The Secret Billionaire: A BWWM Love Story For Adults (2 page)

“
Then
what happened?” Vera’s excitement was growing.

“
The
big dude was surprisingly polite. He nicely asked for his hat back,
but that idiot said that it was his hat. The big guy then asked him
to tell the brand of the hat if it was really his.” Vera was
curiously looking into Jane’s eyes to tell her the rest of the
story.

After a brief
pause, Jane continued, “Long story short my date kept saying
that the hat belonged to him and did not give even one logical answer
or evidence to back up his claim. The big guy then did what I was
expecting him to do in the first place — he took his hat back
and started beating the shit out of that idiot.”

Vera laughed
a little, “How was it?”

“
Brutal!
Security arrived and they somehow controlled the big guy.”

“
No,
I mean how was it for your date?” Vera made herself clear.

“
Ohh
that idiot was bleeding through his nose when the security kicked his
ass out on the street.” Jane finished.

“
Did
they bother you? Security, I mean.”

“
Well,
they asked me whether I wanted to join my
friend
,
but I told them that I preferred to stay inside. And so they left
me.”

“
Wow!
Some night huh?” Vera exclaimed.

“
I
wasn’t finished!” Jane continued, “I stayed there
for a couple more drinks and then decided to head back home. It was
around an hour later when I got out of the club. And guess who was
waiting outside for me?”

“
Oh
no!” Vera chuckled with surprise.

“
His
nose still had the dried up blood. That idiot did not even clean
himself.” Jane told Vera, “He saw me and started yelling,
‘Hey babe! I am here,’ like I was his girlfriend or
something.”

“
Wow!
Did he follow you?” Vera asked getting a little worried.

“
Thank
God No! Luckily I found a cab and got the hell out of there. But he
kept texting me though.” Jane concluded the story.

“
Some
night!” Vera said.

“
Yup.
Some night.” Jane agreed before realizing she was being a
little rude,

“
So,
tell me — how did your night go? Did you get out?”

Vera took a
deep breath after finishing her coffee. She then looked at Jane and
just nodded ‘No’.

“
Wow!
Again? What happened?” Jane suddenly grew a little concerned,
“Was it your mom again?”

“
Oh
no!” Vera instantly rectified, “She was fine. I just did
not want to go out.”

Jane did not
seem to understand this, “Is everything alright?”

“
I
don’t know. I remember wanting to go out and meet other people
when I used to be in college, but now anxiety takes me over whenever
I think of going out. I feel..” Vera hesitated for a seconds,
“.. old!”

“
Are
you kidding me?” Jane was shocked, “How old are you? 27
if I am not wrong! Then what is wrong with you?”

“
I
just don’t feel my age anymore. Instead I feel like one of
those women who live alone with a horde of cats.” Vera was not
sure what was wrong with her, and so she did not know how to explain
it to Jane.

“
That
is bullshit! You don’t even like cats. Why are you so
depressed?” Jane leaned in to look into Vera’s eyes.

“
I
don’t know!” Vera kind of snapped. She did not like this
conversation. Jane got the hint and backed off. An awkward silence
took over the table as they both looked around, waiting for this
weirdness to go away.

Jane then
looked at Vera, “When was the last time you bought new
lingerie?”

“
What
kind of question is that?” Vera wondered.

“
Change,
you see is a great motivator. It can make us uncomfortable, but it
also helps us get over our anxiety. Whenever I feel down and out,”
Jane looked into Vera’s eyes, “.. and
old
…
I go out and buy new lingerie.”

“
How
does that help?” Vera did not understand where Jane was going
with this.

“
Well,
when you see yourself in the mirror, dressed in that sexy lingerie ..
you feel alive!”

Vera was
looking at Jane without blinking her eyes. Though she was still
confused how this could have helped anyone in overcoming anxiety, she
wanted to know more about it.

Jane
continued looking at Vera’s hands, “Some white and red
lacy lingerie will look gorgeous on your silky black skin. And those
curls..” Jane moved her eyes to Vera’s hair, “will
make you look like a goddess.”

“
Wow!
That was weird.” Vera chuckled a little.

“
Trust
me.” Jane supported her claims, “If I were a dude, I
would be totally into you. Both figuratively and literally.”

Vera did not
know whether Jane was genuinely complimenting her or flirting with
her. But all these praises gave a massage to her battered self
confidence.

“
I
am telling you Vera. All you need is to catch up with that young girl
locked deep inside you. The
real
you!!”

“
And
where will I find this real me?” Vera jokingly asked.

“
In
the mirror, you silly!” Jane replied confidently. “All
you need to do is remind yourself who you used to be… and be
that girl again that you loved. Change your look, your clothes, and
you will find that girl in your mirror.”

Vera did not
know whether she wanted to meet that girl in the mirror, but it
certainly sounded tempting.

“
Do
it. Go home and try some old clothes that you loved.” Jane
said.

“
Alright,
I will try.” Vera wanted Jane to stop now. “Come, lets go
back,” she said getting up. She could see that their break was
over,

Together,
they walked back to their desk and waited for passengers. But the
rest of the evening seemed so quiet.

*****

At home, Vera
was standing in front of the mirror. She was looking at her face and
it seemed like she was staring at a stranger. This is not how she
remembered her face. But it had been a long time since she had paid
close attention to her looks. And then she remembered Jane’s
words, “Change your look, your clothes, and you will find that
girl in your mirror.”

