Page 110 of Rival to the Billionaire

Life, as far as I can tell, is perfect. Or it would be…if my date were here.

I look around the room, searching through the crowd for him and can't find him.

Earlier in the week, he'd been crazy jealous that I was planning to go with another man to this event. I mean, the man in question was his brother Alton and we were only going together because the man in question had a prior engagement.

Yeah. That didn't go over well.

He'd given me the stink-eye when he realized I was going to be there without him.

And now I stand here, in a curve-hugging lavender dress, having yet another silly discussion about the rising prices of coffee in Seattle. This event and its donors make the Save the Seagulls event I attended a few weeks ago look like it’s solving world hunger.

I take another sip of the bubbly in my hand, trying to pay attention to the conversation in front of me.

"You know," a woman decked in jewels says, "if the prices keep going up, I might have to move back to the east coast."

"Well, hopefully the Cheaper Coffee Project will be able to change that," another responds.

The woman next to me nods. "I hope so," she says, sipping her champagne. "But there's no telling how much higher the prices will go…and I just can't afford it anymore." She grimaces as she takes another sip of her bubbly drink. "It's just unaffordable these days…"

Tempering down the urge to scream, I pull out my phone and check it again.

No emails.

No voicemail.

No text messages.

I'm scarily close to texting him for the fortieth time when Carmina comes to my rescue.

"You made it!" she exclaims, beaming at me. Looking stunning as always in a shimmering black ensemble, she puts her hands on her ample hips and shakes her head. "Wow. You look stunning. You've really stepped outside of your comfort zone, Jen. I'm loving it."

I glance down at my lavender dress and grin. "It's a little fancy for the Cheaper Coffee Project," I say.

"Nonsense. There's no such thing as overdressing. And have you seen the attendees here? Most of them are decked out in jewelry that's worth more than my 401K. You're one of the least expensive people here, believe me."

"Well, I guess that's something." I look around the room. "Where is everybody?" I ask, unable to hide my concern. "I thought this event was supposed to be packed."

Carmina stares off into the distance. "Oh, it is," she nudges my elbow, grinning. "But I think the people who have just arrived are all over there. It's a good thing, too. In this dress, you're definitely going to be drawing looks all night."

I only want to draw the look of one man, but he remains to be seen.

Gazing across the room again, I find my eyes drawn to a familiar looking woman with dark hair on the other end of the room.

I gawk. "Is that?—"

"Chastity Sanders," Carmina confirms, following my gaze. "Looking a hot ass mess. She has been, ever since that fiancé of hers broke off the engagement."

"Devin Baxter? Really?"

"Yep," Carmina leans in close, lowering her voice. "Turns out her 'ambition' in the publishing tech sector lay firmly between her Pilates-toned legs. She tried to strike a partnership 'deal' with Julian Sabado. Only the deal she was trying to strike was more of a deal with his package."

"Seriously?"

"Shh. I heard it from someone who knows her and it's one hundred percent the truth… And you know the Baxters. They're one of the most prestigious families in Seattle. They don't like scandal."

I believe it. It wasn't too long ago that Chastity tried to strike a deal with Ryder with the same types of 'terms and conditions' as she did with Julian.

Only Ryder didn't take her up on the offer. I'd found out later that in a drunk fit of inspiration at the conference, he'd threatened to tell her fiancé all about Chastity's offer.

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