My Dad’s Billionaire Enemy

by Winters, Bella

  Since Liam was dead, it left a lot of turf open to claim and clean up. I had no doubt that if I left things for too long, darkness would fester in the wake of his death.

  So I busied myself for a few weeks with spreading my influence and taking over Liam’s old territory. It was hard work, but I knew it would all be worth it in the end. Already things were getting better in those areas. Knowing who Liam had dealt with, I was able to provide resources to them to get help.

  And many of them did.

  Knowing that people would be safer, that the streets would be cleaner, that was enough motivation for me to keep going.

  The Four were with me through all of it, but it took me a while to see Aurora again.

  I didn’t even know if I should contact her at first. It seemed wrong, somehow, after everything that had happened.

  But it only took Noah one look at my moping expression to know exactly what was on my mind.

  “Call her you fool,” he said. “She deserves at least that much.”

  So I did. And, to my surprise, we talked for hours. We eventually had to hang up because it was getting late and she needed to get some sleep for her day at work, but it was enough to confirm to me that things were real and still worth pursuing.

  We decided for our first date after everything we should do something a little more normal and not terribly fancy.

  I agreed readily. All I really wanted was to be around her again, no matter how that was. Of course, I might have preferred to show off to her and take her somewhere she had never been before, but I respected that this was something that made her more comfortable.

  So we decided to have a picnic in a little park close to where she lived.

  It was a nice neighborhood, quite quaint, but I felt like a sore thumb driving through it. It clearly was a place for the middle class and families, not excessive wealth and luxury cars. I should have taken a different vehicle, who knew if it might make her uncomfortable.

  But then I saw her, standing on her front porch, a white sundress flowing around her, and I forgot all my worries.

  As soon as she spotted me she smiled and waved.

  I parked, and she walked over, getting into the passenger seat of the car.

  “You look nice,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. God, I wanted to take her right there.

  “And you look divine.” She blushed, but it was true. She reminded me of Aphrodite at that moment, but she wouldn’t need a love spell to make me fall for her. She had the beauty of a goddess without needing any of the magic.

  “So, where is this park?”

  “Did you not check maps?” she asked with a laugh.

  I shrugged. “I thought you could give me directions.”

  She nudged me gently with her shoulder. “Admit it, you just want to hear me talk.”

  “I’m not going to deny that.” I pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “So do you think you could give me directions?”

  “Of course!”

  She led me through the quaint streets of her neighborhood, though the park was only a couple of blocks away. We found somewhere to park, and then I went around to the trunk to pull out a picnic blanket and a basket containing our lunch.

  “I think you’ll like this,” I said, lifting the basket high. “I made it myself.”

  “Is that so?” she raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

  “One of my many secrets.” I winked. “I learned from the best. And though I’m no three-star Michelin restaurant chef by any means, the stuff I make is still pretty tasty.”

  “I’m excited to try it then,” she said, letting out a little laugh. I loved the sound of her laughter. It had such an angelic quality; every time it put my mind at ease and made my heart leap in my chest.

  The park was small, but quite beautiful. It was filled with large, green trees, and grass spread out beneath them like a carpet. Wildflowers grew around the edges, and paths wove through.

  We picked a spot beneath a particularly large tree, and I spread out the picnic blanket for the two of us to sit on.

  We sat across from each other, and I began to pull dishes out of the basket. I prepared some fresh spring salads to start with, with slices of freshly baked bread and butter imported from France. Then for lunch, I had made a fruit salad and a cold pasta dish. For dessert, there was fresh strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream.

  “This looks amazing!” she said, eyeing the spread before her. “Are you really sure you made all of this?”

  I leaned forward. “Let me tell you a secret. All you really need to do to make people think you are a good chef is pick a few dishes you like and learn how to make those really well and then never make anything else.”

  She stifled a giggle. “That sounds like cheating to me.”

  I shrugged. “I mean, if it works, it works. Besides, if you allow yourself to perfect a few things rather than try to be good at absolutely everything, you’ll find it’s a lot more rewarding.”

  “I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

  “Oh? Are you planning on cooking for me next?”

  “Only if you promise to help me.”

  “Only if you let me pick out what you’ll be wearing.”

  She stopped to consider this for a moment, her face going red thinking of the possibilities. But I knew she liked these games, and she liked doing what I told her to.

  “Deal.”

  “Good, how does tomorrow morning sound? I can send someone for you, and we can make breakfast at my house.” I was already imagining her in nothing but an apron, her tight little ass on display for me.

  We began to eat, continuing to tease and banter. I was so focused on our exchange, that I didn’t notice the man approaching until it was already too late.

  I had expected there to be some backlash from Liam’s subordinates, but I never expected it outside of my working hours. I had taken extra care when coming to get Aurora that no one was following me, so the only explanation it had to be that he was in this area and recognized me.