“
Alright,
here we go!” Vera said walking towards her cupboard. On the
bottom shelf, she dug in behind her nightwear and found a green silk
bag. Making sure not to ruin her favorite pyjamas in the front, Vera
carefully pulled that green silky bag out of that forgotten corner of
her cupboard.

“
Lets
see, what do we have here,” she said opening the bag right on
the floor.

With the bag,
a chest of memories was opened. Vera could remember several incidents
related to the dresses, tops and shorts that were in that bag.
Looking at all those clothes, a warm smile appeared on her face.

Quickly, she
picked up a red top and walked back to the mirror. Taking off the t
shirt she was wearing, she held the top in front of her body and
checked herself in the mirror. The color still looked good on her,
like it used to be years ago.

Vera could
see what Jane meant and so she decided to go a little further. She
pulled out her set of lingerie that was piled under other clothes.
She picked up a blue bra and put it on. And then she pulled out her
make up kit. After a few minutes when she stepped in front of the
mirror, she found the Vera she knew looking at her through the glass.

With that red
top and make up, Vera was elated to see the old Vera back again.
Memories of college filled Vera’s brain. The parties and
excursions with friends — the late night walks around the
campus and having almost no care at all, it was the best time of her
life. She had dreams and ambitions. But it all changed with a phone
call one evening.

Vera
remembered her mother’s voice over the phone, “Vera,
Daddy is no more,” were her words. Those five words brought
Vera’s dreams to the ground. Her dad meant so much to her and
Vera was unable to imagine her life without him. Michael Jones was
the supporting pillar to his daughter and wife. Their lives revolved
around this one man who was their Sun and Moon. Being the only child,
Vera received all the love and care from her dad. Her mother though
was still a little childish. Alice Jones had a lot of growing up to
do.

After her
last year at college, Vera decided to move in with her mother. Alice
married Michael at a young age and gave birth to Vera when she was
only 25. She was the youngest of 5 kids and in a sense never grew up.
Her family never pushed her to stand on her own feet. Instead, they
always helped her like the little child she was to them. When Jones
were going through hard times, Alice occasionally went to her family
to get ‘help’ behind Michael’s back. Michael did
find out about his wife’s secret source of income, but he never
said anything. The bad times soon were over and Michael assured Alice
that he would one day take her around the world. It was a promise he
made before they got married. But raising a kid was not cheap.

Michael
showed his willingness to fulfill his promise by keeping a secret
stash of money. He kept putting some of his savings in that box.
“This is for our world tour,” he told Alice giving her
the box. “Don't you spend anything from this. Cause if you do,
our agreement is void.” Michael was not a lawyer, but he
certainly was a smart man.

Alice kept
the box in her wardrobe and dropped some money in it herself from
time to time. But before the Jones could count how much they had in
the box, Michael left the world. Alice forgot about the box and it
stayed where it was.

Vera had been
living with her mother since Michael’s death. She knew her
mother was not capable of taking care of herself. And there was no
way she was putting her mother in a home. “You don’t put
your parents in a home.” Vera clearly remembered her dad’s
words. “Parents take care of their children when they are
difficult to handle, and so it's the duty of all children to return
the favor when their parents are old.”

Vera
remembered her grandpa who lived with them until his death. And Vera
knew her father walked the talk. Not only his own, but Michael Jones
also cared for Alice’s old parents when they needed help. He
visited them every week and refilled their kitchen and refrigerator.
Alice could not have ask for more from her husband.

Though her
mother was not that old, Vera had decided that she was not going to
let her go. “But what after you get married?” Jane had
asked her several times, but Vera had no idea what she was going to
do. And maybe this was the reason why she had not pursued any
romantic endeavors. She did not want to delve into her psychology
behind her issues. Not facing her problems made her comfortable and
happy.

But today,
she was looking at her past through the mirror. The Vera who had
dreams of a beautiful future was staring at her.

“
That
looks really good on you!” Alice was looking at her from the
slightly opened door.

“
Mom!”
Vera was shocked and embarrassed at the same time. “You are
supposed to knock!”

“
The
door was open.” Alice said coming inside the room. She went
through the pile of clothes on the floor and picked up a blue dress.
“Why did you stop wearing these clothes? This one looked so
good on you.”

Vera walked
to her mother and took the dress from her hands, “I don’t
wear these because I wear my uniform to work. And I don’t go
out much now.”

“
Why
not? You are young, you should go out more often. How else are you
supposed to meet a nice guy?”

“
Mom,
I am focusing more on work right now.” Vera tried to defend
herself.

“
Oh
yeah. Even I know this is a dead end job.” Alice was quite
blunt. And then she realized this was the only thing her daughter had
right now. Vera was hurt inside, but she tried really hard to not
show it.

“
I
am sorry. You know I did not mean it that way.” Alice
apologized. “I just want you to enjoy your life.”

Vera started
putting her clothes back in the silk bag, “Mom, we have talked
about this so many times.” She did not want to look at her
mother after her last comment about her job.

“
Don’t
be mad!” Alice knew how Vera behaved when she was angry. “I
said I am sorry. I am worried about you.”

Vera could
hear a sob in that last sentence, and she knew what her mother was
going to do next. As she turned around and looked at her, Vera found
her mother’s teary eyes.