Married to a retired playboy

e the tension. Relief washed over Vanessa. This charade, this unexpected detour in her evening, could finally come to an end. With a curt, "Thank you," to the unseen hotel staff membe

receptionist finally relented, offering up Darryl Peter's contact information. With trembling fingers, Vanessa dialed the number. The conversation that followed was a tense dance of accusations and denials. She didn't do any introduction and she didn't wait for him to do any introduction as she poured out her mind. “You took my purse” Vanessa's voice, laced with anger, accused Darryl of taking her purse. “I was only holding onto it,” he said, his smooth charm faltered slightly over the phone, his defense a flimsy claim of simply "holding onto it" because she'd forgotten it. When Vanessa pressed about his sudden departure from the hotel, a flimsy excuse about an urgent matter emerged. "So how do I get my purse back?" Vanessa demanded, her voice tight with barely controlled fury. A suggestive chuckle came through the receiver. "Well, Vanessa," Darryl's voice dripped with insinuation, "perhaps a little dinner date could be arranged. Consider it a finder's fee." The line went dead, the final click of a punctuation mark on Darryl Peter's audacious proposition. Vanessa slammed the phone down on the counter, her face flushed with a mixture of anger and disbelief. Carolyn, ever the pragmatist, squeezed her friend's shoulder in silent support. This accidental encounter had spiraled into a full-blown nightmare, but with Carolyn by her side, Vanessa knew they'd find a way to navigate this mess, purse-snatching Casanova or not. Fury vibrated off Vanessa in waves. "The nerve of that – that Darryl Peter character!" she exploded, launching into a tirade of insults aimed squarely at him and, by extension, the entire male population. "A date with his girlfriend? Then hitting on me? And now this – holding my purse hostage for a date? Unbelievable!" Carolyn listened patiently, a knowing glint in her eyes. She understood Vanessa