“Would You Like to Sleep With Me, or Shall We Waste Another Hour Pretending?”

SILVER & SAPPHIRE MAGAZINE Love Younger. Live Larger. THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Some women wait for romance. Others make it happen. In this recurring Silver & Sapphire feature, successful, wealthy women over 50 share how one remarkably direct question to a beautiful younger woman led to an unexpected night, an extraordinary offer, and sometimes a completely new life together. This Issue: Celia, 59 & Naomi, 31 A wealthy woman celebrating a business triumph alone. A beautiful younger woman with nowhere to sleep. And an invitation so outrageous that the answer surprised them both. HER STORY — CELIA, 59 Celia Mendoza had built a jewelry empire worth more than $180 million, with boutiques in Beverly Hills, New York, Miami, and several European capitals. Born into a working-class Mexican-American family, she had spent forty years building a business that began with a tiny jewelry repair shop and eventually became an internationally recognized luxury brand. Her divorce had been finalized seven years earlier. Her two grown children were happily married, her grandchildren lived thousands of miles away, and her magnificent Beverly Hills estate had become a place she visited between business trips rather than somewhere she particularly wanted to return. "I could buy practically anything I wanted," Celia told us. "But after an important business dinner, I would return to an enormous hotel suite, take off my jewelry, and wonder why I had bothered dressing up in the first place." Although she had enjoyed relationships with women before, she hadn't seriously dated anyone for almost three years. "I wanted a younger girlfriend. Someone lively, affectionate, beautiful, and interested in actually enjoying life with me. I'm fifty-nine, not dead, and I've never believed in waiting politely for something I want." HER STORY — NAOMI, 31 Naomi Bennett had once owned a successful little restaurant in Los Angeles. She had opened it with her husband when she was twenty-six, investing everything she had inherited from her grandmother and working fourteen-hour days to make the business successful. For three years, things went well. Then Naomi discovered that her husband had been transferring money from their business accounts, borrowing against the restaurant, and using the money to support another woman and two children Naomi hadn't known existed. When she confronted him, he disappeared. Within months, the restaurant collapsed under debts Naomi had never authorized but was nevertheless forced to fight in court. She sold her car, lost her apartment, and spent most of her remaining savings on legal fees. Then her younger brother, her closest remaining family member, died in a motorcycle accident. "I remember sitting in the lawyer's office after my brother's funeral," Naomi told us, "and realizing I had absolutely nobody left to call." By the time she met Celia, Naomi had been working temporary catering jobs, sleeping on a friend's sofa, and occasionally renting inexpensive motel rooms when her friend needed the apartment. The evening they met, Naomi had attended a hotel catering event hoping to secure permanent employment. She didn't get the job. She had enough money for one drink and a bus ride. And she was wondering where she would sleep the following night. THE ENCOUNTER — JUST ASK! S&S: Naomi, how did you meet Celia? Naomi: "I was sitting at the hotel bar, wearing the nicest dress I still owned, trying not to cry into a glass of wine." Celia: "I noticed her almost immediately. She was beautiful, but she looked absolutely miserable." Naomi: "This incredibly elegant woman came over, sat beside me, and asked whether I'd had a terrible evening." Celia: "I believe my exact words were, 'Darling, you look as though someone has just stolen your diamonds.'" Naomi: "I actually laughed. I told her I wished I had diamonds worth stealing." S&S: And then? Naomi: "We started talking. She told me she was celebrating a business deal, and I told her I'd just been turned down for a job. She ordered another drink for herself and asked if I'd like anything." Celia: "I found her interesting. Intelligent, funny, attractive, and rather more straightforward than most people I meet." Naomi: "Then she asked if I was married. I told her no, and probably gave her a rather unflattering description of my ex-husband." Celia: "I asked whether she'd ever dated a woman." Naomi: "I said I'd kissed a girlfriend in college, but that was about it." S&S: And that's when things became interesting? Naomi: "Interesting? She put her glass down, turned toward me, and said, completely seriously, 'Naomi, would you like to sleep with me, or shall we waste another hour pretending that's not what I want?'" S&S: What did you say? Naomi: "Nothing! My mouth actually fell open." Celia: "She looked so astonished that I started laughing." Naomi: "I asked, 'Are you actually inviting me to your bedroom?'" Celia: "I said, 'Absolutely. I have a magnificent suite upstairs, and I find you extraordinarily attractive. If you'd rather have dinner, we can do that instead. But I'm not going to pretend my intentions are entirely innocent.'" Naomi: "I asked how old she was." Celia: "And I told her fifty-nine." Naomi: "Then I said, 'You realize I'm thirty-one?'" Celia: "I said, 'Darling, I can count. Does that mean you aren't coming?'" S&S: And your answer? Naomi: "I looked at her for about ten seconds and said, 'I think I've had quite enough terrible decisions made for me. Perhaps it's time I