  He swung down at me from behind, and I turned at the last millisecond, surprised and confused. But his fist never made contact with my skin.

  Aurora had reached out, blocking the hit with a strong forearm. Then she stood, readying her stance, and released a quick succession of hits on the man.

  He was so surprised that he didn’t know how to react. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he never thought that he would be facing Aurora, or that she would have these kinds of skills.

  He scrambled back and away from her, running off before I even had the chance to process most of what was going on.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” I asked as she sat back down and took another bite of her food.

  She shrugged, a smile creeping onto her face that told me this was a secret she had been wanting to share with me for a while.

  “I’ve been training with my father. I… ” She hesitated. “I want to help you clean up. It’s something that’s important to you, so I want to make it something important to me as well. I’ll still be working at the Humane Society, but if you’ll have me, I’d love to join you.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my features. “Of course, I’d love to have you.” I wanted to sweep her into my arms right then and there. I loved protecting her, but the idea of her fighting at my side was even more appealing.

  She winced then, and my expression immediately became one of concern. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  “No, I’m fine,” she replied. “My stomach just feels a little weird. It’s been doing this lately, I don’t exactly know why though.”

  “Do you think you’re sick?”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged. “Though who’s to say it’s not your cooking.”

  “I would never give you food that would make you feel like that,” I said. “If it’s really that I'll find whoever’s responsible and make them pay.”

  “Don’t wor
ry about it,” she said, waving me off, then winced again. “I think I just need to go home. Sorry, I wanted to spend more time with you.”

  I began to pack things away, watching her to make sure that she wasn’t in any more pain. “Of course, it’s fine. What matters to me is that you’re okay. You’re very important to me, I hope you know that.”

  She smiled. “I do.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Aurora

  I didn’t want to let Malcolm know, but my stomach was really killing me worse than I had made it seem like.

  I didn’t want him to worry, which was why I waited until I had waved goodbye and was inside before running to the bathroom to retch, throwing up most of what I had eaten.

  The strange thing was that I didn’t have many other symptoms of being sick, just the upset stomach. It had been like this for the last few days, but I had no idea what I could have eaten that would make me feel this way.

  It did suck, because I had wanted to spend more time with Malcolm, and the food that he had prepared had looked so appetizing. It was delicious, but now it was no longer in me, and I would have to eat something else.

  Finally, I decided that I should call up someone. My dad was currently not home. He was interviewing at some companies. He had promised me after everything was over that he would get a normal job, something less dangerous, and he was following through.

  He had begrudgingly accepted Malcolm’s help in the matter. Malcolm pulled a few strings, called up a few people, and now my dad was getting calls from companies that wanted to interview him. I was infinitely happy for him, but I also needed someone to be with right now while I was feeling sick.

  So I called the only other person who I trusted to be around me and not tell Malcolm what was going on.

  It took a few rings for her to pick up, but she had never let me down before.

  “Aurora?” Hailey’s voice came through the line. “I thought you were on a date today, why are you calling me? Did something go wrong?”

  “Kind of, but not with the date. I just started feeling sick again. I ended up throwing up.”

  “Again? Girl, when’s the last time your period came? Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

  Panic went through me at the thought of that possibility. I did want to have a kid with Malcolm eventually, but things didn’t feel stable enough yet, and I had no idea how he would feel about the matter. So it couldn’t be that. Anything but that.

  “Please don’t joke about that,” I said.

  Hailey must have heard the anxiety in my voice, for she immediately backed off.

  “Okay, okay, I was just kidding. I’m sure you just got food poisoning from something you ate, it should go away soon. Do you want me to come over?”

  “Aren’t you busy?”

  Hailey had some exams coming up for veterinary school that I knew she had to be studying for.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with you. You know my ability to multi-task is legendary.”

  I laughed. “Of course, of course, I’ll see you soon then.”

  “Be there in a bit!” The phone clicked as she hung up, and I was left to my own thoughts again.

  It was true that Hailey was notoriously good at multitasking. Last semester she managed the front desk, flirted with customers, filed paperwork, and studied for her exams at the same time.

  It seemed that she did better when she had multiple things to concentrate on at the same time. It was just something about the way her brain functioned.

  I had always questioned it, because it wasn’t something I could do at all, but now I was grateful for her strange ability.

  I needed her support right now, whether I wanted to acknowledge it or not.

  * * *

  Hailey arrived soon after she hung up, with a selection of some of our favorite movies, and some salty snacks that she knew I liked.

  She set things down, then immediately headed to the kitchen to get me a glass of water.

  “You need to keep yourself hydrated,” she said, “and make sure that you get some food. I know crackers always go down well with me when my stomach hurts, and the salt will help you stay hydrated.”

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling up at her as she brought the glass of water back to me. “I’m really glad that you care so much about me.”

