herself that she had better manners than that.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Harris . . .”
“Please, call me Vaughn.”
“Okay, Vaughn. If you don’t mind my asking, where are my girlfriend and her date?”
“Jayna and Brandon are down in the dinin
g area. They will be joining us for dessert. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of arranging dinner just for the two of us. You know, so we could perhaps get to know each other better.”
“I guess that’s fine, but I thought we would all be eating together. That is what we agreed on.”
“Ah, I see. So you thought that you would run interference for your girl. This way if she’s not into Brandon, you could find an excuse to leave and if you’re not into me, you could do the same, right?”
He smiled at her and although he was right, his smile still put her at ease. He reminded her of Denzel Washington. He was cool, calm, collected, and confident.
“You’re right on both counts, but also, I would simply feel more comfortable with my girlfriend here.”
“Okay, that’s fair. Well, dinner should only take an hour and like I said, they’ll be joining us for dessert. I was hoping to have you for myself for at least an hour . . . for dinner, I mean.”
He smiled at her again and pulled her chair out for her.
Korie sat down. She was put off-balance by how direct he was, but she was also intrigued. Vaughn sat across from her and poured her a glass of wine, pouring himself a glass as well. Before picking up the menu he looked Korie directly in her eyes as he spoke softly.
“You look stunning, by the way. I like your dress.”
Korie blushed and smiled. It had been a while since a man gave her a compliment on her attire or her looks, rather than a body part.
“Thank you,” she said graciously.
“So, Ms. Dillon, I hear that you are an interior designer. How did you get into that line of work?”
Korie told Vaughn how she struggled to break into the business. She told him about her past relationship with him, and how he saw her dream of being an interior designer long before she saw it for herself. She talked about her education, her goals, her views on love, religion, children, and politics. Vaughn hung on her every word and throughout the evening, he kept telling her how beautiful she was.
He then told her about how he was once married but lost his wife to breast cancer and also how he made his first million dollars. Like a lot of millionaires, he began his career in real estate. He had no formal education other than the adversity that life threw at him. With everything he’d been through he jokingly said that he had a doctorate in reality.
He spent most of his young life working for the dollar and decided at one point that he was going to turn things around and make his dollars work for him. He talked about the differences between building money and building wealth. Wealth, he explained, made money for a lifetime, whereas being rich often simply meant having more debt than the average person.
They discussed the presidential election, the war overseas, the economy, and they both discussed ways that they would expand their businesses. Korie talked about her fitness goals and talked at length about the lack of responsibility in the black community. Vaughn discussed more of the same, as well as his efforts to clean up communities and the various scholarships that his company offered. The next thing that they both knew, dinner was over and Brandon and Jayna were being escorted upstairs to them.
Korie hadn’t noticed that all the music playing overhead were custom slow songs—all of her favorite songs. She also hadn’t noticed the dozen roses that were sitting on the chair next to Vaughn, until he presented them to her.
“Your girlfriend says that you like pink roses.” He smiled as he gave them to her.
“I do.” She smiled as she accepted them.
“Now that’s what I have been waiting for all night . . . a full smile from you.”
Korie blushed again. She had to admit to herself, she was having a wonderful time with DeVaughn Harris. She was almost upset when Brandon and Jayna joined them.
“So, is everyone behaving over here?” Brandon said jokingly.
“Yes, we’re fine,” Vaughn said, while never taking his eyes off of Korie. His eyes said that he was very satisfied with what he saw and the company that she kept.
“So, are you ladies ready for dessert?” Brandon said.
“I’ve got room for dessert,” Jayna said.
“I guess I do too,” Korie agreed. “Where is the rest-room?” she asked Vaughn.
“Right there in the back,” he said as he finished his wine.
“Please excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go with you,” Jayna said.
“Please excuse us, then,” Korie said.
Korie went to the bathroom, used it, and then adjusted her makeup in the mirror. As she checked herself out, Jayna was looking at her like a Cheshire cat, giddy like a schoolgirl, all smiles and bug-eyed, waiting anxiously for Korie to say something. When Korie said nothing and continued to do her makeup, Jayna couldn’t contain herself any longer.
“So . . .” Jayna asked.
“So, what?” Korie said. She looked at Jayna as if she had no idea what she meant.
