Resisting the Billionaire Collection (31 page)

The more she looked at the Sebastian in
front of her -- not knowing who he was -- his wide shoulders, his
thick dark hair, the more she fantasized about who he could be.
Maybe one of those eccentric entrepreneur types who used public
transport on principle despite all of their success.

She lifted her head to look at the
reflection of his face in the glass. His jaw line was square,
handsome and his eyes deep set. They looked familiar but still she
didn’t recognize him.

I bet he would take care
of me. Pay his rent on time at least.
She
thought.
He was dressed conservatively but
with style and elegance. He looked serious and capable.

If only people in this town weren't so
uptight. Why can't I just tap this guy on the shoulder and strike
up a conversation with him?

People were so much easier to talk to in her
hometown.

Would it be so crazy? Just say something
simple like, 'Hey I thought you looked like an interesting guy so
here's my number, call me maybe?'

Sure, just like the bubblegum pop song.

Who are you kidding, Alison? Number one, you
don't have it in you to do that and number two, he would probably
just think you’re crazy and then back carefully away. But hey,
there’s no law that says I can’t dream about you,
gorgeous-busride-passenger guy.

Sebastian laid his head against the
glass.

You look tired too, gorgeous bus-ride guy.
If you let me, I could take care of you if you just came home with
me. I’ve got a little place all to myself now.

She rested her head back to the glass too,
just like him and smiled as they jostled up and down in perfect
unison with the bumps in the road.

She dreamed on until she saw her bus stop
approaching.

Okay, gorgeous bus rider, this is it. Time
to say goodbye.

Her heart skipped a beat as the stranger got
up to leave as well. He was getting off at the same stop. He turned
around and his eyes met hers. He was handsome alright, rugged,
sexy, masculine in every way.

Sebastian had been thinking what he could
say to her to make it all seem natural but his breath escape him as
he looked into her eyes. She was so beautiful, so fragile, and so
sexy. 

"Alison." He tried to sound surprised. "You
were behind me all this time?"

"Daniel..." She said, lost for words, "I,
uh... didn't recognize you."

He frowned, with exaggerated disappointment.
"You mean you don't know the back of my head well enough to pick it
out from a busload of people?"

"Yeah, I guess. No...I mean, it's just you
looked so gorg--" She stopped herself just in time. He raised an
eyebrow.

"So 'gorg'? What does that mean?"

"Nothing, just so different from uh... from
usual."

He frowned again. "Whatever. I wouldn't
expect a beautiful girl like you to pay much attention to a guy
like me. Come on, or we'll miss our stop." He put out his hand for
hers and pulled her easily to her feet. She was blushing and he
loved it even if he didn't know why. Most of the women he had known
were shameless and wouldn't be able to blush without medical
intervention of some kind.

The bus lurched and she fell against him.
Instinctively he put his big arms around her. She felt so soft
against him, so trusting. He wanted to gather her up and take her
home. 

He wanted to stay there forever.

Alison dissolved into the solid wall of
power surrounding her. For a moment, all of her problems seemed
flimsy and small, as though nothing could ever harm her in these
strong arms.

She recognized the feeling. It was the
second time he had made her feel like that. It just like when he
had put her arms around her in the café.

She wanted to stay there forever.

"Hey lovebirds, can we keep it moving?
People getting off here."

They were blocking the way as they gazed
into each other's eyes.

"Get a room already for Chrissake."

He looked down at her. "Should we get a
room?" He asked her in a low husky voice, a trace of a smile on his
lips. Alison blushed furiously, her heart beat faster.

The crush of their bodies against each other
made their hearts beat faster. His masculine fragrance surrounded
her, mixing with her own perfume.

Before she could answer his jokingly sexy
proposition, he released her, indicating for her to go in front of
him. She loved it. He was so polite. But she also hated it, having
to walk in front of him, like she was displaying herself for him.
He must be looking at her hair, her waist, her legs. Probably most
of all at her ass. Everyone told her it was perfect, all of her
friends, but still she couldn't quite believe it. She always
worried that she was too skinny and could use a little more meat on
her bones. Guys love skinny but they want something to feel,
something to hold onto, not just a couple of bare ass bones.

