The Business Affair: Forever Mine (3 page)

Donna cut in, turned sideways exposing her
pregnancy and said. “The rest is history. Get your game on people. Get your game
on.”

The audience laughed, loving every minute of it.
There were so many more testimonials. The atmosphere was charged. There was
enough energy in that room to power it. Paula felt her emotions being swept
away by the current. The gravity of the situation finally hit her. She was in a
room filled with rich and available men looking for wives. She was in a room
with wealthy women determined to be hitch worthy at the end of three weeks.
This was incredible.

After all the speeches, the MC returned to the
podium giving serious words of encouragement and inspiration. “Haven’t you all
enjoyed this evening?” The crowd gave a standing ovation. After they quieted he
continued. “This concludes are kick off activities. Your journey begins
tomorrow. Events start simultaneously here and throughout the city at 7:00 AM,
and practically non-stop for the next 21 days.

As part of the kick off you know we have always
tried to make it possible for everyone to ease into the events. I am
responsible for making the first connection.” He motioned for Don to come to
the podium. The audience laughed. “You see that beautiful lady at table 25,
that just reached for her purse?” He nodded. “Ask her out for breakfast and
tell her where you would like to meet.”

The audience cheered as Don stepped off the
podium and walked over to the lady. Paula’s heart began to race. That woman was
sitting only 3 seats away. What if that had been her instead?

With that dazzling smile, Don said, “I want you
to have breakfast with me in the morning, but only if you want to make the
connection. If you accept, lets meet at Casa Del Leon at 7:00 AM sharp.”

The woman’s face was sheer excitement. Her knees
were bouncing up and down and then she let out an exuberant, “Yes!”

What is your name? Said the MC.

“Victoria Payton.”

“Nice meeting you Victoria.” Smiled Don.

“See how simple that was. We have officially
launched The Business Affair.” Said the MC. “ I want each of you to walk out of
this room tonight with a date for breakfast. We’ve shown you how simple it is
to do it. The rest is in your hands. May this year’s event be an overwhelming success.
Goodnight everyone.”

Over the next week Paula and Don got to know
each other and were practically inseparable. She never would have imagined that
her planned vacation away from the demands of Roman Neilson would have ended up
with a rendezvous. They had gone throughout the city day and night experiencing
the grandeur of the event. They had gone on so many excursions that they lost
count, spent nights dancing and he even took her on a deep sea fishing trip -
something that was terribly fun, and yet completely out of her character. In
her most unguarded moments she began to wonder if by fate she was here to mix,
mingle and marry. This day Don a rented a charter boat and took her out to a
private island to spend the day. He had a catering crew sent to the island to
prepare a sunset meal she would not forget. They sat nestled together on a
large blanket under the palms, right on the shoreline.

“You are amazing Paula. I am glad that we met.”

“Me too. Everything is happening so fast. It is
a little scary.”

“How so?”

“Because you came here on a mission and I did
not. I have not been involved with anyone for so long, my work is so demanding
that I don’t know if I will ever be cut out for commitment.”

“You told me from the start that you did not
want to waste my time. And you are not. This has been one of the best weeks of
my life. If it all works out that will be fine. If it does not, I will be back
next year knowing that I will be one step closer to finding what I want.”

He said leaning over and gently kissing her for
the first time. She felt electrified and did not resist his advance in the
slightest. Until it turned into one of those lingering moments when tables can
quickly turn from kissing too much more. She reluctantly pulled herself away.

“I like you a lot.” He said directly looking
into her steel grey eyes. “I will take this as slow as you want. Ok?”

She nodded, “This has been so good for me. Why
don’t we take a swim?”

***

The next day Don had Paula picked up early for a
day of shopping. She had bought so much stuff that she knew it would have to be
shipped back stateside. That evening they went over to the coliseum to be a
part of more of the activities held there. They had participated in most of the
activities. Paula’s favorite was cooking with the chef’s. They had done that event
at least 3 times. Tonight was one event that Don really wanted to attend. This
was his 3
^rd
year in attendance at The Business Affair and this one
individual kept him coming back even though his trips up to this point had only
been marginally successful.

“I want you to come with me this evening to one
of the speakers events. I think this will ease your mind if things don’t work
out the way I would like them too.” Don said.

“What event is that?”

“It is an event with a guy named Marcus Grant.
He is a legend here and has been attending the event for seven years and still
has not made a connection.  Yet he
keeps coming back. He is also one of the biggest sponsors of the event. He
inspires people not to give up or to rush things. Someone like me needs to hear
that.”

“Don you are a wonderful guy. Any woman should
be honored to have you in their life. Why do you think you have not found
someone?”

“It’s complicated. But the short story is I let
a good woman go that I should have married. I was so busy trying to build my
career that I pushed her away. Part of me feels I will never find someone like
her, and I think I might measure all women by her standard and never feel that
another woman would quite measure up. That would be an unfair burden for any
woman to live up to. So I am being very careful. You make me feel like I have a
chance at love again.”

“Don, I just don’t…”

“Don’t say anything just come with me tonight
and you will see why I will be okay.”

“Alright, I will do that. Now tell me about this
Marcus Grant and his bankrolling this event.”

