Billionaire's Lies: A Novel (13 page)

That was before you found out he's a lying, selfish prick, Christina.
And now here I was years later, with nothing to show for it.

But for some reason, there was a feeling I just couldn't shake. Every time I'd see Blake's name flash on my phone, the thought of him would make my body go crazy. It would try to reason with me that we needed one more time alone together before he was hitched for good before I could never have him again. Just one more chance to feel him and have him feel us, to get him to change his mind. Then Vanessa's voice would echo in my head, telling me to forget about that no-good asshole and get rid of his number. So I did what I did best: I began to distract myself with work.

My work was my salvation. Although my clients were a pain, they were the best diversion I could ever hope for. I went out of my way to fulfill requests, no matter how ridiculous the request. Because I needed the distraction more than anything.

It seemed perfect for a while: I was distracted, clients were happy, and the company was booming with more business than ever. My bosses were so content that they threw money and a promotion at me.

Now it was my promotion party, and while I was smiling as often as I could remember, I couldn't push away the hollow feeling I had on the inside. As great as it was to finally achieve success, it felt empty without someone to celebrate it with. '
Vanessa can only do so much'
seemed to be the motto, not that it gave me the willpower to return any of Blake's phone calls. As much as I wanted to.

I was at the bar watching my co-workers inhale the liquor from the open bar, and a tinge of envy overcame me. I would give anything to indulge in the open bar and have that be enough to let me get over this, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. And I
had
tried--from wine and reading to yoga and running to writing in a journal. I'd done everything I could think of to distract myself, but the nagging wouldn't stop eating at me.

"Oh, my God!" Vanessa laughed as she bounced up to me, her cheeks flushed with the soft glow of one too many Sex on the Beaches. "Check out Mr. Stein dancing like a lunatic to the jukebox," she leaned into me and whispered it loudly, the fumes of her breath taking over all my senses. I gave a half-smile in response as she pulled out her smartphone and started snapping photos.

"Vanessa!" I gasped when I noticed she was actually obviously documenting this. "That's your
boss
."

"Don't worry," she giggled. "This is for my own personal pleasure." She slipped her phone into her clutch and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Just then, a group of men walked in and went to the other side of the restaurant. "And one of those guys can be for my own personal pleasure too." She whipped out her lip gloss and powder so fast, it couldn't even have been seconds before her makeup was touched up. "How do I look?" my best friend asked, pursing her lips.

"You're gorgeous, as always. Any of those guys would be lucky to have you," I sighed, the thought of relationships making my stomach turn.

"Gracias. You're coming with me." She took my hand and attempted to lead me to their table as I dug my heels into the linoleum. "And don't try to put up a fight. Fuck Blake." She gave me a knowing look.

The group of guys was sitting in a booth, laughing and drinking beers. Every single one of them had a handsome, rugged look to him as if they were well-off but weren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. The looks they were getting from the women in the bar were embarrassingly transparent, and I had to bite back my laughter. It was hard being on my best behavior when I was almost at the point of giving zero fucks compounded with all of the drinks I had in me.

"Yum," Vanessa practically moaned as she peered over at their table like a kid with cake. "Look at that hottie with the beard and black hair. Mmm, you know I love a man that's built like a quarterback." She licked her perfectly glossed lips.

"I don't think I'm up for this," I rolled my eyes. As handsome as they were, as tipsy as I was, they weren't Blake.
No one will ever live up to Blake,
I thought, panicked.

"That's your problem right there, you're thinking too much. You let your thoughts consume you and stop you from living sometimes."

"Is that what you think happened between Blake and me?" I glared at her.

"See? No one was even talking about him but because he's in your thoughts, everything becomes about him." She sighed. "Christina, just how do you think you're going to get over Blake?"

"I suppose you want me to fuck one of these guys to achieve that?"

"I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. But if I could make a request, then yes, I do want you to start living. And yes, Blake hurt you, but he didn't destroy you. You are still alive. Start living your life. I'm not saying fall in love, but get out of this rut. Don't waste another minute."

She was right. She was almost always right.
I hate it when she's always right
, I groaned inwardly.

"Okay, fine." I rolled my eyes and relaxed my body so she could more easily drag me along.

"Good." She smiled. "Now, about that quarterback." She turned her attention back to the group. "I just need to look at him long enough to figure out whether or not he has a big dick before I waste my time."

"Vanessa!" My eyes opened wide. "Could you lower your voice?" I glanced around me, wondering if any of our bosses had overheard.

"Oh, please," she scoffed.

But curiosity got the best of me. "How can you tell from here, anyway? Don't tell me that you believe those bullshit myths?"

"No, I'm not into the big feet, big hands, nonsense. There's just an air of confidence a man with a huge penis has." She practically sighed with satisfaction just at the
thought
of it.

"What?" I asked, staring at her blankly.

"Don't ask me how I know these things. I just know." She laughed. "And I think that guy is about 7.5 inches to 8. Well, maybe 9 inches when he's erect." She smiled and we broke out in giggles.

"Ladies, would you mind joining us?" It was the quarterback who asked.

All eyes were on us and you could feel the lust emanating from the men spread through the room.

