56 The Relationship Rules

Amy sat on the sofa in her small apartment and stared at the business card Calvin had given her. He had been by to see her earlier that week and given it to her. She hesitated to call him; not because she didn't want to talk to him, but because she wasn't sure what his expectations were.

"Amy, how will you know if you don't ask him?" She said out loud.

She called the handwritten number on the card. It rang twice and then she heard his deep voice in her ear.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Zhou, this is Amy." She said softly.

"Amy..." he seemed to breathe her name.

"Where are you, Amy? He asked abruptly.

"Uh, I'm at my apartment." She said.

"I'm coming to talk with you now." He told her.

"Okay." She agreed. After they ended the call she sent a text with her address.

She didn't expect he'd come over when she called. She hurried to her bedroom to change out of her pajamas and into the casual knit dress she'd worn earlier in the day. She ran a brush through her hair but didn't bother with makeup.

Had he eaten? She looked in the fridge at the leftovers from her simple dinner. Ha! The man was used to the finest of everything, including food. He wouldn't be interested at her attempt at cooking.

Some twenty minutes passed when there was a knock at her door. She looked out to see Calvin waiting. She opened the door and motioned for him to come in.

"Uh, have you eaten? If you're desperate then I have some food from dinner left." She said nervously.

He chuckled at her "desperate" comment, but he was curious.

"You cook?" He asked.

"I attempt to. But I make no promises about the quality of it." She said honestly.

"Well now I have to try it." He said as he left his shoes in the profound entrance.

She pulled out the food and quickly prepared and heated the plate.

"You can sit where you like." She said as she handed him the plate and chopsticks. He had been following her around the kitchen up to that point.

He went to the sofa and sat down. She joined him. He glanced at the table beside the sofa and saw the latest book she was reading; "The Emperor's Conquest."

"That looks interesting." He said as his lips twitched. She blushed.

"I forgot to put that away. I like romance novels." She explained.

"Nothing wrong with that." He said. "So, What were you hoping to discuss with me?" He asked as he took a bite of the food on his plate. "Mmm, this is good!" He said before she could answer his previous question.

"Thank you. I was wondering if you could clarify for me what you meant about me being in your life but taking it slow. Are we just friends or are we a couple? I can follow your lead but I want to be on the same page." Amy asked.

"I think we are a couple. I would consider you my woman, and we are dating to learn more about each other." He said after thinking for a moment.

"I can agree to that on one condition." She said.

"Go ahead." He was curious about what she had to say.

"If we are anything other than just friends, it has to be exclusive to us. No third parties. I would only date you, and you would only date me. That would be a deal breaker if violated." Amy spoke firmly.

"I can agree to that but I have one question." He said.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Did you have me investigated?" He asked incredulously.

"No. Why would I do that? Should I do that?" She was teasing.

"Your last question." He said seriously.

"Is that why your marriage ended? I had wondered what it would take to cause a couple to divorce after twenty-five years." Amy was blunt.

"Do you really want to hear the whole story?" He asked.

"Eventually. But only when you decide to tell it." Amy would respect his privacy.

"My parents were traditional. They matched me with an acceptable girl from another wealthy family. The problem was, we didn't love each other and we were not well suited personality wise. I wasn't happy in our marriage because in her eyes, I was never good enough. So I worked long hours to avoid her. She assumed I was cheating. I wasn't, but she insisted I was. So after fifteen years of that I decided to cheat in my marriage. I fully know and accept I was wrong. We should've divorced before that but we had two sons. I should've been divorced before dating other women. In the past ten years I had a few mistresses and some one night stands. I didn't hide it from my wife and she despised me more because of it. It was a mess. We both were toxic for each other." Calvin explained.

"So why Divorce then?" Amy asked.

"Because I've never been happy in any relationship. I didn't really know what I wanted until my nephew brought his new wife home. I was wrong, but I felt immediate attraction to her. I fought it at first, but I'm ashamed to say, I did make a pass at her. She of course rejected me. Her husband wanted to kill me. I don't blame him. I was ashamed at what I'd become. I said enough was enough. I divorced my wife and gave her generous alimony but we couldn't keep on as we were. I wasn't looking for a relationship but that night I met you, I knew you were the type of woman I was drawn to. I knew you weren't the type of woman I'd have casual sex with, or even keep as a mistress. You were the kind I could marry and be happy with." He explained.

"Wait a minute! You said we'd take it slow. Now you want to marry me?" Amy was surprised.

"Eventually. I'll never marry without a prenuptial agreement again, because I'm paying for that now. But I'd like to find someone to spend the rest of my life with, peacefully."

"If it comes to that point, I'll sign it but I can tell you upfront, I don't want your money." Amy told him.

"No, I don't believe you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have insisted on turning down my job offer. Which incidentally is still open and I still want you for the job." Calvin insisted.

"How much work would we accomplish while dating?" She said pointedly.

"I can get a lot of work done with the right motivation." He flirted shamelessly. She threw a pillow at him.

"Well?" He asked.

"Okay fine!" Amy gave in.