Connexion

Part 15

Caleb watched Jena's face. She was beautiful. But most of his girlfriends were beautiful. What he found interesting, was the fact he was enthralled by the emotions he saw flitting through her eyes. It took her from beautiful to stunning.

Jena was rehashing her options. He was teasing her. Playing with her. And she was not happy about that.

She'd assumed, as a successful business-woman in her own right, that she had the ability to talk to him on a level playing field. Mistake number one. This man had no peers. Mistake two. There was no playing field on this planet that would see the two of them in the same arena. Mistake three. She'd figured that as a woman she could appeal to his sense of fair play and justice.

But Caleb's notion of fair play and justice were simply not the same as Jena's. As far as he was concerned, Melanie was young and single. That made her approachable and available. He remembered he had asked Melanie if she had a boyfriend before he issued his dinner invitation. Melanie was single and if she wanted to date him, that was her decision. She may or may not be on the cusp of getting engaged. But that was not his concern.

Jena scowled at the man. He was right, why did she think she could influence his social life? And why did it take her so long to reach that conclusion! There must have been something in her morning coffee that made her believe that having a 'chat' with this specimen might change his mind. Mistake number four. This man made up his own mind. And she doubt anyone could reverse this juggernaut without cooperation.

What Jena knew of Caleb, was learned through the media. Most people in their small minority community knew of him because of his celebrity as a motor racing champion. She'd read about him often enough, usually on the back pages of the sports section years ago and now in the middle pages in the celebrity news section. She had followed his career, mainly because of their shared heritage. He was famous across the globe and he was an icon in their community. So of course she knew his celebrity and his career: from motorcycle rider, through his accident, to the establishment of his business. In some ways, she thought they had a similar trajectory. Her business was established after an equally life changing moment. Albeit her company was small compared with his.

Jena looked at him again. They had shared cultural identities. Jena and Caleb had that in common. His cultural heritage included a mother who hailed from the same minority community as Jena. Both had been born in New Zealand. In the back of her mind, Jena was pretty sure that had something to do with why she thought she could talk to him. Mistake number five. Their cultural identities would merit some consideration and empathy.

In addition, from what she had read in the past, this man and Melanie were simply not compatible. Initially, Melanie appeared gentle and easy-going. But the way she latched onto Caleb suggested that she was not timorous, not bashful, but was bold. Melanie knew exactly what she wanted. Unlike Jena when it came to men.

Melanie was swayed by the lure of wealth and status afforded by Caleb. Again, unlike Jena. But still, Jena was sure that this man would eat Melanie up for breakfast and still be hungry! Which is why Jena found the fact that he wanted to date Melanie was a puzzle. It just didn't tie up with the Caleb she'd read about and his previous girlfriends shared a similar exterior appearance and Melanie did not conform to that exterior appearance. Why was he interested in Melanie when her appearance and her portrayed nature, bucked that trend?

Caleb saw confusion in Jena's eyes. Now what? He wondered when her eyes narrowed.

"You also forgot my personality." He was really enjoying teasing her. He kept pushing and she kept pushing back. Which was unusual in his social life: when he pushes them, most people bale out, and would agree to everything. So having a decent discussion was rather difficult and identified principles and attitudes were equally difficult. But this woman was standing her ground, albeit shaky ground. And she was running emotion circles around him, but she did not realise that and he found that amusing. Even more exciting, despite the fact this was their first meeting and given this brief duration, he had identified her principles and values. And he shared those principles and values.

She treasured family. She would stand up for her family. She would do the best to keep them safe while she trembled with fear. Loyalty, altruism, kindness formed her backbone.

The determination, the resilience, revealed in her eyes, showed she was stubborn. The woman was beautiful, but what impressed him, was the fact she had guts, courage, tenacity because she valued family. Caleb knew Jena would protect her treasures and blessings, either physical or emotional, despite the cost to her.