  “Of course!” She hugged me tight to her side. “You’re my best friend after all, and work would be so boring without you.”

  I laughed. “That’s quite true.”

  “What do you want to watch?” she asked. “I figured we should pick something that will help you get your mind off of how you’re feeling.”

  “I don’t know,” I said with a sigh, eyeing the collection of films she had brought. Usually, we liked to watch romance together, but I didn’t know if that was something I wanted at the moment.

  It would remind me too much of what was going on in my own life, and the fear that I was harboring that perhaps Hailey could be right and I was pregnant.

  She laughed when she saw my expression. “Don’t worry, I brought some variety.” she produced from the stack several dog movies, the kind that were so sappy sweet they were guaranteed to make you cry. “I’ve never known you to turn down one of these before.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes, even though it really wasn’t something to be crying over at all. “Hailey!”

  “Woah there, you okay?” She wiped away a stray tear. “Don’t go crying on me yet, we still have many hours of dog films to get through. And I expect you to eat at least a full packet of crackers.”

  “Of course, I’m just happy. I’m really grateful that you’re my friend.”

  “Don’t think I’ve ever known you to be this emotional about this before…. ” I could sense the words on the tip of her tongue, that she wanted to say. Are you sure you’re not pregnant?

  No, I wasn’t sure. And the truth was, I didn’t know if I could handle knowing. There was an easy fix to all of this. I could take a pregnancy test, and put my fears to ease once and for all.

  But if it was true….

  I didn’t want to know yet.

  We settled in next to each other as Hailey put the first movie on. She encouraged me to snack and drink water, which I was grateful for. It was making my stomach feel better, and I didn’t feel as if I was going to vomit again.

  When we got to lull in the first movie, Hailey turned to me, a question bright in her eyes.

  “Hey, you should tell me more about Malcolm’s friends.”

  “Oh? Okay.” It was a strange question for her to ask, but I didn’t mind humoring her. “There are four of them that he’s really close to. Noah seems to be his best friend. He’s cool and level-headed and seems like a nice person. Malcolm told me that Noah keeps him steady when he’s going through stuff. Then there’s Misha. He’s tall, Russian, and like super quiet and serious. I hardly know anything about him

  “Leroi and Gilles are the other two. Gilles seems super smart, but we haven’t talked much, he’s a little shy. And Leroi is a self-described womanizer.”

  Hailey raised her eyebrows. “Has he hit on you?”

  I shook my head with a laugh. “No, I think he’s way too scared of Malcolm to try that.”

  There was a moment of quiet, Hailey fiddling with her fingers next to me, then she asked, “Do you think any of them are single? I mean, you know how hard it is to find decent guys in LA.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I mean, Malcolm told me that Misha’s recently started seeing someone. I think Noah’s single? But I’m unsure. Same with Gilles. And then Leroi is too much of a player to ever not be single.”

  She fidgeted a little, as if the next thing that she was going to ask me was particularly embarrassing. “Do you think you could set me up with Leroi?”

  I almost spat out my drink of water. “What?!”

  “I mean, I saw him in that picture you showed me earlier, and he’s really cute. Besides, he has to at least be nice to be Malcolm�
�s friend, right?”

  “No.” I shook my head vehemently. “He may be a good friend, but I doubt that he would make a good boyfriend at all. He’s cocky, self-centered, and completely entitled! Besides, I told you, he’s the biggest flirt. I don’t know how loyal he’d be.”

  “That’s something I can always work on,” she said with a wink. “If nothing else, it will at least be a fun adventure.”

  “Okay,” I conceded. “I just don’t want you getting your heart broken. I’ll text him right now.”

  I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text message to Leroi. It read, Hey, my friend was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with her.

  My phone buzzed as he texted back almost instantly.

  Hailey, who was looking over my shoulder, snorted beside me. “That’s at least one good quality.”

  Picture? the text read.

  “See? He’s incredibly superficial!” I said, but Hailey had already playfully snatched the phone from my grasp. She snapped a quick selfie and sent it, along with a text that read, Hey Leroi, this is Aurora’s friend, Hailey <3

  Oh wow, you’re cute. I’d be willing to give things a go, what’s your number? came back the immediate reply.

  I groaned at Hailey’s smirk as she showed me the message. “Fine, have it your way. Good luck with him, you don’t listen to me until it’s too late anyway.”

  “Touche. I promise you’ll be the maid of honor when this works out.”

  “As if,” I replied, burying my face in a pillow.

  Truth was, I did really want for things to work out. It’d be amazing if my best friend could be dating Malcolm’s friend. It’d keep us closer, and if I ever decided to move in with Malcolm, I might be able to convince her to come with me.

  After all, I didn’t want to lose her. I might be dating Malcolm, but Hailey was there first.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Malcolm

  I had really wanted to hang out with Aurora the next day, but she was sick again.