Gorgeous, Sexy, Younger, A Mistake

The first date was beyond compare. Michael Finestein was overwhelmed with how perfect Samantha (Sam) Yellin was. She was smart, funny, beautiful and twenty years younger.

Michael was the Managing Director of Finestein Suarez Lincoln, a successful Hedge Fund and Sam was the Visual Merchanising Director for The Bennet Group. She looked after four different retail chains. Michael and Sam had met during a coffee break while being at the same convention centre. Michael was the guest speaker on Merger and Aquisitions in Latin America. Samantha was participating at a forum for ‘’Online Fashion Design, How to get a brand to look good online and in store.’’ Michael had met Sam by accident when they both went to grab a danish between sessions of their respective conferences. They made small talk and Michael invited Sam for drinks after the ‘’official’’ conference day concluded. She accepted and the relationship began to blossom.

It was soon dinners and golf dates and before long they were seeing each other on a regular basis. Michael was forty five and loved life to the max. He never did any crazy things that guys in his position were doing, like buying massive bi-coastal homes and driving Lambourghinis. Sam seemed to really respect that.

Samantha lived in a lovely Condo on the water and was always filled with an energy that was incredible. The first time Michael and Sam went to bed together, he thought she was going to break him. She was unbelievable as a partner and it helped him fall deeply in love.

As the relationship progressed, Michael was confident he had found his soulmate. He thought about it. In forty years he would be eighty five and she would be sixty five. It was perfect, she would be there for him as they aged.

Things were moving along to the point that Michael purchased a seven carat engagement ring. He wanted to give Samantha the best of everything and was living a very happy existence till the unexpected bomb dropped.

Samantha and Michael hadn’t really introduced their friends to each other. When Sam told Michael there was an engagement party they were invited to attend for her friend Naomi, he agreed to go. He enjoyed spending quality time with Samantha, it would be enlightening and interesting to meet her friends.

The party was being held at the home of Penny and Davis Williams. They had a nice detached bungalow in suburbia and it took a while for Michael to find a parking spot. As he and Sam were walking up to the house, he saw what seemed to be a bunch of high school kids mulling around the front door. He was shocked when Sam pointed them and out said they were some of her friends.

There was hugging and introductions and for the first time since they had met, Michael felt more like Sam’s Father then her significant other. Things weren’t that much better on the inside. When he was introduced to Naomi and her fiancee Steven, they looked like him up and down like he was an alien from outer space. They focused their conversation on Sam and he was basically ignored. He felt like an idiot. Sam seemed to miss the vibe that he was being treated as the invisible man. He wanted to interact, but whenever he entered the conversation, Naomi and Steven ignored him and changed the subject. He took the hint and walked away and found a seat in the living room. It was pathetic. Nobody attempted to be friendly and Sam left him to his own devices.

The rest of the night was misery and Michael thought about leaving a number of times. He looked at his watch at nine thirty and decided to go. He headed for the door and all of a sudden, Samantha was right beside him. ‘’Hi Honey, I was looking for you, I hope you’re having a good time.’’ Michael could feel his blood pressure rising. ‘’I’m uh leaving.’’ Samantha looked at him. ‘’They haven’t brought out the Engagement Cake and the Champagne. Please honey, I was just catching up with some old friends, stay and I promise I’ll make up for lost time when we leave.’’

The business person and self respecting Michael would have said, ‘’See you around’’ but the quickly becoming a cuckold Michael wanted to go home with Samantha, so he nodded in compliance and followed her as she took his hand and walked with him in to the front room area.

A tall, blonde athletic looking guy who was about twenty five came over and extended his hand. ‘’Hi, I’m Trevor Hayras and I am really pleased to meet you. I was telling Sam about a Start Up I’m involved in with two buddies and she thought you might be interested in it. I don’t know how much information you need, but I brought our pitch deck and I was wondering if you could review it and let me know what you think.’’ Michael was stunned. He was supposed to be at an engagement party not Shark Tank. ‘’Pleased to meet you Trevor. Why don’t you call my office tomorrow and we’ll set up a proper appointment.’’ Trevor looked over at Samantha. ‘’Oh, I thought this was a great opportunity because it’s less formal and since Sam is an old friend I thought you might do me a solid.’’ Michael looked over Sam and she was blushing. ‘’Sure, I’d be happy to do you a solid, but lets do it during office hours.’’ Trevor once again gave a quick glance over to Sam. ‘’Cool, I’ll call your office tomorrow. Do you have a direct number? Can I have your cell number?’’ Michael was getting agitated. ‘’Your best bet is to find me through my office. I don’t give my direct number to people I really don’t know.’’ Trevor smiled ‘’Well, you know me now.’’ Michael wanted to yell ‘’Asshat you have just lost any chance you ever had of me having any interest in your project.’’ After a short empty pause, Michael smiled. ‘’Tell you what Trevor. Call my office, it’s the best way to do business.’’ Trevor once again smiled ‘’Sure, Mike. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.’’ He then turned and walked away and Michael felt very uncomfortable. Nobody called him Mike, what a moron that Trevor was.

