Page 116 of Rival to the Billionaire

Unlocking the door, I walk into the bright and airy space of the Fountain Springs hotel suite I've booked for the week, overwhelmed with how much difference three months of dating can make in a person's life.

I'm back in Vegas, and somehow everything's changed.

A year ago, I'd have been downstairs at the blackjack tables with a Black Manhattan cocktail in one hand and a blonde wrapped around the other. But now, I'm stepping into my hotel, alone, waiting for the girl of my dreams to meet me here so we can attend this launch party together.

It's a damn dream come true. Except the part about actually being alone.

Unfortunately, for me, I've got a hanger-on in the form of my eldest brother Alton. He's sitting on the sofa flipping through a magazine I know he's not even reading. Big enough to take up half the space and drink a fifth of Jack Daniels in one gulp, he's my very own personal chaperone on this trip.

And I still haven't found any way to ditch him.

"The finance magazines these days are shit," he grumbles, setting his empty drink glass on the table in front of him. "There's nothing in here that even remotely interests me. It's enough to make a CFO want to jump out a window."

"Now, that, I would pay to see." Double bolting the door, I glance over and notice his shoes by the door, his tie thrown across the coffee table he's sitting on, and the crisp white shirt hanging out of his pants by the tip of one button. "By all means, make yourself at home. 'Cause it sure looks like you already did," I say to him, walking over to the long bar that separates the living and kitchen area from the seating by the front windows. "Side note: You look like hell. You need a haircut. And a break."

Alton grunts. "You try being responsible for three new law interns twenty-four hours a day. You would look a lot like hell, too. They haven't even finished law school and they're so damn eager to show me how brilliant they all are that they can't even be in the same room as me without asking for advice. I came here to enjoy the calm of a hotel room so I can catch up on my reading, but they've got me stuck here like a goddamn fly in amber."

I open the mini-fridge and pick up a couple of beers. "Glad I'm not you. I'd be climbing the walls from all the new energy."

"And Derek won't listen to reason about nixing the program. Apparently, there's nothing like working with bright young minds."

"If you ask Quentin, he'd say it's more like there's nothing like working with young bodies." I grin. "He told me one of the legal interns is hot enough to make him want to change careers. He wanted to trade places with you."

"I'm sure he does," Alton mutters, glancing at his watch. "That Lena Cho intern is relentless. I expect she'll be emailing me again any minute now. She's determined to meet up one-on-one with me. Says she wants to go over some of the IP documents. I tried to dodge her, but she got ahold of my assistant and insisted I see her. Her words, not mine."

I walk over to Alton, smiling. "Jeez, doesn't she know she's picked the most anal man in all of law and finance to set her sights on? Quentin says he's willing to bet she wants you to show her your IP."

He glances over at me and glowers. "Hardly. She apparently doesn't pay attention to the fact that the most anal man in all of law and finance is not interested in 'going for coffee' as she put it."

I hold a cold bottle out to him. "She's persistent, that's for sure."

He takes it. "That's nothing. You should hear the voicemails she left me. She sounds like she just walked out of a Disney park and wants to get her 'happy' on. Like there's no way I could deny her a meeting." Al takes a long pull of the drink and glances back up at me. "And while we're on the subject of 'getting things'…" he hesitates meaningfully, "did you? Get what you were looking for, I mean?"

I grin, reaching into the pocket of my slacks. "Oh, hell yeah." I pull out the velvety black box carefully. "Got exactly what I was looking for."

His eyes grow wide as I hand him the box. "Holy shit, man, I thought you might be joking about this. But you're not." His hand shakes as he opens the box and a diamond ring that could probably light up all of Las Vegas sparkles back at me.

I exhale out loud. "I'm crazy about her, Al. I'm crazy about the way she makes me feel. And with the launch party happening tonight and the vote to make her co-chair of the board, it's perfect timing. I want it to be official. I want to start a new chapter in our lives together."

"I can tell." He looks down at the ring, his brows shooting up as he grins at me.

"Careful, Al. Your face looks dangerously close to showing an actual expression other than a frown."

Alton laughs, shaking his head. "Marriage is a big step. I'm very happy for you, man. You've clearly found what you're looking for." His smile falters, and for a second, something poignant flickers across his face. "We're not all successful at it, I'll tell you that. But you and Jenny? You two were made for each other. You've got a great future ahead of you."

"Thanks, bro. And I'm ready for it. I really am." We meet each other's eyes, and I can't help but smile.

I'm ready for a future with Jenny.

I'm ready to make her my wife.

I'm ready to start my life with the woman I adore.

I hear a click at the door, and my heart beats double hard. What I'm not ready for…is for Jenny to have walked in on my brother and me discussing my impending proposal.

Scrambling, I gesture for Alton to hide the evidence. "Shit, man. Hide that before she sees it."

"Damn, I'm not good at this hide-and-seek stuff. Ask Shelby. I really suck at it." Snapping the black box shut, Alton tucks it under the sofa cushion.

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