Princely Passions

"Well, that's him."

"What the fuck?" she says. "Just when I thought things couldn't get weirder." I can see a genuine sense of shock on her face.

"Shit, Derek sees me," I whisper. It's clear that I'm in their line of sight and Nadia is pretending to not notice that I'm here.

I look over again and Derek is now waving us over to his table.

"Looks like you better go say hi," Ashley suggests. "He seems pretty insistent."

We grab our drinks and walk over.

"What are you doing here?" I ask casually.

"I'm here—I mean here at the Carlyle—just until my apartment is decorated."

"Oh nice," I say, and then I immediately kick myself for sounding so stupid. 'Nice?' Is that really what just tumbled out of my mouth?

"You ladies should join us," Derek offers. "Pull up a chair."

"Oh, we don't want to interrupt your date," I say.

"Yeah, Derek, we should let these two friends enjoy their evening together," Nadia chimes in.

From the annoyance in her eyes, it's clear to me that we are ruining her date.

"Nonsense! Sit down. The more the merrier," Derek insists.

I figure he isn't going to take no for an answer, so Ash and I decide to sit down and join them after all.

"What are you two ladies up to tonight?" he asks.

"A little Pilates, a little dinner—and here we are," I laugh. "Exciting, right?"

"Sounds like a decent night to me," Derek smiles. "And now you're here with me. Even better."

Just then, Nadia clears her throat.

"It's getting late," she says, pretending to look at her watch. "I'm going to call it a night."

She turns to Derek and asks, "Dinner tomorrow night?"

"I—uh—I'll have to check my calendar," he replies.

"Well, whatever's on your calendar, cancel it," she says with a devilish grin.

"You bet," he replies, not wanting to argue, but I can detect some reluctance. "See you tomorrow."

We watch as Nadia grabs her purse and walks off.

Ashley, suddenly feeling like the third wheel, looks down at her phone.

"I better cut out too," she says. "I have a date with Netflix. You guys enjoy yourselves."

She leans down and gives me a quick hug before leaving.

Now that I'm alone with Derek, I'm scared. That confident girl on the 6 train is gone.

This man's a billionaire. He's older and wiser, and I suddenly feel so sure that he's going to see right through all of my earlier bravado and see me for what I really am—a young, driven, 20-something just trying to find her place in the world.