Page 19 of My Best Friend's Billionaire Brother
But finally, he does. “Josie …?” His deep voice reverberates through the phone, coated in confusion.
“Will,” I say, my voice choking, even to my own surprise. “Can you come to my apartment?”
“What’s going on?” he asks, his tone shifting to concern.
Owen bangs on the door again, forcing a startled cry from my lips. “Owen’s here, and he’s drunk, and he won’t leave, and I just need … I need—”
“Send me your location, I’ll leave right now,” he interrupts me.
“Okay,” I breathe. I end the call and immediately text him my location.
“I’m not leaving, and you’ll have to come out of there eventually,” Owen shouts, his words slightly slurred. He bangs on the door again, and then I see the handle jiggling as he wrestles with the lock. I pray that it holds, glancing around the bathroom for anything I could use in self-defense. I settle on a can of hairspray, clutching it tightly in my hand, figuring I could temporarily blind him while I make a run for it if needed.
It only takes ten minutes for Will to make it to my apartment. “Josie!” I hear him yell upon entering thedoor that I thankfully left open when Owen had barged in.
I hear a confused noise from Owen outside the bathroom door and then his steps as he stumbles toward the front door. I unlock the bathroom and step out into the hall to see Owen about ten feet away from me, facing an angry-looking Will who’s just stepped through the door into my apartment.
Owen whirls around to face me. “Who the fuck is that?” he yells, pointing at Will.
“My friend,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady, but it comes out small, scared. “I called him when you wouldn’t leave.”
“Yourfriend,” Owen scoffs. “A friend who runs to your apartment in the middle of the night? What kind of friend is that?” He turns fully to face me now, taking a step forward.
“Leave, Owen,” I demand, taking an involuntary step back. But there’s only a closet behind me. Nowhere to go.
“You heard her, man.” Will’s voice is soft yet commanding. He walks down the hall.
Owen looks over his shoulder at Will, sizing him up. But he’s too drunk to care that Will is practically a foot taller than him, and much scarier too. He’s got a fire in his eyes I’ve never seen before. Sure, I’ve seen grumpy Will. ButangryWill? Never.
“This the reason you broke up with me, Josie?” Owen snaps at me. “So you could fuck this douchebag?”
“Leave the apartment. I’m not going to ask again,” Will says.
Owen scoffs, taking another step toward me. I shrink away. “I never knew you were such a slut,” he spits at me.
At this, Will snaps. He covers the distance between them, grabbing the back of Owen’s shirt in two fistfuls, yanking him away from me and then slamming him against the wall. Both Owen and I letout a startled cry. A few canvasses clatter from the wall to the floor.
“Don’t you dare speak to her like that,” Will mutters dangerously. Owen struggles against him, but Will simply slams him harder against the wall. “You hear me?”
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Owen stutters.
After a few seconds, Will lets him go, and Owen backs away quickly, angrily fixing his shirt. “Jesus, man,” he snaps.
“Get out,” Will orders, pointing to the door.
Owen glares at him, and then over his shoulder at me. “Really, Josie? You called this prick to handle your business for you?”
“Get out or I’m gonna slam your head into the wall next,” Will says, his tone rising ever so slightly. He takes a step forward, and this time, Owen reacts.
He hurries toward the door, throwing one last glance over his shoulder as he leaves. “Fuck you. Bothof you,” he snaps before slamming the door behind him.
The silence settles around us, but the tension remains. Will turns around to face me, the anger in his expression completely gone, replaced by concern.
I stand frozen where I am, unable to take a step, unable to move.
“Josie,” he says softly, and I can feel myself cracking. I cover my face with my hands so he won’t see the tears.
I hear his footsteps, and then I feel his strong arms wrapping around me, pulling me into his chest. A quiet sob escapes me as I let myself be pulled into his embrace, inhaling the smell of him. Pine and peppermint.
