Dirty Billions: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance: (A Chicago Suits Second Chance Romance)

by Sowood, Simone

As the door shut behind Jay, I slapped my forehead. Sure? Three days in a row was not a sure. Three days in a row was a run fast and far away from this man who clearly wanted a relationship when I didn’t. I wanted his body, not his company.

  I plunked myself down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. He’s swinging by here to pick me up? On what, his bicycle? It didn’t matter, I’d have to cancel. I think.

  Chapter 9

  “What do you mean you cancelled on him? And by text!” Jenny shouted into the phone. Her raised voice drew my attention away from the muted movie I’d put on after Jay had left.

  “It’s too much, I don’t want to lead him on. Make him think he’s in a relationship when I don’t view it that way.”

  “But.”

  “There’s no but Jenny. I keep telling you, I am not ready. I only went out with him for the sex.”

  “And how’s that working out for you?”

  “Not very well,” I huffed.

  “Then you should go out with him again.”

  “I don’t think I’m going to. He’s a really amazing guy, and I’d hate to hurt him in any way.”

  “Listen to yourself, you just called him amazing! Why wouldn’t you want to see him? Take it slow, see where things lead. It’s not going to kill you.”

  “It’s not going to kill me, but it might hurt me.”

  “You can’t go through life avoiding situations that might get you hurt, you’ll miss out on the best bits of being alive!” I wish she’d drop the matter, I’m getting tired of hearing it.

  “The best bits being?”

  “Sex, for starters.”

  “Okay, you’ve got me there. But I’m not ready for more than sex.”

  “You are ready, you’re just scared is all. Go on, phone him and invite him over for dinner. That way, when the eating’s done you’re only two steps from your bedroom.”

  “Are you calling my place small?” She always liked to point out how tiny it was.

  “Well this time it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  “I knew it!”

  “It doesn’t matter. Your place is bijoux, and that’s fine because it’s yours, you own it all by yourself.” Her comment made me roll my eyes, even though she couldn’t see me.

  “Well, I might not much longer, the mortgage payments are so hard to meet on my own.”

  “Are you being serious?”

  “Yes,” I said, embarrassed. I’d never admitted it to anyone else before.

  “Honey, I had no idea. You should have told me, shared the stress.”

  “It was fine until I lost Matt’s rent. I thought I could cover it with my new job, but bills keep piling up.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

  “Jenny, I’m an accountant. I’ve run the numbers every which way. At first I thought I could make do by living on pasta but it’s just not fun.”

  “You made the right decision kicking Matt out. We’ll figure out a way to manage your mortgage.”

  “I’ve already blown through all my savings, there is no way. I’m telling you.”

  “You’re so negative. There’s always a way. I’m going to talk to my friend Marla, she’s a headhunter. We’ll find you a new job.”

  She was trying to be helpful, but I’d had enough of the conversation. She could try all she wanted, I couldn’t see a way out aside from selling and getting something else. Not smaller, because that would be impossible. I’d have to go for something in another part of town, and end my dream of city center living.

  Of course, moving further away would mean I couldn’t walk to work, so I’d also have to buy a car. Pay for that, insurance, gas and maintenance. Which was more money I didn’t have. Perhaps I could be like Jay and take the bus.

  * * *

  My weight hit the bed hard. I was physically and mentally exhausted from my day, and all the champagne didn’t help either. As my eyes shut, my phoned beeped.

  If you enjoy his company then go enjoy it.

  She was nothing if not persistent. She knew damn well what Matt did to me. How did she expect me to get involved with someone? I texted her back

  The last thing I’m going to do is take this as anything serious. Jay’s fun to hang around with but he doesn’t have a job FFS. I don’t need another deadbeat boyfriend in my life

  * * *

  At noon on Sunday, I thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t cancelled on Jay. I could’ve been wrapped in his arms right now. Embraced in his big, strong, powerful, muscular, good smelling arms. I looked down at my crotch. My poor, neglected, want to be wanton crotch.