made an interesting one myself.'" Celia: "Which I took as a yes." Naomi: "It was definitely a yes!" THE NIGHT — MORE THAN AN INTERESTING DECISION S&S: What happened upstairs? Naomi: "First, I discovered that her hotel suite was bigger than my former apartment. Then I discovered she had a private terrace, a spectacular bathroom, and a closet full of dresses that probably cost more than my restaurant equipment." Celia: "She was rather overwhelmed, so I suggested we order something to eat and relax." Naomi: "We sat outside on the terrace, eating ridiculously expensive room-service hamburgers. I couldn't stop laughing at how absurd the whole evening had become." S&S: Were you nervous about being with an older woman? Naomi: "Very. I had never spent a night with a woman before, let alone someone nearly thirty years older. But Celia was so comfortable with herself. She wasn't trying to appear younger or impress me with her money." Celia: "I was trying to impress her a little." Naomi: "Oh, you succeeded!" S&S: And the night itself? Naomi: "Wonderful. I had expected something strange or awkward, but there was nothing awkward about it. She was affectionate, playful, incredibly romantic, and much more exciting than I had imagined." Celia: "Naomi made me laugh more that night than I had laughed in the previous six months." Naomi: "And when she held me afterward, I realized I hadn't felt safe in anybody's arms for a very long time." THE MORNING AFTER — THE REAL OFFER S&S: Celia, apparently you weren't satisfied with just one night? Celia: "Not remotely." Naomi: "I woke up alone in this enormous bed, wondering whether I should quietly get dressed and leave." Celia: "I had arranged breakfast on the terrace. When I came back into the bedroom, she was sitting on the edge of the bed looking terribly worried." Naomi: "I thought she might regret inviting me upstairs." Celia: "I asked her why she wasn't still in bed, kissed her, and told her breakfast was waiting." S&S: And that's when you made your proposition? Celia: "Not immediately. We ate breakfast, talked about the previous night, and eventually Naomi admitted that she wasn't sure where she would be living the following week." Naomi: "I was embarrassed. I didn't want her thinking I'd gone upstairs because she was wealthy." Celia: "I told her I had spent the night with her because I wanted to, and that her financial problems had nothing to do with my attraction to her." S&S: So what happened next? Celia: "I took her hand and said, 'Naomi, how would you like to stop worrying about hotel rooms and start deciding which of my homes you'd like to wake up in?'" Naomi: "I thought she was joking again." Celia: "I explained that I had a beautiful estate in Beverly Hills, apartments in New York and Paris, and far too much space for one woman. I wanted to date her properly, exclusively if she was interested, and I would be delighted if she eventually decided to share my life." Naomi: "I asked, 'Are you offering me a job?'" Celia: "I said, 'Good heavens, no! I'm asking you to be my girlfriend.'" S&S: That must have been quite a surprise. Naomi: "I nearly knocked over my coffee." Celia: "I told her I didn't want to rush her. She could stay in the guest suite while we got to know each other, and she was free to decide whether she wanted anything romantic with me after that first night." Naomi: "I asked what would happen if things didn't work out." Celia: "I told her I'd still help her get somewhere safe and comfortable. I wasn't buying a girlfriend. I was hoping to find one." Naomi: "That's when I started crying." S&S: And your answer? Naomi: "I told her I didn't know whether I could promise forever after one night, but I definitely wanted to see her again." Celia: "A perfectly sensible answer." Naomi: "Then I asked whether I could stay for another night." Celia: "And I said, 'Darling, I was hoping you'd ask.'" WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Twenty months later, Celia and Naomi are still together. Naomi initially moved into Celia's Beverly Hills guest suite. Six weeks later, she moved into the main bedroom, and according to Celia, neither woman has shown any interest in changing that arrangement. Naomi has since returned to the restaurant business, opening a small, elegant dining establishment with financial backing from Celia and a separate management team. She insists on maintaining her own career and financial independence, something Celia says she admires tremendously. They have traveled together to Paris, Milan, Tokyo, and the Caribbean, and Naomi has become a familiar face at Celia's jewelry exhibitions. Celia has also become something of a celebrity among Naomi's friends, who apparently find her directness highly entertaining. Celia: "I spent forty years building a business empire. I had no idea that my greatest accomplishment would be convincing a beautiful young woman to come upstairs with me." Naomi: "She still asks me outrageous questions. Last month she wanted to know whether I'd prefer a villa in Tuscany or a yacht in Greece for our anniversary." S&S: And what did you answer? Naomi: "I told her I'd rather have a weekend at home with no phones, no business meetings, and breakfast in bed." Celia: "Which was considerably less expensive." Naomi: "Yes, but she bought me a diamond bracelet anyway!" THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Another love story from Silver & Sapphire Magazine — where successful women discover that sometimes the shortest distance between loneliness and happiness is one simple question. Love Younger. Live Larger.