The Billionaire’s Crush

by Tineka Brown

  “Right you are. Do you have the name of that club owner? We’re going to have to contact him or her once this deal is arranged.”

  “Will I be able to keep singing there?” Olympia asked.

  Terrance glanced from Everett to Olympia, then turned and gently steepled his hands. “I’m not going to say you can’t. Where exactly you can put on a show will be up to your manager’s discretion. I just… well, from what I understand this place is quite small. It may not be logistically possible for you to continue doing shows there, if demand for your music increases.”

  “You’re saying if I get famous enough, there’s not going to be enough room in the lounge?”

  “That, and the fact that if you get famous enough for overseas demand, you’re probably also going to be spending a lot of time traveling. Diamond records likes to sign artists who are prepared to do lots of shows and really connect with their audiences, see. It’s all in the contract —- we have a minimum number of shows per year that we’ll want you to do.”

  “Where will I live?”

  Terrence chuckled. He seemed to find Olympia’s naivete refreshing. Olympia felt her face flush slightly and was glad for the dim lights of the restaurant.

  “These are important questions to be asking,” said Everett as if to protect her. She felt his hand go to her knee under the table.

  “Of course! Of course,” said Terrence, putting his hands up. “Olympia, you can live wherever you want — for the most part your transportation will be taken care of, so you don’t have to worry about the cost of flying out to gigs. That said, the recording studio is in L.A., and once… if you choose to take our contract, you’ll have to come out to L.A. and spend at least a few weeks recording. We can’t do shows until you have your debut record out. And that will take a few months, from recording to pressing.”

  “So, I’ll record in L.A., and then I’ll have a few months to figure out… uh, to sort out the rest of my life?”

  “Essentially, yes.”

  Olympia nodded slowly. She thought, once again, of her cat, and Alex, and her small apartment, and the lounge. For the second time since she’d been in Vegas she was struck with a feeling of intense homesickness.

  But this was what she’d wanted. This was what she’d dreamt of since she was a little girl. And as she gazed across the table at Terrence and the stack of businesslike papers sitting in front of him, she was filled with confidence. Yes, she thought. This is it. A big record label! A recording contract!

  She flashed Terrence that million-dollar smile that she reserved for occasions like this.

  “Okay,” she said. “I understand.”

  “Great. If that all sounds good — I’ll let you two take some time to review the contract.”

  A waiter appeared at the side of the table, then, and Everett smiled and ordered them all a round of drinks. Olympia trusted he would be cautious with that — she certainly didn’t want to get too tipsy while working with her first major contract — but of course, Everett was a casino owner, and he had to be welcoming, and hospitable. One drink wouldn’t be an issue.

  The contract was long, and full of confusing language. Olympia muddled through with the help of Terrence, and occasionally Everett — she’d ask the label man a question and make sure that Everett agreed with his answer before proceeding. All in all, the contract seemed fair, though she had to take that with a grain of salt as she’d never seen such a contract before.

  When she arrived at the section about lyrics and writing credit, Terrence stopped her, placing a hand gently across the finger that she’d been using to keep her place among the dense rows of text.

  “Olympia, do you write your own music?”

  Olympia turned to Everett. He’d never thought to ask her that question.

  “Uh, yes,” she said to Terrence, and relished the slight embarrassed flush that spread across Everett’s features.

  “Wonderful! I noticed that all of your songs at the opening last night were covers, was that just a stylistic choice for you, Everett?”

  “Uh, yeah. It was the whole ‘old Hollywood’ theme I was going for.”

  “Right. Makes sense.” Terrence returned his gaze to Olympia. “Would I be able to hear some of these original songs?”

  Olympia must have been staring with her mouth open, because he continued, “oh, not-- not right this second. But perhaps while I’m still here in Vegas. I have a friend who works for a studio here, we can use that space. But I’d like to get a quick, rough recording of you singing so I can bring it back to Diamond headquarters with the rest of your contract. If you choose to sign of course.”

