“Wow,” I said, sitting back down. “You never come here to see me. I’m glad you did, though. I haven’t seen you in a while. How are things?”
“They’re good, man, really good,” he said, smiling. “Caroline is back from her honeymoon, and they are already talking about starting a family. I guess when you get married, there’s a lot of pressure to keep moving forward.”
“Wow, I guess so,” I said, chuckling. “Nobody enjoys life anymore, though. They all just rush right into the next things, forgetting to look around them.”
“That’s a strange notion, coming from the guy who works all the time,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, well, I think I’ve started to slow down a bit,” I said, shaking my head. “Life was just passing on by.”
“You’re not having a midlife crisis or anything are you?”
“I hope not, I’m only twenty-nine,” I said, laughing. “No, I just had to realize it so I could stop missing out on stuff.”
“Well, speaking of not missing out, why don’t we hit up the clubs this weekend?” he asked. “Check out the hotties, have some drinks, and just relax.”
“I actually already have plans,” I said, looking down at my phone.
“Oh yeah? Is it with that Reese girl?”
“Yeah,” I said, laughing. “It’s with that Reese girl. We’ve actually been spending a
hell of a lot of time together, and I’m really starting to like how she makes me feel.”
“Okay, okay, I get it now,” he said. “You are slowing down in life because Reese is making you stop and smell the roses.”
“It’s something like that,” I replied.
“Well, just be careful, man,” he said, shaking his finger at me. “Don’t forget that roses have thorns.”
“I’m not sure what that comparison is supposed to mean, but I am being careful,” I said, laughing. “She has really changed the way that I look at the world, which I am pretty sure I needed after being stuck at work every day for the last decade.”
“True, but if you hadn’t been stuck at work for the last decade, you wouldn’t have built your empire by the age of twenty-nine,” he pointed out. “Now you are in a place where you can take some time for personal stuff and know that your business will not fall apart at the seams. You did something most people our age can’t do.”
“What’s that?”
“See what the long-term goal is and remember that when it’s time to decide to put your nose to the grindstone or go out and party,” he said. “You knew that parties would come, but you had a limited time to make your small company into a huge one. You did an amazing job.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. “And I think you are right, and I think that Reese came along at the perfect time. She makes me not take life so damn seriously.”
“I’m not going to lie,” he said, leaning forward. “I’m a bit shocked that you have put so much time into one girl. I mean, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’m just not used to seeing you take on one girl and make it a long-term thing. I’m happy for you, though. I can see that she is making a really good impression on you, and I’d like to see you slow down a bit and see how us normal people live our lives.”
“You’re not really normal,” I said, grinning.
“Well, I’m not a billionaire either,” he snapped back. “You live in a world that even I can’t understand sometimes, and that has to be hard on you.”
“They always did say that the top can be a very lonely place,” I replied. “But as far as spending a lot of time with Reese, I am surprised, too. I hadn’t thought that this was where it was going to go with her, so I’m taking all of it in stride. In fact, after she blew me off, I figured it was worth a try, but I couldn’t get my hopes up. I’m really glad I took the chance on her.”
“All I can say is, don’t get too hooked, too fast,” he said. “Remember that Reese may be different, but all women are relatively the same. I just don’t want to see either one of you get hurt in all of this. Remember that when you commit to someone, it’s your job to protect them and make sure that you’re treating them with respect.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I just know it’s the right thing to do.”
“Well then, I wish you all the luck in the world, buddy,” Caleb said with a smile. “But I have to get going. I was just on your side of town and figured I would stop in on my way back to the office.”
“Thanks for coming by,” I said, standing and shaking his hand. “We will get together soon. I promise.”
“No worries, dude,” he said, turning and walking from the office.
I sat there thinking about what Caleb said to me, realizing that he was right in a way. I had been putting more into Reese than I ever had with any other girl. Reese was one of a kind, though, and I had never been with a girl that I even thought about long-term plans with. The girls I usually met were not too bright and didn’t hold a conversation very well, but Reese was different. I pulled out my phone and decided that if I was going to think about her and talk about her, I might as well give her a call and see how her day was going. I knew she was busy during the days with work, so I would keep it short and sweet. I just really wanted to hear her voice. I flipped to her contact info and pressed the call button, putting the phone up to my ear and listening to the ring.