The Billionaire's Sextape: An Adult Billionaire Romance (8 page)

James considered this girl in front of him for a while. She was planning and plotting right beside him. She could’ve easily have said no and gone to sell her story to a newspaper or magazine. They would have paid her handsomely for doing so. Instead, she was helping him out and trying to do the right thing. He wasn’t sure if he had ever met anyone as brave as her.

              “Delilah,” James said. Delilah looked up at him. “I’m sorry about all of this. I truly am. And thank you. For doing this. For going along with it. You didn’t have to. You’ve saved my skin.”

              “That’s okay. Like you said, James – maybe you saved mine too. But what are you going to do for a few weeks without crazy parties and girls?” He could hear that she was joking, but the thought actually had crossed his mind. It wasn’t like he could ask Lilah to sleep with him.

Wouldn’t that be wrong? Or would he still get the perks of the job? The thought sent a tingle down his spine as he remembered her naked body. But he didn’t want to push it. She’d run a mile if she knew what he was thinking.

              “You know what, Lilah Delilah?”

              “What?” she asked.

              “I think I’ll manage.”

              “Can I ask you for one favor, then, before I go?”

James felt a bit sad that she wasn’t going to stay but excited by the prospect of a favor. Perhaps she wanted more of him too.

              “Anything!” he said, grinning at her.

              “Another cup of coffee from Mrs. Beans?”

He burst out laughing, despite his obvious disappointment. “Coming right up!”

Chapter5

Delilah spent the entire night tossing and turning and thinking about what had just transpired between herself and James. She ranged from feeling excited at the prospect of starting over to feeling like she was doing the wrong thing.

No matter how much she tried to sleep, she couldn’t, and the thoughts just wouldn’t stop coming. Eventually, probably around four that morning, she felt her mind finally shut down and she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. She was a vivid dreamer, so this was strange for her, but she woke up at ten the next morning feeling refreshed.

At first, she was surprised to see the time. She never slept in much later than seven – even when she had worked late the night before. She looked at the time, looked again, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. And then everything from the night before came flooding back to her. Today was the day that she was going to quit her job. Today was the day.

She saw that she had a message from James waiting for her on her phone. They had exchanged numbers before she had left his house. The irony of them swapping numbers only after they had slept together and declared themselves a ‘couple’ hadn’t been lost on her.

Thanks again for helping me out, Lilah Delilah.

She smiled at that. He really was a cocky little shit, to be honest, but she had a fondness for him that was hard to explain. She knew that he had no concern about what happened to her life and that everything he said was only to get him out of his father’s bad graces.

But still… she liked that he was honest with her. And anyway, perhaps this really was some weird way for her to truly get out of the stripping business. She hoped that she was doing the right thing. After all, once she told her boss she was leaving, there would be no turning back.

She called Melissa and asked her to come over before their shift. She had told James that she might tell Melissa and she hadn’t been lying. Delilah felt desperate to tell someone, and she knew that Melissa was someone she could trust.

She spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, even though it was already spotless, and then going for a long walk to the park and back. She was trying not to think about the road ahead. Someone looked at her strangely when she was out, and she immediately thought that they might recognize her from the video.

She pulled her hoodie down and quickly walked home. She actually couldn’t wait for James to announce that they were a couple. She’d rather that than have everyone think that she was just some stripper who would do anything for money – even though that was mostly true.

When it was time for Melissa to come over, she ordered a pizza for the two of them and got out a bottle of wine. They still had a few hours before their shift and she was starving.

Melissa arrived at the same time as the pizza delivery man. She caught the two of them chatting outside, and for a little while, Melissa sounded just like a normal girl with a normal life. The thought made Delilah smile.

              “You ordered pizza!” Melissa said, giving Delilah a huge hug when she opened the door.

              “Yeah – I was going to cook but I really could not be bothered. Screw the diet. I’m desperate for a bit of carbs.” Delilah paid the delivery guy and then closed the door behind them.

