ONE NIGHT STAND (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)

by Bella Grant

  “I think I’m your best option.”

  She looked up, and he grinned, nodding his head towards the door. Charlotte grinned and said she’d check in with Milly one last time before they headed out. Braydon knew the perfect place to go to help her relax. She needed a long weekend somewhere far, far away from all of this, where no worries could reach her, and maybe, he could figure out why she made him so crazy, wanting to be around her, just being there.

  He couldn’t hold onto the excuse that it was because she’d been a virgin when he’d slept with her. No, it was much more than that. He tapped his fingers on the counter as he drained the rest of his coffee, trying to think, when he glanced around and saw a map of Europe. His eyes narrowed in on a tiny speck of green, and he knew exactly what he was going to do.

  “Okay, Milly says she’s fine, and she’ll call me if anything happens,” Charlotte said, heading back in with her purse over her shoulder. “She’s got the doctor’s number, and she told me if you bring me back too soon she will just make you take me out again.”

  “Good woman, that Milly,” Braydon said, holding out his arm. “Shall we depart?”

  Charlotte placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, and he escorted her out of the house and to his car. He revved the engine a few times, then asked if she was ready for a night on the town with her dear sweet leprechaun.

  “That depends,” she said. “Are you going to tell me about your face?”

  “After a few drinks,” he said, “I might just tell you my whole life story.”

  Chapter 14

  Charlotte stared Braydon down across the table and waited. Shot glasses were lined up between them, ten on his side and ten on hers. Six of hers were empty, and she was trying hard not to show the level of her drunkenness. All sense of morals had long since been thrown out the window. And why shouldn’t they be? These were unprecedented times. Her mother was sick, her money just about gone, and she was slowly becoming a normal member of society.

  And she loved every second of it.

  Braydon had five empty shot glasses and was holding the sixth under his nose. He swayed a bit on his stool as he held Charlotte’s gaze. “What, Charlie? You think you can drink me under the table that easily?”

  She giggled when his words slurred. The men who had gathered around them urged him on. Braydon had taken her to an old hole-in-the-wall, a bar he apparently saved from closing since the owner had helped him and Terrance out in hard times. What a bartender could possibly do for the richest man in the city, Charlotte was still trying to figure out.

  “Stop being a wimp and take the shot,” the bartender shouted through his scruffy grey beard.

  Charlotte nodded in agreement, as did the rest of the large, rough men in the crowd. She’d been a bit intimidated when they first walked in; the walls were lined with dartboards and posters of scantily clad women and cars. But they’d all shaken Braydon’s hand and greeted her with wide smiles—not leering or creepy, just friendly.

  “Might want to listen to Tank,” she said, nodding her head towards the bartender. “Or are you really a wimp?”

  The men gasped dramatically, and Braydon finally took the shot, slamming his glass down. “There. Your turn.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat back until he almost fell over and the men had to steady him.

  Charlotte didn’t even hesitate. She shot back the seventh glass of whiskey, followed by the eighth in quick succession. “How’s that for my turn, buddy boy?”

  “I think she’s being sweet on you,” Tank yelled. “Best not lose this one, Braydon.”

  His words hit Charlotte hard, and she glanced at Braydon to see his reaction. He was smiling a little drunkenly as he picked up the next shot glass and raised it in a toast. “To the woman I shall not let escape my grasp,” he called and shot it back, followed by the next, and to Charlotte’s surprise, the ninth. “Now, I believe you are one behind.”

  But Charlotte didn’t care. She wasn’t sure if it was the whiskey or whether she’d just dealt with too much in the last few days, but his words made her want to fall into his arms and kiss the grin off his face. Did he mean it? He was drunk, but still, people could say things they meant when they were drunk, right? She held up her ninth and swallowed it, then held up the tenth, waiting for him.

  “Same time and call it a draw?”

  “Not until it’s gone,” Tank said as he walked over. “It’s whoever’s left standing.”