  There had been more passion in that kiss than in all the kisses I’d shared with Matt over our entire six year relationship. I wanted more of it. I wanted to take it further, physically. Would Jay accept me as a fuck buddy? Doubtful, but maybe Jenny is right, I guess it couldn’t hurt to try.

  I poured myself a large glass of wine (it was technically after lunch even though I’d only been up for two hours), and pulled a tub of cookie dough ice cream from the freezer. As I shut the freezer door I came face to face with the jeans. Talk about being torn. In the end I compromised and took a small bowl from the cupboard and put a measly two scoops in it. Ice cream and wine, now that’s my kind of lunch.

  Another glass of wine and another scoop of ice cream later, I picked up my phone but couldn’t bring myself to call Jay. I opened my messages.

  Really sorry I had to cancel today, can I make it up to you with dinner at my house on Friday? Maybe we can take up where we left off.

  My thumb hit send before my brain had the chance to chicken out. I threw my phone onto the sofa and downed the rest of my wine with a shaking hand.

  My phone beeped moments after it hit the cushion, and my heart leapt.

  Sounds good, but I can’t do this week. How about a week from Saturday? J

  Anything as long as you do me, Jay. I wonder how he’d react if I sent him a text like that? Maybe I should text him a shot of my tits. No, that idea is so far beyond my reality it isn’t even funny. But then, so is having a man like Jay interested in me. And I canceled on him! I am an idiot!

  Works for me, see you at 6

  I didn’t want to wait until eight. Hell, I hoped to be undressed by that time.

  Chapter 10

  “Morning Abbie,” Sam said as I slung my purse onto my chair for yet another week of working for Calvin.

  “Hey.”

  “So, how was it?”

  As I filled her in, her facial expressions reflected the roller coaster I had ridden over the weekend and ended with hope. Hope for Saturday. Though she, like Jenny, thought I should pursue a real relationship with him. Neither of them had been betrayed the way Matt had betrayed me. Jenny always tried to insist that she’d been betrayed by an ex, and that somehow I should see that as the same. Yeah, like a little infidelity can begin to compare.

  “Abbie, can I see you in my office?” Calvin asked.

  I snarled my lip at Sam, making her laugh as I stood to follow Calvin into his office. Calvin sat as his desk and looked at me with disgust. At that moment I decided Jenny was right, I did have to get out of this job. Though more for my sanity at having to deal with Calvin than for any extra money.

  And I had to get out before Calvin fired me. This was going to be a long week. After talking at me about some new report he was concocting in his pea sized brain, I left his office. That’s thirty minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

  My phone beeped, and I pulled it out of my purse.

  Scored two tickets to the game tonight, up for it? J

  On a work night? Oh well, it was Monday so technically I haven’t seen him since last week. And I’m not going to see him this coming weekend so I wouldn’t see him at all this week. That’s not too intense.

  Would love to

  I hit send and I swung my chair around kicking my legs.

  “What’s up with you?” Sam asked.

  “Jay is taking me to
the game tonight.”

  “What game?”

  “Dunno. Don’t care either.” I struggled to contain the enormous smile on my face.

  The second the clock hit five, I stood. I’d already put my sneakers on ten minutes before, and watched the seconds tick until I could leave without incurring Calvin’s wrath.

  * * *

  Once home, I ripped off my work clothes, had a short shower to rinse off my pits and bits and stood in front of my closet. I overheard some co-workers about ‘the game’ tonight, I tuned into their conversation and gathered it was basketball. A sport I knew zero about. Not that it mattered, I’m always up for a new experience but it would be nice to know what sort of clothes I should wear.

  In the end I opted for tight-fitting jeans. Tight from my fatness, not style. And a navy long-sleeved blouse The hem sat mid-way over my ass and the billowy front showed off some, but not too much, cleavage. I reasoned it was both appropriate for a sports event and sufficient to say take me home and fuck me.