“Bitch, stop playing. Are you feeling him or what?”
Korie laughed.
“Vaughn is a nice man. I have to admit, I am enjoying dinner.”
“And?”
“No and.” She continued to reapply her makeup “He’s a nice man.”
“So this will be the first of many dates?”
“I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a real sweetheart, but he is a lot older than I am.”
“So?”
“So . . . I don’t know. I don’t think so, but anything’s possible. So how are things with you and Brandon?”
“Great. I think there is really some potential there. I’m more curious about you.”
“Don’t be. Like I said, I enjoyed myself, but I don’t see things going much farther than they have today.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s so much older. And he’s not the type of man that I’m used to.”
“You mean, handsome, respectful, unmarried, no issues, and rich?”
“I don’t know that he doesn’t have any issues.”
“As wealthy as he is, any issues he might have can be easily taken care of.”
“Money can’t take care of everything, Jayna.”
“No, but it can make almost anything more comfortable.”
“I need more than that. He’s financially stable, that’s obvious. But I want more for my life. I want someone I can spend the rest of my life with.”
“Why can’t he be that man?”
“Because of our age difference. I would like to spend the rest of my life with my man. Not the rest of his life. Plus, this was just one date. How do I know that he even wants to see me anymore? Like I said, he’s a nice man, but I don’t see things going any farther than they have.”
“Girl, you must be out of your damned mind. You must be out of your body. That man is wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, and of all the women in Chicago he asked to go out with you. “
“That’s another thing, Jayna, why me? He could probably go out with anyone, so why me?”
“Korie, why not you? You’re a beautiful woman. Instead of constantly asking why you, maybe you should be asking why not you. And rather than ask me, why not ask him? Ask that man why he wanted to take you out.”
“I think I will.”
“Good, because . . .” Jayna started to say something but let her voice trail off.
“Because what?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t do that, Jay—say what’s on your mind.”
“I’m just wondering, Korie. You haven’t been serious with anyone in a while. I’m just wondering, is it because you just haven’t found the right person, or if you’re still waiting on someone else to come around? I know you’ll always have a special place in your heart for your ex, but sister, isn’t it time to move on? Isn’t it time that you moved forward?”
“I’m over him, Jay.”
“Are you? I mean, really. This could turn out to be something with Mr. Harris. It could be something, or it co
uld be nothing . . . in either case, I think you should give him a chance.”
“Because he’s rich?”
“No, because from what I am hearing from Brandon, he’s a damned good man.”
“And the age difference?”
“The age difference is healthy. If he turns out to be a good man who’s good to you, what difference does that make?”
“I hear you.”
“I’m just saying, give him a chance. At the very least, see this evening through before you pass judgment.”
“That I can do. Let me ask you something, Jayna; are you saying all this because you want to see me happy, or because you hate him so much?”
“I want to see you happy.”
Jayna hugged her.
“And I can’t stand his ass.”
Both women shared a small laugh.
“Do you think rather than have dessert, you and Brandon could maybe make yourselves scarce?”
“If you’re serious, we will.”
“Yeah, I think I am. Let’s see where this path leads with Mr. Harris. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s time that I moved forward.”
“That’s my girl.”
The two women returned to dinner. Before they could order dessert, Jayna spoke to Brandon and Mr. Harris.
“Mr. Harris, I know that you were expecting to have dessert with Brandon and me, but we have to leave unexpectedly. I got a call from my mother and I have to leave.”
“I see.”
“So, Korie, I will give you a call later?”
“That’s fine.”
Mr. Harris looked as if he expected Korie to find an excuse to leave. Instead, she picked up the dessert menu.
“So for dessert, what do you recommend?”
Mr. Harris was surprised. He was pleasantly surprised. He smiled as he picked up the menu.
“I thought this was your favorite place. What do you recommend for dessert?”
“I have never stayed for dessert before. I’m usually full when I leave here.”
“And you’re not full today?”
“No, I am. But I’m not in a rush. So I figured we could take some time and talk a bit more while I decide on dessert.”
Mr. Harris smiled at Korie. He smiled at her and this time he more than put her at ease. His smile said that he loved being there with her. His smile said he was having fun and happy that she decided to stay.
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