  Charlotte and Braydon clinked their shot glasses and shot them back. They sat there as everyone around them fell silent, watching. Braydon swayed a bit on his stool, and Charlotte’s lips twitched in a smirk.

  “So the leprechaun can’t hold his liquor.”

  “I can hold it… just fine,” he muttered and fell backwards off his stool.

  The men cheered and held up both of Charlotte’s hands as Tank declared her the winner. She laughed with them for all of three seconds before she jumped off her stool and made a beeline for the bathroom, Braydon chortling until the door closed behind her.

  ***

  Charlotte groaned as she sat at the bar, squeezing her head between her hands. The vomiting had been bad enough, but the dizziness was killing her. Everything was spinning around and around and around and… She paused as she felt her stomach roil again.

  “You are the first to drink that bastard under the table,” Tank said as he slid over two glasses. “Here, water and my special concoction. I suggest you drink the green stuff first.”

  She glanced up at him, his smile hidden behind his beard, but his eyes were shining, and she could tell he was trying to hold back his laughter. “Go on, laugh. I don’t think I’m in any position to judge.” She took the glass of green sludge and chugged it as fast as she could. It wasn’t too bad until the aftertaste hit her; it tasted like grass mixed with turpentine. “What the hell is in that?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  She drank the water and noticed her head had stopped spinning so badly. “No one else has drunk him under the table? I’m surprised.” They both glanced over at the pool table where Braydon was laughing with his buddies, trying to take a few drunken shots and missing completely. He hit the ball so hard it bounced off the green felt and rolled across the floor. Tank yelled at him, and Braydon laughed so hard he almost fell over.

  Charlotte smothered a giggle. “Nice to know he does have a bit of a wild side. I was starting to get disappointed.”

  “Oh, this isn’t wild, not like back in the day.”

  “Would I have liked him back then?”

  “Maybe, parts of him. He was lost, he was, trying to make his way in the world. He ran into some trouble. I hate to say it, but getting shot was the best thing that happened to that boy.”

  Charlotte whipped her head around to stare at him, sobering quickly. “Shot? What do you mean, he was shot?”

  “In the arm, that scar on his elbow? Irish mob—his da had some problems, and Braydon tried to dig him out of them. Nearly got himself killed a few times,” Tank muttered. “I still remember the day he staggered in here, bleeding and cursing.”

  “He said it was an accident,” she whispered.

  Tank shrugged. “Partly. A setup. They wanted to get rid of their problems. But Braydon had already been working on a way out. It's how he inherited the company he works for now.”

  Charlotte had no idea things had been that bad for him. She knew he’d started with nothing and knew his mom had walked out on them, but that was pretty much common knowledge. Everything else was just speculation and rumors. She didn’t remember hearing anything about him being shot, but the mob part… Her friends had warned her about that.

  “He’s not still involved with them, is he?”

  “What? No, he got out when he turned them in to the authorities. Price on his head for a while, but I think he paid them off,” Tank said, waving away her worry.

  Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief as two men about her age saunte
red over to the bar. “So,” the one with jet-black hair and high cheekbones asked, flexing his biceps. “Braydon says you have some girlfriends.” His voice had just the slightest accent, a lilting at the ends of his words, and Charlotte smiled, reminded of Braydon when he talked fast.

  “Yes, I do. Why?”

  “Well,” the blonde said, scratching at his beard, “we were wondering if they were single.”

  Still a bit tipsy, Charlotte laughed. “Yes, I believe they are. Would you like me to call them? I’m sure they’d love an evening of drinking, and since it doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere…” she added, glancing over at Braydon again. He was still cackling. “Let me give them a call.”

  The men shared a wide smile and sat down beside her as she pulled out her cell and dialed Prudence’s number. It rang a few times before she picked up. “Charlotte, where have you been? Haven’t talked to you since last weekend! What’s with the noise?”