Samantha took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘’I’d really appreciate it if you help Trevor out, we go back a long way.’’ Michael wanted to yell ‘’Never’’ but instead he just gave a smile. Hell would freeze over first.

The champagne was Paul Chamblain Brut Sparkling. Michael knew it retailed for $4.97 and laughed when Tervor told everyone that he thought it was among the best he had ever drank. Sam looked at him and Michael tried to keep a straight face.

The cake was sweet and so was the champagne. He also found the speeches that the friends of Steve and Naomi made were very pedestrian. His Dentist was funnier and his Dentist was seventy two.

Michael couldn’t wait to get home. He and Sam were finally able to leave at eleven and he honestly felt it was one of the longest nights that he had ever had to endure.

Once they got back to Michael’s place, Sam mentioned that she hoped Michael would help Trevor out because he was a really good guy and she’d hate to see their friendship end over business. Michael just nodded. His instincts were telling him something was off.

Michael jumped in the shower and when he walked out and into the main bedroom, Sam was acting like she had fallen asleep. Michael was peturbed. He carefully got into bed and gently touched Sam’s arm and she ignored him like the plague.

In the morning, Sam was up and dressed and explained that she had to get home, change and get on a plane. She had to go West and visit a number of stores. She would be out of town for three days but would check back in with him when she got home. Before leaving, she looked at Michael. ‘’Honey, I’ve been thinking about leasing or buying a new Mercedes, and I was wondering if you could work out reasonable numbers for me. I was also wondering if your firm might finance the lease or purchase. Let me know what you think. Talk soon, bye.’’

Sam left and Michael knew it was over. Sam’s passion for him on a physical level had already cooled and she was now seeing how she could use him. He sat on the side of the bed and for the first time in years he cried. It was surprising because most of the time he was stoic. He had to be it was the nature of his business and the life he chose.

Once he got to his office, his secretary walked in and looked at him. ‘’Michael, some guy named Trevor left a message on the answering machine that he’s a friend of yours and needs an appointment with you as soon as possible. He also called this morning, claiming that you want to see him when you have an opening during the day. It sure doesn’t sound like you, I don’t ever remember you telling me to squeeze someone in when you have an opening, it’s not your style.’’ Michael shook his head. ‘’Stella, he’s a leach. I met him last night at a party and he was trying to pitch shit to me. I’m really not interested. Can you please blow him off. Tell him our funding is committed for the next five years but we wish him luck.’’ Stella handed over a bunch of documents. ‘’It will be my pleasure, I can’t stand phonies.’’

At two o’clock, Michael pulled out his phone and called Sam. ‘’Hi, how’s everything going?’’ Sam said she was busy and unfortunately couldn’t talk. Michael looked out the window ‘’That’s okay, I just have a couple of quick things. I won’t be able to help Trevor with his project and unfortunately I looked at company conflict rules and I won’t be able to help you with the Mercedes you’re looking to lease or buy. I have one question, what City are you in and what hotel? There was a pause ‘’Michael, you’re not planning to visit are you, I’m swamped.’’ Michael felt like laughing, he now knew for sure the game was completely over. He stood up. ‘’No, nothing like that, but I promise a surprise.’’ A woman was talking to Sam about dinner plans and Michael could hear remnants of the conversation. ‘’Uh, I’m at the Fairmont Riverfront. I leave tomorrow for Calgary. I’ve got to go Michael. Talk to you soon. Bye.’’

Michael hung up and immediately called Adele Ray Florists in Vancouver. He had used them in the past to send Flowers to clients on successful situations they were involved in. He asked the Florist to send Ivory Roses to Samantha Yellin at the Fairmont Riverfront. The card would read ‘’It has been amazing getting to know you, but life is filled with twists and turns. I think our turn has come, so I am exiting stage left. I hope life works out for you and you find true happiness. It will be difficult to remain friends, so you won’t hear from me again in terms of getting together. All the Best, Michael.’’

He placed the order and got back to work. There was always deals to be done. He would take a few days to collect himself and then he would start dating again. He would be looking for a woman who was more age appropriate. The one thing Steven and Naomi’s engagement party had re-enforced was that he was comfortable with people he could relate to, he felt like a fish out of water with people who were clueless.

As expected, there was blow back from Sam the next day. ‘’Michael, there has been a massive misunderstanding. I am in love with you and don’t want the relationship to end this way. Let’s meet over the weekend and work things out. Call me.’’

Michael blocked Sam’s number and her email address and focused on his work. He also scrubbed his social media and removed all pictures and references to her. It was nice that Sam loved him, but actions spoke louder than words. Plus the Private Detective he hired had reported she spoke with Trevor the Moron at least three times a day. Something wasn’t kosher in Denmark and he had no desire to dig deeper.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.