“He is so inspirational. He believes that
patience will pave the way to the right woman, even if it takes years. A lot of
the men here really pay attention to what he says and wind up getting some
excellent wives. There are other testimonial ceremonies that take place during
the event. You just got to hear a few of them during the kick off.”

“So what is his story?”

“He was a playboy and a very successful
entrepreneur at a young age. He used his money and power to get women with no
intentions of being committed. Until one day he met a woman named Stephanie.
She changed his world. If my memory serves me right, she was the one that got
him into the line of work that became his most successful enterprise. She was
killed in a car wreck.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“He buried himself in his work, thinking losing
Stephanie was pay back for all of the women he had trashed. He felt guilty.
Then seven years ago he went to a meeting with some friends and they came up
with the idea of starting The Business Affair. It started off being a
relationship camp directed to healing people that had been bruised in
relationships. Then after a year they decided to turn it into a place to …”

“Mix, mingle and marry.” She said.

“The partners that started it are still doing it
today. He put in $500,000 this year. He said at last years meeting, even if he
never makes the connection. He will have lived his life knowing that he finally
honored women enough to start an organization to bring relationships together.”

“Wow, that is incredible.”

“So my dear, I am going to enjoy you while I
have you and not worry about what tomorrow brings. Like I said before, this has
been one of the best weeks of my life.”

There was absolutely no way for Paula to go to
sleep. Her mind was spinning a mile a minute thinking what had she gotten
herself into. In her world there was no social life, there were just
acquisitions, hostile take over’s, mergers and more money than most people
could ever imagine. The event today made her question her priorities. The sheer
amount of people openly confessing by their presence the need for love,
physical relationships and monogamy in today’s society was shocking. Her
thoughts were as chaotic as the churning of white rapids. There was one
particular thought that she could not get off her mind.

“That man said a person that pays $4,000 to
enter an event is not here to waste time…oh my god, what am I doing!” She was
freaking out. “Why did I listen to Imelda…oh my god! There is no room for love
in my life I was just thinking it would be nice to have a companion while I am
here. Wait a minute that is all it needs to be. I need to just calm down and
stay focused. Those people might have come here to get married and that is fine
and dandy but I am here on vacation. I am here to have the time of my life.”

Then she was slammed by another thought, “Never
take it for granted why you are here. The person you meet can change your life
for good. There are no coincidences at this event. If I go back will I be
interfering with someone’s destiny? I don’t have to go back. I was doing fine
with the activities that the staff here was keeping me busy with. That’s it I
will not go back. I’ve got the beach at my back door and am in the best resort
on the planet. That’s enough. That is enough.”

After a considerable amount of twisting and
turning, slumber finally set her emotional soul to rest.

***

Casa Del Leon had put out a spread in their
restaurant that would rival the meals on a cruise ship. As the doors opened
promptly at 7:00 AM the aroma of freshly cooked bacon and pastries filled the
lobby enticing people to enter and eat. The five star restaurant had three
levels inside and three levels outside elegantly decorated. There were brown
linen tablecloths and chairs covered in brown linen with huge pink bows on the
back. Each table had a beautiful birds of paradise centerpiece. The tables were
set with white, gold-rimmed plates on gold chargers.

Every wall was filled with food from all over
the world. It was truly a feast. Ice sculptures were interspersed throughout
the room. Huge crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The floors were
carpeted with a neutral paisley print that would allow for many exchanges in
table covers. To the back of the room were French doors leading out to an
elaborate three-tiered balcony and patio. Soft music filled the entire expanse.

As soon as the doors opened it began filling to
capacity. Don had given Casa Del Leon a good plug for anyone on the island to
visit.  It was obvious that a lot
of first date kick off’s were here, bright and early. Somewhere in the midst of
all the activities Don and Victoria were having breakfast. By the end of their
meal Don and Victoria both realized that they would not make a connection.
Their meeting was cordial, but there were apparently no commonalties. He was
there for something very specific and so was she. That was the competitive edge
of the event, to find what you were looking for very quickly.

“Don, thanks for breakfast. I wish you the
best.” Said Victoria cordially.

“So this is how we roll for the next few weeks.”
Don said.

“Yes, in a sense we have to look at this event
as a business arrangement and take nothing personally. There are a lot of fish
in the sea and we have to hook them. I don’t intend to be here long. Neither do
I intend to leave here unattached. Every minute is of value to me.”

“That’s a pretty impressive attitude to have.”

“That is why we are here Don, and as you can see
from the attendance last night, no one is shy about it. I made an investment
and I intend to see a marriage return.”

“I wish you luck.”

Victoria kissed Don on the cheek and strolled
away from the table. Don finished the last swallow of juice and headed for the
lobby. As he entered he over heard Paula talking to the concierge inquiring
where she could find a quiet place to eat breakfast. Her beauty arrested Don.
He thought about what Victoria had said and quickly engaged in the
conversation. He had been to this area many times and knew all of the local
places.

“You got to be kidding. There will be no quiet
places here for a few weeks. Your best bet is to go out into the countryside.
There are several cantina’s with excellent food.”

Paula turned sharply. “You’re the guy at the
meeting last night.”