  As arranged, I waited for Jay at my condo. He said he’d be here at six thirty, and that we’d grab a bite to eat before the game. At six twenty my intercom buzzed, and I eagerly buzzed him up. It buzzed again.

  “Yes?” I said into the intercom.

  “There’s no point in me coming up. Come down here.”

  “Okay,” I said. I guess if that’s what he wants.

  The elevator opened and I could see him standing on the other side of the glass doors. In yet another expensive suit. One that sat oh so perfectly on his shoulders.

  He had his back to me, but turned to face me and smiled when I opened the door. My heart leapt. In the two days since I’d seen him, I’d almost forgotten how hot he is. Or maybe I’d convinced myself that my memory was playing tricks on me, building him up to a level of gorgeousness that he simply didn’t have. Yet here he was, standing right in front of me in all his undeniably beyond gorgeous state.

  Chapter 11

  “Hi Beautiful,” he said. He put his phone in his pocket and hugged me tight against him. I closed my eyes and inhaled. His earthy scent traveled through my lungs and down to my crotch, filling me with heat.

  “Hey.”

  “Are you okay to walk to the stadium?”

  “That’s the beauty of central living.”

  “Okay, let’s go. I thought we’d eat in the stadium.”

  “In the stadium? That food is so overpriced!” I guess he’s never been to any event at a stadium, everyone knows what stupid money the places there charge.

  “They are? That’s fine, we’ll stop somewhere on the way.”

  Our belly’s full, we filed through the stadium doors with the rest of the fifty thousand spectators. Jay held the tickets out for the woman, and we were through the doors.

  “Beers?” I asked.

  Jay looked at me with his dazzling smile, “Absolutely.”

  When we each had a beer in hand, we entered the stadium. I followed Jay. He seemed to know where he was going. The place was already buzzing and even though I knew nothing about basketball, the atmosphere was electric and I couldn’t help but be excited.

  “Here we are, that’s your seat.” Jay pointed to a seat and I furrowed my brow.

  “Are you serious?”

  He let out a burst of breath. “Of course.”

  “How the hell did you score court side seats?”

  His eyes flared. “Buddy of mine.”

  “That’s a nice friend to have.”

  “He took pity on me. I told him I needed to woo a pretty girl and he offered them.”

  I blushed. “You didn’t need fancy tickets to impress me.”

  “I’m not trying to impress you.” I didn’t know what he meant by that comment. Sometimes he’s too difficult to read. Almost like he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him.

  “Oh,” I said.

  He leaned over, his lips to my ear and said, “If I were trying to impress you, I’d have taken you to an old movie house.”

  His words set a tingle down my spine. No. I must not approach this as a relationship. This is sex. At least at some point I assume we’re going to have it.

  The lights dimmed and spotlights swooped around the stands, which set the crowd off. As the teams emerged and began warming up, the cheering became so loud I scrunched my face up in an effort to plug my ears. From my seat at the edge of the court I watched mesmerized and the fast moving giants did their stuff.

  At halftime, a man and woman I recognized from a local television station appeared center court and began talking to the crowd. A half dozen guys ran out around the court. One stopped in front of me, startling me. He shot some t-shirts out of a cannon, then moved down a few seats to shoot off some more.

  Jay turned to me, “I want to apologize in advance.”

  “What for?”

  “Because I have to be somewhere at five tomorrow morning, so I have to take off right after the game finishes.”

  “Oh.” So much for sex. This is just a date. A date as in a relationship. I don’t like that.

  “I’m really sorry, I have a busy week,” he said.

  “Doing what? I thought you said you don’t have a job.”

  “I don’t. I just have some stuff to do.”

  “I don’t get you. You say you don’t work, you hang around downtown, sit court side at basketball games, and have an endless wardrobe of what appear to be very expensive suits.” I tried to sound lighthearted. The truth is I don’t really care, since this isn’t a relationship.

