The Singlehood Series: He Complained Women Wanted Him For His Money But He Wouldn’t Stop Talking About His Financial Achievements

It had been a while since we had met up. We were a group of friends from our university days. Sam, Martin, Ken, Lydia and I had become friends in our first year of university. We’d seen each other through many phases of life, and our dating lives were well-known to each other.

On this particular evening, probably a decade later, we were older, but our love lives were not entirely different. Two were chronically single, one was happily married, another was coming out of a long-term relationship, and the other one was freshly divorced.

“How’s being back in the dating pool working out for you, Sam?” Someone asked.

“If I had known dating sucked this much, I probably would have stayed in that relationship longer,” said Sam.

“That’s not encouraging,” said Lydia, who was newly divorced.

“Have you tried recommendations from friends?” Another asked.

“Recommendations, dating apps, workmates, it’s all the same thing. If they’re not rushing to get a ring on their finger, they want you to fund their ‘soft life’,” said Sam.

We all laughed. He sounded a tad bit dramatic, but we understood what he was saying. The conversation took a different turn when Sam announced that he was quitting his job. He was always ambitious, even in his younger days, and had the confidence of someone who had inked a deal with a higher power.

“Are you quitting the job at a multinational company?” I asked him.

“Yep. Well, not immediately, but I’ll be out in a few months,” said Sam.

“What are you going to do?” Ken asked him.

“I’m venturing into the health industry,” he said.

It took us all by surprise. He went on to break down his set-up expenses and the expected returns. One of the guys had invited a lady over who was with another female friend. Her face lit up when Sam started talking about his business venture.

At some point, she swapped seats with her friend so that she would be next to Sam. We all knew what was going on. The night was full of laughter and banter. Then Martin, the married guy, told us that he wasn’t doing well financially and they’d decided to downsize. He and his wife had agreed to sell one of their cars.

“How much is it going for?” Sam asked.

“A million,” said Martin.

“You know that’s how I bought my second car,” said Sam.

“Which was your second car?” Lydia asked.

“The Nissan Note. I was having drinks with some colleagues when one of them mentioned that they were selling their car. It was fairly new, and he sold it at a good price. We shook hands and completed the transaction in less than a week,” said Sam.

“Then I am in the right company,” Martin teased him.

Sam made more inquiries about it as though he was seriously considering it. Meanwhile, the girl next to him became more flirty with him. He ordered more drinks for the girls and requested an Uber for them when it was time to leave, since he couldn’t drop them off at home.

As that was happening, Lydia and I remembered we used to have a ritual after a night of drinking.

“Is that chicken joint still open?” I asked.

“Oh my! We should totally check it out,” she said.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked.

“Do you remember the chicken place we loved?” We asked him.

Martin had already left, but Ken joined as well.

“So how did you like the girl?” Ken asked Sam.

“I know she liked me because of what we were talking about. I told you, they all like me for financial gains,” said Sam.

“Real talk, do you think it’s kinda your fault?” Lydia asked him.

“How?” Sam asked.

“Let’s take today, for example, we’re your friends, so it makes sense why you’d give us financial details, but you were also saying it to total strangers. The girl now knows about your job, business venture and how much you bought your second car for,” Lydia explained.

“Is it any different when you’re just on a normal date?” I asked Sam.

“Should I not talk about my work?” Sam asked.

“Oh come on! You know what we mean,” Lydia told him.

It took us down memory lane, and he realised that he’d had the same issues with girls for a while.

“But I did find Emma. She shared my ambitions,” said Sam.

“Now I can say it since you finally broke up,” said Lydia.

“Say what?” Sam asked.

“Ambition was probably the only thing you had in common, and you can’t even be sure that she wasn’t with you because of it,” said Lydia.

“Guys! Is this how you all felt about her?” Sam asked.

We had another round of confessions as we tried to figure out how to navigate dating.

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