  “Okay. I have my lyrics notebook with me, uh, back at the uh… the hotel. Some of them I haven’t… really sorted out the instrumental portions yet, but…”

  “Well, you’re a singer, right? We’ll be hiring people to take care of all the instrumentals on your albums, don’t worry. We’ve got some of the best musicians in the biz.”

  Olympia took a sip of wine and sat back. “Okay.”

  The rest of the negotiations went smoothly. For some sections, like merchandise and ticket sales, Olympia had no experience — so only time would tell if she’d made the right call, or if Diamond records was really only here to scam her out of a paycheck. From this end, though, even that seemed worth it — she’d sing in front of a massive crowd for free if it meant she could finally be the famous singer that she’d imagined becoming, as a child.

  I can’t wait to tell mom, she thought.

  Then came the moment of truth. Terrence turned the final page on the contract and pointed to the long, imposing signature line at the bottom.

  “We’ll get your full signature here,” he said. “And then a witness signature here. That can be you, Everett. It can’t be me.”

  Olympia swallowed and clicked her pen. She looked at Everett. He was smiling. Someone, in the little time that she’d known him, he’d become the source of all her certainty, the man she looked to for support. Some distant voice inside her told her that she didn’t need his support — that she herself was the only thing she really needed. But still, it felt immensely comforting to see his smile and know that he was supporting her.

  She put pen to paper and scrawled her signature. Her heart continued to race as she passed the contract to Everett, and he signed.

  “Alright! Wonderful. That’s done, then.” Terrence reached over to shake Olympia’s hand, as she tried to keep the tremble out of her fingers. “Very pleased to have you as Diamond’s next big recording artist, Olympia. Oh, I almost forgot-- here’s my card.”

  Terrence handed her a sleek black business card with his name, the diamond logo, and a phone number embossed in silver.

  Olympia turned it over in her hands.

  “Give me a call tomorrow morning, and we’ll work out a time for you to come and show me what you have for original material, okay?”

  Olympia nodded. She seemed to have lost the ability for speech.

  Terrence was already standing. Everett got up and shook his hand as well. They exchanged a few words that Olympia barely heard, then she and Everett were alone again in the booth.

  “That’s that, eh?” Everett said. Olympia turned to stare into his eyes.

  “Do you think I made the right choice?”

  “I do. I trust Terrence — at least as far as I can throw him.”

  Olympia laughed. “I’m excited.”

  A faraway look came over Everett. He wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck and pulled Olympia close, whispering, “me too,” before pressing his lips against hers.

  “I love you, Everett,” said Olympia.

  “I love you, too.”

  She pulled back from the kiss and looked at him through half-lidded eyes. “How about we get out of here?”

  Chapter 9

  The morning sun in Everett’s room was significantly more direct than it was in the spare bedroom. Olympia blinked, forcing her eyes open so she could take in the whole vast
, beautiful space.

  The ceiling seemed impossibly high for an apartment. Dappled with sunlight filtered through the curtains, it took on the appearance of some ornate palace. Olympia shifted, rolling into the soft expanse of the bed.

  She was quickly met with Everett’s warm body. He was facing her, his eyes still shut, though his mouth had begun to twitch with the first signs of wakefulness.

  A shame, Olympia thought. She had hoped to be able to revel in the peace of watching him sleep, if only for a few moments. They had a hectic day ahead.

  “Mmm… G’morning.” He said, still not opening his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I did.” Olympia was actually surprised at how well she’d slept — normally she didn’t fare too well when sharing a bed, particularly if she was already excited and afraid of disturbing the other person. Everett’s massive king-sized mattress was large enough that she could have gone the entire night without touching him.

  She felt his hand move from somewhere between them to rest on her hip, then slide slowly up to her waist. He was warm, and she couldn’t help but to move closer, pressing their bodies together, in spite of the heat that the sun was already generating in the room.

  Everett opened his eyes now, though they were still half-lidded with sleep. He smiled into the pillow, then kissed Olympia. It was a wonderful kiss, warm, lazy, and slow. Olympia melted into it, focusing on the feeling of his lips gently moving against hers, and the feeling of his skin under her hands.

  He stiffened, suddenly, and pulled away. Olympia looked at him. His eyes were awake now, and bright with energy.