  Jay pursed his lips but didn’t respond to my comment. I smiled at him, leaned into him and kissed his cheek. My hand had landed on his bicep, and I let it linger. I thought, but couldn’t be sure through the suit jacket, that he flexed it a little.

  * * *

  By the time we’d reached my building, we were laughing and chatting and I didn’t want him to go.

  “Come up for a coffee?” I asked. My left eyebrow raised in hope, hope blending into begging.

  Jay pulled me close and squeezed me. “Not tonight.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “I’m coming for dinner, remember.” He kissed the top of my head but didn’t relax his squeeze on me.

  I looked up and tried not to pout. “But that’s almost two whole weeks away.”

  He released his grip on me, “I know. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

  I stretched up to find his lips, and kissed him lightly, hoping I could entice him. His lips responded, and pushed my lips apart, allowing his tongue to explore my mouth. His hand explored down my side, sliding over the curve of my hip until it made its way around to my ass. My entire body stood on alert, yearning for more.

  All too soon, he broke away from me, leaving me standing, untouched at my door.

  “I’ll see you at dinner,” he said, then turned and walked away.

  Chapter 12

  The rest of the week dragged. I spent the weekend blitzing my condo, in anticipation of Jay’s visit the following weekend. I hated dusting, but made sure every surface was clean. Then I tackled the chair in my bedroom. It’s the spot I dump clothing, from stuff that had an hour or two of wear and didn’t warrant washing, to stuff I put on to wear and then decided I looked too fat in it.

  I folded everything into two piles, put the clothes from one away, and stuck the other pile on the top shelf in my closet.

  The work week sucked, Calvin seemed to be getting more and more aggressive towards me. He even wrote up some report on me to HR. Something about my attitude and work ethic. But I did get around to updating my resume, and sent off a copy to Marla as well as a few other agencies I’d found online.

  On Friday after work, Sam, Jenny, Marla and I sat in the bar, sipping margaritas. The three of them chatted about the plans for Jenny’s thirtieth. Even though Jenny was my best friend, I had trouble joining in. Calvin had shit on me all week, and I needed more than a drink to lean on. I needed a hug. Pathetic, I know. I also know Jenny would be more
than happy for me to cry on her shoulder, but her big party was only three weeks away and I didn’t want to be a downer.

  “So what are you cooking tomorrow?” Sam asked me.

  “Huh? Oh. I’m going to do a simple lasagna.”

  “The daydreamer awakes,” Jenny laughed.

  “I knew the mention of her date with Jay would pull her out,” Sam laughed.

  I forced a laugh, “I’m sorry girls, I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “Yeah, a lot of cock,” Sam said. They all burst out laughing.

  “Look at her, she’s red,” Marla said.

  “Enough, okay?” But my plea fell on deaf ears.

  “Abbie’s getting laid, Abbie’s getting laid.” Sam chanted.

  “I sure hope so,” I said.

  “Abbie and Jay sitting in a tree,” Jenny sang.

  “No, not that. Just getting laid,” I stated.

  Jenny sighed, my continual resistance to a new relationship drove her nuts, but she was going to have to accept it. I would live the rest of my life in a series of meaningless sexual entanglements.

  “Fine. Whatcha gonna wear?” Jenny asked.

  “I haven’t decided yet. Would it be too forward to open the door naked?”

  “Maybe, if you tie a big red bow around your waist.” Sam said.

  “Wear that strapless fuchsia number, he’ll be peeling it off you before you can blink,” Jenny said.

  “Are you sure? I don’t look like too much of a floozy in it?”

  “Just wear it already,” Sam said.

  “Here, we got you a present.” Jenny tossed a small box wrapped in red heart paper onto the table. I furrowed my brow, what on earth were they up to now? I picked up the parcel and shook, it was light and didn’t make much sound.

  “Just open it already,” Sam said.