"I don't know if there's room," I replied nervously, suddenly regretting my decision to go with Vanessa.

"We'll make room." He locked his eyes on Vanessa, and I knew right then that we were stuck at this table for the rest of the night. We lived by the never-leave-a-sister code and I knew that she'd want to see the night through with the quarterback. And where did that leave me?

Sitting with the guys was awkward at first, but it quickly turned into friendly banter. Their charm made it feel like we were among friends rather than strangers, and suddenly I didn't feel so uncomfortable. Vanessa was hitting it off with Sean, aka the quarterback. It wasn't long before they left the table to talk to each other by the bar.

The rest of the guys and I just ate and had a good time. Next thing I knew, the quarterback's blond friend Adam and I were seated alone. I learned that he's an architect and had three buildings built in his hometown, Seattle. He mostly concentrated on helping construct buildings for shelters and affordable housing here in New York. As he spoke, telling me about himself, he stared intensely into my eyes. I felt guilty because Adam had done everything right--he'd acted like the perfect gentleman, asking the appropriate number of questions, buying me a drink, showing interest without being pushy. Yet, no matter how perfectly he did things, I felt guilty because I felt absolutely nothing for him. I could have been talking to a wall.

"So, tell me something else about you. Aside from being an account executive, what else can I know about you? Do you have kids? Are you divorced?"

"No kids and I've never been married," I responded, taking a sip of my wine spritzer.

"So, you're completely single?"

"Yes," I paused for a second after to give it thought even as my heart sank. "I'm single."

"That's good to hear." He smiled warmly at me, but all I could muster was a tight-lipped smile in response.

The night went on, and Adam continued probing, trying his best to break down my wall and get to know me.
He's a great guy, handsome, and the perfect gentleman,
I tried to reason myself as we walked through the city streets. We chatted about our hobbies as he walked me home, wanting to make sure I arrived safely.

He's a good distraction,
I thought as my apartment building came into view. He'd kept my mind so preoccupied with meaningless conversations that I hadn't even noticed that twenty blocks had gone by, high heels and all!

"I can't believe I'm home," I said, looking up at my building. "It feels like we were just leaving the restaurant."

"I know. I thought we were just going to walk halfway there and then I would have gladly put you in a cab, but here we are."

"Here we are," I repeated, smiling at him.

"I know, being at the front door can be super awkward."

"It can?" My brows knit together.

"Yes, because you're wondering if we should kiss or not."

"Am I?" I asked, smiling. Not because he was charming me, but because it felt like I was talking to a love stung puppy. One that I sadly could never imagine as more than a friend.
But you should try to get over Blake,
my mind coaxed me desperately.

"Because it's crazy how this feels like a first date, but it's not."

"So, what do you propose?" I asked while fishing through my purse for my keys.

"I propose this." He took my hand and brought it up to his lips. "I've had a lovely time tonight. To think that I was going to stay home and just watch the game is unfathomable."

"Truly atrocious," I giggled as his lips tickled my hand.

"I would love the chance to take you out on an appropriate date. You know: wine, food, flowers, and scheduling something on purpose. That way, when we come back to this door, we can
really
do the front door dance." He kissed my hand. "May I take you out on a proper date?"

I gave him a small smile while my mind worked its gears.
What's the worst that can happen? And if you change your mind, you can always cancel.
It was settled.

"I think I'd like that," I replied.

"Now we end on a hug." He hugged me. "You have a great night."

"You too," I said while preparing to go inside.

"I already did."

Chapter 17

According to the tabloids, the wedding was a month away. You'd think with the impending nuptials that Blake would have stopped trying to call me, but he hadn't. He was still insistent on seeing me or speaking to me. I finally gave in and sent him a text message stating that we're over and that I had already moved on. It wasn't true, but what else was I supposed to do?

Adam had been the perfect gentleman, which was almost surprising considering the group he was with when I'd first met him. Not only was he sweet and funny, but he was thoughtful, too. He didn't send me flowers from afar like Blake did, but he would pop up at my job and take me out to lunch. And if he saw that Vanessa was going to be eating alone, he'd take her out too and pay for all of us. It was refreshing to be with a guy that thought of me first. Everything was great, on paper.

There was no spark, but sparks weren't everything, were they? I could live a perfectly happy life with a man who wasn't exciting and sultry and who knew me inside and out, couldn't I? My heart tightened, and once again I shoved thoughts of Blake out of my mind.
You're not welcome here anymore,
my brain seethed.

I knew I'd have to have some sort of reaction to him soon. It had already been two weeks and I was still resisting his attempts to kiss me. I felt bad for stringing him along, but I needed the time to figure myself out.

"Chica!" Vanessa greeted me bursting into my office. "One of your clients is driving the whole office crazy."

"Who is it?"

"The president of that fashion boutique. I know that he's an up-and-coming designer and that he's had several celebs wear his stuff, and we should be glad he wants us to market his brand, but do we really need to kiss his ass to do it?"

"Yes," I replied bluntly with a smile. "All we need to do is kiss a little ass now, and then down the line, it'll be smooth sailing because he'll see what we can do with him. Anyway, what does he want?"