              “Thank you. Seriously – I’m starving. I actually brought a sad little sandwich with me, but pizza sounds so much more appealing!”

              “A sad little sandwich sounds terribly sad. You looked like you were flirting with that pizza man! And he was cute! He was totally flirting right back.”

Melissa opened the box and took out a slice. The cheese pulled away, and it took a while for her to shove it all into her mouth. Then she gave a greasy grin. “Attractive, aren’t I?”

              “Actually… you still are.”

              “Well this is what my life has become – flirting with the pizza man. But you’re right – he was damn cute. I may have to order pizza again sometime soon. So… how’s life? Anything exciting happened lately?” Melissa laughed as she asked that. It was a running joke between the two of them because nothing exciting ever happened in their lives.

This was her cue to go on about all the crazy adventures she had been on, and then they would laugh and talk about what was really happening – such as what movies they were watching and books they were reading.

Then they’d have a big moan about how sad their lives were and how at least they had each other. But this time, Delilah really did have exciting news.

              “Uh… actually… yes.”

              “Go on then – what adventures have you been on? Let me guess – you went on the scariest rollercoaster ride in the city. And next to you was the man of your dreams. He proposed, didn’t he?”

              “Actually – I’m quitting.”

Melissa let out a snort, but when Delilah said nothing back, she looked up in shock. “Wait – you’re being serious. Are you? Are you being serious? You’re quitting? What the hell is going on, Lilah?”

              “I’m being totally serious. And that’s why I needed to speak to you so badly. Because there is so damn much going on right now and I need a friend. And I need to know that I did the right thing – because I’m not sure.”

              “Tell me everything.”

So Delilah did. She told Melissa the entire story from start to finish and watched as Melissa’s mouth gaped open. She spoke so much that she eventually had to go and warm up the rest of the pizza because it had gotten completely cold.

              “Whoa! This was not at all what I was expecting you say. I mean… part of me was still thinking that you were joking. You and I have been threatening to leave Betsy’s for ages now. I’m actually in shock.”

              “Do you think I’m being stupid?” Delilah asked and then picked up a piece of pizza. After telling the story, she was suddenly ravenous. Melissa did the same and thought about the question.

              “I don’t.”

              “You don’t?”

              “You know what – I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said the other day. I know I changed the subject, but it was only because it was too painful to think about the truth. And you and I are queens of pretend, aren’t we?

But it stayed with me. We deserve to be happy and to go after our dreams. This was never supposed to be a permanent thing for me, but I’ve been here way longer than I ever anticipated. Why? Because I’m a coward.

No, don’t say anything. I am. You at least had to fork out a great deal each month. Not so much me. I got caught up in this easy way of making money, and I’ve been playing the victim ever since. I’m not saying that it’s a terrible thing to do.

I mean, some of the girls there don’t have the issues that we have, and they’re still there because they want to be. And good for them. But you and I – we don’t want this. We never have. So why the hell are we still here?

I’m telling you – if this didn’t happen for you, you’d still be doing the same thing in six months’ time. Heck – you’d be doing the same thing in a year. In two years. It’s hard to get out of. I think you’re doing the right thing. I’m proud of you, Lilah.”

Delilah smiled at her friend. “You shouldn’t be proud of me. I’ve done nothing. I slept with a guy who happened to be a billionaire. Who happened to film it. And who happened to have a crazy ex-girlfriend who wanted revenge.”

              “True. But you could have said no to his offer. You could have sold that story yourself, made your own money that way. But that’s not the type of person you are. And hell… all you have to do is pretend to go out with some terribly cute guy – that’s not really a bad thing, you know.”

Delilah laughed. The thought had crossed her mind, too. “I suppose so. But it’s going to be so weird. Pretending.”

              “Lilah – you pretend all the time. We both do. Every single day of our lives. You’ve got this.”

              “But what happens after?”

              “You make your dreams come true. That’s what.”

              “And what about you?”

              “I have a job interview lined up!”

              “What? And you’re only telling me now?” Delilah exclaimed.

