Page 21 of Flirting with My Billionaire Enemy

“Call Langston. He was right there and saw the entire thing.”

“That’s it. I’m calling you on your bluff.” She picks up her cell phone. Within seconds she has Langston on the other line.

His voice comes over the speaker. “Hey, Mom. How are you doing?”

“Much better. But enough about that. I want to know the truth once and for all. Was I hitting on my nurse last night?”

He laughs. “You sure were. He was a pretty good sport about it. I guess they probably see that kind of thing a lot. But he did have to draw the line when you were trying to squeeze his muscles.”

“That’s it! I don’t want to hear anymore.” She’s laughing hard now.

“You did ask,” he points out. “You up for some more company?”

“Are you coming into town?”

“I should be there before dinner.”

“Our cook is making her pesto chicken tonight. I’ll tell her to make enough for you.”

She looks over at me. “Are you hungry, Kaison? I haven’t even thought to offer you some lunch. I can get the cook to whip you up some grilled cheese and basil tomato soup.”

“I’m pretty full from the drive up,” I tell her.

“What did you eat?”

“I had some food from the gas station. Chips and a Snickers bar.”

“You call that garbage lunch? You should know better than to eat like that.”

“What about Weston? He eats way worse than I do.”

“Well, you have a point there. Weston’s diet is a disaster.” She pauses for a minute, like she’s trying to figure something out. “What were you doing at a gas station? You drove here from Atlanta?” She asks it like I’ve gone nuts. “I thought you hated making that trip by car. Why didn’t you just take the family plane or the helicopter?”

“Well, Ariana wanted to bring her car along.”

“Who’s Ariana?” she asks.

“She’s my coworker. We’re in the middle of a big project so we decided to have her stay here at the house.”

“How did I not know about this?” she asks, a hint of panic creeping into her voice. “I would have made sure there was more food in the house.”

Mom is always concerned with being a proper host.

“I’m sure there’s plenty, Mom. If there’s not, we can make a list and get someone to run to the store.”

“This Ariana,” Langston says, “is she hot?”

I’d almost forgotten he was still on the line.

“She’s my coworker. I’m not going to comment on her appearance.” It seems like the most diplomatic answer I can give. If Langston figures out I’m attracted to Ariana, he’ll spread the news across the family like wildfire. And he’s not the worst one either. The one to fear is Mom, and she’s unfortunately listening to every word. In her state, she has nothing better to do with her time than to meddle in my love life. She won’t care that I’m trying to keep things professional, either. Mom is a master matchmaker. If she senses that there is a hint of love in the air, she goes ballistic.

The last thing I need is for my mom to try to convince me to be with Ariana.

11

ARIANA

The red room is decked out. It looks like something from the set ofGone With the Wind. There’s a four-poster bed in the center of the room, heavy red curtains with gold tassels, a red oriental carpet covering the dark wood floor. There’s an elegant bedspread in deep red with a dozen pillows piled up on it. I run up to it and jump on the bed. It wasn’t the greatest idea because the bed creaks loudly in response. Hopefully I didn’t break anything.

---