  “Having a bit of fun with Braydon. He has some friends here—quite good looking—that are wondering if you and Helen would be available as their dates this evening?”

  “Charlotte, it’s barely five o’clock and you sound… Are you drunk?”

  “Correction, was drunk, getting over it. So are you two in or not? Consider it my payback for you kidnapping me Saturday night.”

  “You know what, why the hell not? Where are you?”

  Charlotte gave her the address after Tank relayed it, and Prudence promised they’d be there soon. She hung up her cell, and the two men next to her grinned in thanks. “Now, I might need your names for when they get here.”

  “Oh, this is Teagan,” the blonde said, pointing at the other.

  “And that’s Martin. Marty… Whatever you want to call him.”

  “Teagan and Martin, think I can remember that. Hey, Tank,” she asked leaning forward, “do you have any food?”

  He leaned forward too, eyes shining, and asked, “Will you keep it down or decorate the bathroom with it?”

  They stared each other down for a long second before Charlotte burst out laughing. “Nope, promise. Think I’m good for now.” Tank raised a brow but said he’d be back in the kitchens if anyone needed him. Charlotte got to her feet, thinking it might be a good idea to walk around, and headed to the pool table.

  “Can a lady butt in?”

  Braydon looked at her long and hard. “Lady? I don’t see a lady, I see a Charlie.”

  The urge to correct him came up, but she pushed it down. “Well then, can Charlie butt in?”

  His eyes opened wide, and he handed her his pool stick. “Let’s see what you got, Charlie.”

  She took it and told him to rack the balls. “Are you in for a bet?”

  “What are we playing for?” he asked as he gathered the balls.

  “Questions,” she said, rubbing the end of the stick with the chalk until she was satisfied. “Questions you or I have to answer for every ball in the pocket.”

  Several men snickered in their drunken state, and she grinned at them. This was the most fun she’d had in a long time, and she wasn’t about to let it end now. She set the white ball down and lined up her stick.

  “So, do we have an agreement?”

  “Oh yeah, we have an agreement.” He smirked. “I’m going to know everything about you by the end of the game.”

  Charlotte lined up and took her first shot. The balls bounced around the table, hitting off each other, and, as the men stared, wide-eyed, she heard the happy plunk of one ball followed by a second. “Guess I’m solids,” she said. “Ready for your first two questions?”

  ***

  By the time Prudence and Helen arrived, Charlotte had beaten Braydon soundly once, learning a bit about his da and how he’d managed to become CEO of the company. But he was not as drunk as she thought. His answers were short, barely giving her anything, so by the second game, she was annoyed.

  As Helen and Prudence gave her hugs and she introduced them to Teagan and Martin, Braydon hit a shot and the ball went into the pocket.

  “So… dive bars and pool,” Helen asked. “What happened to Charlotte?”

  “That is not Charlotte,” Braydon said. “That is Charlie, and she owes me an answer.”

  Prudence raised her brow and glanced at her friend. “Charlie, is it?”

  She shrugged. “Happens. What’s your question, leprechaun?”

  “Where the hell did you learn to play pool?”

  She burst out laughing. “That’s your first question all game and you’re going to ask that? Come on, that’s really what you want to know about me?”

  He leaned on the pool table and nodded. “Ladies, do you know the answer?”

  They both nodded, and Helen said, “I’m not getting in the middle of this. Teagan, buy a girl a drink?”

  He nodded, and her friends waved as they followed their new dates to the bar. Charlotte loved her friends more than ever in that moment. She watched them flirt and chat with the men, and for the first time in a long time, as her world fell apart around her, she was content. Braydon sidled over to her and rested his hand beside hers on the edge of the table.

  “I’m waiting,” he whispered, the simple statement filled with so much more.

  Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat as her smile fell. Staring into those green eyes, all she wanted to do was lean into him and feel those lips on hers. She stepped closer without realizing it, and she saw Braydon’s lips twitch in a grin.

  “You going to give me an answer?”