Jesus, he's just the rookie barista Alison,
get a hold of yourself. Who cares what he thinks of your ass?

He watched her go down the steps, entranced.
Politeness had its rewards. He watched her small, sexy frame go in
front of him, lapping it up. Her hair, her waist, her legs, and
most of all, her ass. It was perfect. The thought of that slimy
douche bag Brad putting his hands on her... he didn't want to think
about it.

 
She made it down the
steps of the bus feeling relieved she hadn't fallen
over.

"You're a real lady, Alison." His baritone
voice resounded behind her. "Elegance personified."

She couldn't help but feel thrilled at his
words, but a voice inside was still telling her to hold back.

Don't make the same mistake twice, Alison.
Don't get hurt again.

She gave him as neutral and noncommittal a
smile as she could. His inability to read it turned him on even
more.

"You're a charmer." She said and he felt a
thrill go through him.

"So you think I'm charming? Sounds like a
compliment to me and I’ll take whatever I can get. At least the
girl notices me."

"I didn't say that. Stop twisting my
words."

"That's right. I would never twist your
words Alison. I'm just 'gorg', right? Isn't that what you said
before?"

Alison blushed again and Sebastian felt his
cock stiffen. He had never thought of blushing as sexy before but
somehow with Alison it was setting him on fire. He might need to
get to a bathroom to adjust himself.

How was it she always had this effect on
him?

Alison tried to hide her face to cover her
reddening skin. She was so pale that the effect was always
exaggerated and she could feel herself burning.

Am I ever going to get
used to this guy?
She thought.

"Come on, rookie. We're late," she quickened
her pace, "and we have coffee to brew and people to serve."

"I know one person I'd be happy to serve all
day." He said, his deep, low voice, coming down to her from on
high. He was a head taller than her. He stooped further and came in
close beside her. "And all night." He added.

She turned her head away to hide a smile and
her deepening blush. "Stop it." She said, but nothing in her wanted
it to end. Blush or no blush.

Just until I'm over
Brad,
she thought,
until I find someone new. Maybe someone like Don.

Sebastian grinned and followed a step behind
her. The sun was shining and all the worries of the last
twenty-four hours seemed very far away to the young couple.

Chapter Nine

"Petite blonde. Sexy. Seductive. Selective. Seeks
older, financially secure male (billionaire a preference :-).
Smiley face. I put a smiley face in there." MJ emphasized the
smiley face to Olivia who rolled her eyes.

"Be my sugar daddy," she continued, "for
mutual...uh, mutual... goddamn it Olivia, help me out here, what's
a good word?"

"Masturbation?" Olivia offered. Now MJ
rolled her eyes.

"You're no help at all."

"You can't be serious about this MJ. First
off, that ad sounds like prostitution. Second, these guys are
looking for Ivy Leaguers with old money and the kind of looks that
only Photoshop can give you. And thirdly -- most importantly --
Alison won't ever go for this. Not in a million, million, billion
years. She's just not that kind of girl. Besides, you aren’t
exactly her favorite person at the moment. What makes you think she
will not only forgive you--?"

"Forgive me? I saved her from that idiot,
Brad; I wasn’t cheating on her with him."

"You humiliated her."

"All the more reason to help her out now.
We’ve got to get her early before she goes on the rebound with some
joker. She deserves so much more than that two-timer and this will
cheer her up, boost her confidence."

"Or humiliate her even further."

"It all depends on how we approach it. You
know how she is. If we ask her, she’ll resist. But if we present it
to her as a done deal, she won’t back out. She won’t want to let
the guy down and no matter what she says or thinks, when she’s
face-to-face with a multi-millionaire paying her compliments, it’s
going to change how she feels about this whole thing."