              “Well, your news was a little bit more exciting than mine, let’s be honest. But yeah, that’s how seriously I took our conversation. It’s with a recruitment company downtown.

They’re just looking for someone to man the front office. That’s all. The pay is small, but it’s enough. And you know what – I’ve been saving like crazy. I can afford to not earn that much for a while. And if I don’t get the job, I’ll keep trying.”

              “Will you stay at Betsy’s in the meantime?” Delilah asked, hoping that Melissa was going to say no.

But Melissa nodded. “Yeah. I’m brave, but I’m not that brave. But I made a promise to myself – I’ll go on interview after interview after interview until I get a job. Until someone takes a chance on me. I’m sick to death of complaining about my life but not doing anything about it. Thanks for the motivation, Lilah.”

              “I’m so happy for you. Like over the moon happy.”

              “Me too.”

              “Look, Melissa, I need to ask you something, though.”

              “You’re going to ask me not to tell anyone.”

              “Are you a mind reader?”

              “Nah. I’m just your best friend. And of course I’m not going to tell anyone. Never. Your secret is safe with me. I know you’d do the same for me. And anyway – it’s not like I have anyone to tell. You’re my best friend and also my family.”

              “Same goes for you.”

              “So – are you quitting today?”

              “I am.”

              “Good luck! Come on – let’s have another glass of wine and stroll slowly to work. I’m in no rush to get there today. And let’s meet up again later this week – I want to hear all about your new relationship!”

Delilah giggled. “It’s not a relationship.”

              “Well, let’s just pretend. And anyway I need an excuse to come over so we can order more pizza. I wonder if we can suggest that the same delivery boy comes around?”

              “I think we can do whatever we want!”

Afterwards, they walked arm in arm to work. Delilah wondered if this would be her last walk to Betsy’s. She’d sent James a message to tell him that she was quitting, and he’d replied by wishing her luck and inviting her out to dinner the following night.

It would be their first official date as a couple. What a weird few day it was turning out to be! When they arrived at work, Melissa kissed her on the cheek and told her to go and quit it immediately before she chickened out.

Their boss had always been very nice to her, and Delilah knew that she was one of the favorites – but she wasn’t sure if that was going to make things easier or harder for herself. She had looked through her contract all morning for a clause that would make her stay, but she hadn’t found any.

There wasn’t even something that said that she had to give a month’s notice. She knocked on the door and went inside. Greta was tall and elegant, and Delilah had never seen her without good clothes or perfectly done makeup. She always looked as if she had just stepped off the cover of a very glossy, high profile magazine.

And Delilah had always felt slightly nervous around her, even though she had worked there for years now. Greta had always been so nice to Delilah, but there was still always something hidden in her smile that made her shiver. Greta looked up from her desk and smiled.

              “Lilah. Come in. What can I do for you today? You’re here a bit early, I see.”

              “Uh, yes. Thank you. Do you mind if I sit down? I’d love the chance to have a quick chat with you.”

              “Of course. Close the door behind you and sit down. Is everything okay? You haven’t had any trouble with any of the customers, have you?”

              “Oh, no. Not at all. Actually one of the customers is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Greta looked at her carefully, and Delilah tried to retain her smile. “Oh really? Which one? Let me guess – the handsome billionaire that has come for you twice. James Elton. He’s certainly very handsome. Has there been trouble?”

              “James – that’s the one. And no, no trouble at all. In fact, quite the opposite. I… Uh… well, the thing is that James and I have actually been seeing each other.”

That seemed to surprise Greta. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows arched upwards in question. “Seeing each other?”

              “Uh… yeah. I mean, we met before he came here. It was a complete chance meeting, and we really liked each other. So we saw each other again. And then he found out that I worked here, so he came to see me. Twice. But obviously he’s not too happy about it.

I mean, he doesn’t want me dancing for other people. And I totally understand that. The only reason that I’ve managed to stay here for so long was because I haven’t had a boyfriend. I always knew that it would one day complicate things. But I told myself that I would stay until I found someone who was worth leaving this job for.”