  She nodded, stretched up on her toes, and kissed him. It was a slow, long kiss, warm as she pressed her body against his. Braydon’s arm reached around her waist as if he was trying to be even closer as the kiss intensified. It only stopped when whoops and hollering echoed around them, and Charlotte broke the kiss, laughing as her face burned red.

  “Get a room,” Tank yelled.

  Charlotte saw Helen and Prudence at the bar, lifting their glasses to her in a toast, and she ran a hand through her hair. “Well then,” she said, then cleared her throat. “Answer, yes. My father taught me to play,” she said quickly and turned back to the table, waiting for him to take his next shot.

  His fingers brushed against her hand still resting on the table, and she bit her lip as he walked around. “I had a feeling he might’ve been a pool man.” He took the next shot and missed. “Damn.”

  “My turn.” She lined up her shot and sunk a ball into the corner pocket. She hadn’t said anything about his gunshot wound yet and wasn’t sure if she should. There was no reason to ruin the mood, so she avoided that topic and asked something else. “Ever been married?”

  “What? Hell, no. Never.”

  “Oh,” she said, feeling a bit foolish.

  “Not that I wouldn’t ever consider it,” he said quickly, and she nodded. “Seriously, I mean that.”

  She narrowed her eyes as she watched him, then broke into a smile. “Still my turn.” She took another shot and sank two more balls. “Goodie, two questions.”

  “Oh, for the love of God, woman, this just isn’t fair.”

  “All is fair in love and war.”

  “Love, is it?”

  “If you ever married,” she said, ignoring his comment, “what would this mystery woman be like?”

  “That’s only one question.”

  “It’s a two-parter, depending on your answer,” she winked.

  “Hmm,” he said, hip leaning against the table. Charlotte let her eyes wander from his pondering eyes to his chest and his muscular arms. She knew what he looked like without those clothes, and she wished they’d been somewhere else when that kiss started. Somewhere things could go a bit further.

  She blinked several times and made herself look away before her daydreams turned altogether inappropriate. “Come on, now.”

  “She would have to be different than all the rest,” he started. “Fiery, filled with a sense of adventure. Beautiful, to
o, that’s a must. Great laugh.” As he said each thing, he moved closer to Charlotte, and she felt her breath quickening. “Maybe a girl that has a quirky sense of humor.”

  “Sounds like an interesting woman,” she whispered.

  “Oh, she is,” he said. They were close again, and just when she thought he was going to lean in for another, someone grabbed her hand.

  “Sorry, I need to steal my friend,” Prudence said and pulled Charlotte away, laughing at her protests. “Just for a few minutes, I promise.”

  Helen waited at a corner table as Prudence put her in a chair. “So, what’s the deal with him?”

  Charlotte laughed. “What do you mean? We’re just having a good time.”

  “In a dive bar that you would never come to,” Helen said. “You’re drinking, laughing, playing pool. I haven’t seen you play pool since your dad died. You like him, don’t you?”

  “Maybe… I don’t know.”

  “Oh, God,” Prudence sighed. “It’s not the whole virgin gooey-eyed thing, is it?”

  “What? No, no it’s nothing like that,” Charlotte said quickly. “I never expected to see him again.”

  “But you are,” Helen said. “Seeing him a lot, it sounds like.”

  Charlotte agreed and turned to watch Braydon head to the bar and talk with Tank. “I don’t know what it is, but… There’s just something about him I need right now.”

  “Right now,” Helen asked, “or possibly longer?”

  “Just say whatever you’re trying to say, Helen.”

  Her friends exchanged a glance, then reached out and took her hands. “We think he’s great, what he’s done for you,” Prudence said. “Despite what we’ve heard about him, we’re willing to set it aside.”

  “We want you to know that we think your choice of a man is perfect.”

  “Choice of a man? What are you guys talking about?”

  “She doesn’t realize it,” Helen said and shifted in her seat, excited. “I told you she didn’t know she was doing it yet!”