"Are you sure that ad is going to get the
right kind of guy for her though? It kind of sounds like she’s
looking for a sugar daddy or something."

"What makes you think this ad's for her?" MJ
sniggered. "I'm doing me first. Alison can find her own
billionaire."

Olivia looked at her friend, trying to
figure out if she was serious or not.

"Do me as well, you bitch." She said, and
the two descended into sniggers.

“
Okay, okay. Let's get
serious here. How about this: Cinderella seeks Prince
Charming."

"That's it. If our sweet little Midwestern
Ally is anything, it's a princess."

"What does that make us then? Wait, don't
answer that. Let's trot while we're hot. How about this?" She began
typing rapidly, reading as she went.

"You've been waiting your
whole life to find me. Am I the perfect fit? Lifelong dreamer and
free spirit with Disney Princess looks and measurements seeks her
Prince Charming. If you have made something of your life and are a
good man then come claim me, sweep me away and let me bring heaven
on earth to your princely kingdom and million-dollar home.
Beautiful, open-minded, single, gorgeous, naturally blonde white
female with Mid-western charm and Manhattan sophistication needs to
be rescued by equally gorgeous and successful male. I long, no…
I
ache
to hear
from you."

She paused for breath.

"What do you think?"

"Corny and cheesy as hell is what I think.
Do guys really go for that stuff?"

"Let's find out."

MJ added a picture of Alison to her profile
and then hit ‘upload’.

"What happens now? Where are the rich guys?"
Olivia asked.

"Nothing happens immediately. The profile is
uploaded, the guys take a look and then we wait until someone takes
the bait."

"How long do we wait?"

"Jesus Olivia, this isn’t like ordering at
KFC; there’s no time limit. If you want quality then you have to--"
Her jaw dropped. "No shit! Olivia, look at that!"

A reply, or a ‘wink' as the website dubbed
it, had already come in. The two women grabbed for the mouse and
sent it skidding across the desk.

"Just wait Olly, come on. Let me." MJ pushed
her friend’s hands away and then held the pointer tantalizingly
over the wink. "On second thoughts," she said, "this is a contact
for Alison. We should leave it for her to answer."

Olivia looked at MJ for a moment.

"Mi amor, are you kidding me? What if this
guy is a serial killer?"

"Or worse," MJ said, "what if he's just
another loser posing as a millionaire?" She turned back to the
screen and double clicked. The wink opened. There was a short
message.

'Hey Ally,

I love your profile. I've been searching for
Cinderella my whole life and just maybe I can be your Prince
Charming. I'd love to meet up with you and see what we have in
common. I'm 26 and a self-made millionaire. My looks are similar to
Brad Pitt when he was younger (see my profile picture) and I've
been looking for love in all the wrong places. But hopefully that
has changed today.'

MJ started typing a response.

"Hold on, what are you doing?" Olivia said,
"I haven't even finished reading it yet."

"Neither have I. I got as far as
millionaire. What else is there to know?"

"I got as far as 'looks are similar to Brad
Pitt.’" The two women looked to the screen again as MJ clicked on
his profile. The resemblance was striking. The two women
gasped.

"Oh. My. God." MJ said. "Why the hell
haven't I been doing this before now? Here I am chasing that loser
Don around like some dumbass high school groupie because he might
one day make $60,000 a year. All this time, right here at my
fingertips there are millionaires waiting to be snapped up."

"Wait a second." Olivia said. "That's an
actual picture of Brad Pitt. I recognize it. It's a red carpet shot
from the Oscars a few years ago."

"Who cares? He probably just used it for
illustration purposes. He's a millionaire for God's sake. He can do
whatever he wants."

"You're right. Come on, let's get this date
set up and we can put our own profiles online."

The two women turned back to the screen and
MJ began furiously typing her response to the prospective
millionaire Prince Charming.

Chapter Ten

MJ was surprised at the look on Alison’s face as she
arrived for her first day of work post-Brad. She had expected storm
clouds of doom, not blushing rays of sunshine.