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universe, like I was the most special, unique and extraordinary women he ever met. The impact of this was that everyone around us treated me the same way. I quickly fell in love.
    At dinner that night, we spoke about many things. I was too young and too enamored by his attentions to realize that I should have been paying more attention to the things he was not telling me. “I am a businessman in the sales trade, but I also procure rare items for wealthy clients,” he said over another glass of the rare Dom Pérignon champagne.
    Barry was an impressive man. I took in everything he said so completely that I didn't stop to question any of it. I am sure now that Barry adored that about me. “Tell me about yourself,” he said as our Kobe beef fillet arrived. All of my initial shyness fell away, after being marinated in the godly broth of champagne and shots.
    “I’ve been modeling for a few months, and working with my aunt’s growing fashion brand. Nearly Yardy, you may have heard of it.” I tried to sound like I did indeed have some life experience.
    Barry was a good listener and a smooth talker.
    He turned everything into an opportunity to flirt and flatter. “Why have you taken a job at a furniture company?” he asked me, a broad smile on his face. “Surely a beauty like you doesn’t belong there.”
    “I’m just trying to get along until my modeling career takes off,” I told him. “My parents didn’t have the funds to send me to college, so I decided to get a job and save for it myself. Though… truthfully I have no idea what to study.”
    “I understand. I am a self-made man. A few years ago, I didn’t know what to do with my life either.”
    Barry ordered us the third bottle of champagne, which blew my mind. How precious was this guy? “The trick is to do what you are good at. I am good at selling things. you'll find out what you are good at one day. In the meantime, you don't have to rush it. In Nigeria, a beauty like you would never have to work a day in her life.”
    That night was a fairy-tale. It changed my perception on what my life could be. I always dreamed of falling in love with a romantic man—but a rich, romantic man was a new idea completely. I was on the inside of something great, and I never wanted it to end.
    He was the perfect gentleman and dropped me off at home in the limo. I spent that night telling my sisters all about him and the magical evening we enjoyed together. For the first time since working at Def Jam, I felt alive.
    Barry was my first intoxicating love. Romance quickly sprang up between us and we saw each other more and more often. He would often send his limo to drive me around, and I felt like a queen in New York.
    Each time I saw him, it would get better. Barry was the kind of man that always got what he wanted, but was also very private about his business dealings. Barry often got up and disappeared to talk on the phone, or would randomly leave a dinner for an hour or so. It didn’t matter. When he returned he always made it up to me—things were intense.
    Barry made sure that he lavished me with attention, gifts and the best of everything. He gave me so much that I dedicated all my time to making him happy. I learned fast that he loved to have fun, and so I became the central source of that fun. Wherever we went, we did it with a carefree attitude. Money was never an objection, and so there were no limitations. It was the most exciting thing I ever experienced.
    About my job I cared less and less. My performance suffered, and when my company was forced to downsize, I was the first they fired. I was glad to go. My teenage brain was filled with nothing but thoughts of Barry and the next time we would be together.
    The point arrived where we decided to travel, and now that my job was not holding me back, I could do whatever I wanted. He took me on lavish trips to California, Beverly Hills, Maryland, and Washington DC. We traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, which was an