Page 8 of The Billionaire and I

“I know.” I leaned against the wall next to her, blocking our conversation from the crowd. “He told me about you, you know.”

She only hesitated for a nano-second, but I caught it.

Audrey blinked at me. “Really? What did he say?”

“I know why you’re here,” I said. “I know he hired you. He never could stand to be alone with his family. But he also told me things aren’t physical between you two. That’s why you should come home withmetonight. And I’m not saying this to be an asshole—I’m saying it to help.”

Her brow wrinkled. “You’re not saying it to be an asshole, Cole? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” I smiled at her. “It’s abusinessproposition. You fill my need, I’ll fill yours. You come home with me tonight, and I’ll pay you your regular fee. And James will still be paying you. You’ll make a tidy profit. It’s like a twofer.”

I leaned closer, waiting to hear what she said. Audrey looked torn. If she said yes, I could tell James she was just in it for the money. If she said no, my suspicions would be confirmed: she was into him.

“Don’t say no to a tidy profit,” I urged. “You’ll break my venture-capitalist heart.”

Audrey looked a little sick. “Did James say this was okay?” She seemed to be holding her breath.

“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t run it by him yet. But James isn’t exactly sentimental.”

The door opened beside us, and James headed our way. “It’s true, I’m not sentimental,” he said.

Uh-oh.He sounded pissed.

He reached us and took Audrey’s hand. She stared at their entwined hands for a moment, as if in shock, then up at his face.

He was glaring at me. “That was a dick move,” he said. “By the way, I heard almost everything you said.”

“It’s not like I was trying to hide it,” I said quickly.

He turned to Audrey. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, biting her lip.

He turned back to me. “Youare on my shit list.”

Bingo! He likes this girl for real.James practically had smoke pouring out of his ears.

I looked at him and snorted, unfazed. “I’m an entrepreneur—you know that. I see an opportunity, and I move for it, fast.”

James smiled at me tightly. “You’re my best friend,” he said, “which is why I haven’t punched you in the face. Yet. But for the record, Audrey is a person, not an opportunity. So please do not approach her with any more business propositions in the future.”

I studied his face, my glance trailing down to their interlocked fingers. “Why James, I didn’t know you cared.”

James scowled. “I care that you find someone else to put your entrepreneurial hands on tonight. Audrey has agreed to be exclusive with me for the next two weeks. Please don’t get her into trouble—not with me and not with her employer.”

He gave me a pointed look, and I nodded at him.

“Call me tomorrow,” James said. “If I answer, it means I’m speaking to you again.”

I smiled at both of them, and then I winked at Audrey. “See ya. It’s too bad James can’t share—I’m much more fun than he is.”

James gave me one final disapproving glare, then hustled his not-so-fake date away from me.

“I’m sort ofsurprised you’re calling me, James, after your little hissy fit earlier,” I said. I’d moved onto another barand was currently surrounded by women, none of whom were particularly catching my attention.

“I just dropped Audrey off. She was upset,” he said.

“Because I asked her to come home with me, and I offered to pay her? Sheisa hooker, right? Because I really wasn’t trying to offend her,” I said. This was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. I hadn’t been trying to offend Audrey, not especially, but Ihadbeen trying to offend James.

---