  “Care for a shower?” He asked.

  Understanding, she relaxed and smiled. “That sounds lovely.”

  He rolled out of the bed and made his way to the ensuite bathroom. Olympia admired his back, surprisingly well-muscled, and the angle of his hips as they disappeared under tight grey boxers.

  Olympia hadn’t seen this bathroom, but it was even more spacious than the one down the hall from the spare bedroom. She held in a gasp of surprise as Everett smiled and dropped his boxers, standing completely naked in front of her, his cock already half-hard. Her eyes raked over him and she felt a familiar kind of warmth move somewhere deep within her.

  Then it occurred to her that she was still fully dressed in her pajamas.

  She went for her pants, first, trying to lower them seductively but really just letting them fall to the floor before straightening. Her oversized t-shirt fell over her hips, and the gentle rise of her ass.

  Everett was grinning wider now. “I’ll get the water,” he said, moving into the glass-walled shower and twisting the faucet. Water began to stream from three separate heads, soaking him and steaming up the glass.

  Olympia peeled off her shirt and stepped in after him, putting her arms around his waist and pressing herself into his back, feeling how neatly the rise of his buttocks fit between her hips.

  The water was perfect — not too hot or too cold, and the steam brought the whole room up to temperature quite quickly. Olympia stood back as Everett turned and grabbed her hair, kissing her.

  The sensation of their wet faces pressing together, the added warmth of the water infusing Everett’s lips with additional softness, small rivulets cascading down their bodies, was enough to send a shiver through Olympia. She gave a soft moan, opening her mouth just enough to allow Everett to meet her tongue, tentatively at first, then with growing, passionate need.

  He grabbed her and walked her slowly to the other end of the shower, pressing her up against the glass wall as more water poured over them both. Everett’s hands found her breasts, gently probing and squeezing, seeking out her nipples and rolling them between thumb and forefinger. Olympia gasped, and he angled his hips up to meet hers, his erection pressing teasingly against her belly.

  Controlled now by base instinct, Olympia reached a hand down, finding his balls and cupping them gently in her palm, offering the slightest pressure, adding more until Everett gave a soft moan of encouragement. Her other hand traced the ridge of his spine down to his ass and squeezed, harder. He bucked into her involuntarily.

  She moved her fingers, finding the base of his shaft, pressing her thumb against him and stroking slightly, gently. They stayed like that for a while, Everett kissing her while moving his hips just enough. Then she felt his fingers playing from her breasts down her belly and further, pushing into her, opening her so that a stream of warm water splashed over her clit.

  Olympia moaned as he held his hand there for a moment, steady, letting warm water pool up between his fingers to envelop her sex in a delicious heat. Then he let it fall, finding her clit with his thumb and circling slowly, gently, waiting until Olympia was gasping and crying out against him for more.

  He pulled away and Olympia nearly screamed with frustration at the lost sensation, but then he was back, angling his cock to push it between her legs, so the tip of him pressed insistently at her opening. He resumed his motion against her clit.

  “You’re so wet,” he mumbled into her mouth between kisses.

  Olympia giggled. “What, with all this water?”

  He laughed and rolled his hips so that his cock pushed ever so slightly into her before pulling back. The pressure and the slow stroking of his hardness against her most sensitive spots was enough to make Olympia throw her head back.

  “God… will you please fuck me?” She gasped.

  Everett smiled. “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, and grabbed her, turning her roughly so that now she was facing the glass, her hands making impressions in the fog. He took hold of her hips and pressed a finger into her, then two. She cried out in ecstasy.

  “Please… please…” she whispered, not even sure what she was begging for.

  Then in one slick motion his pushed his cock into her, trembling with the power of the sensation. He was still for a moment, then his free hand found her clit once again and he began stroking her while he moved his hips, the rhythm of his fingers matching the rhythm of his cock.

  Olympia moaned, louder with every thrust, feeling her orgasm build slowly but steadily, the sensation of him pulling in and out so delicious that she half wished they could stay here, in this limbo of pleasure, forever.

  Everett’s breath hitched, and she knew he was close. She rocked her hips in unison, meeting his every thrust as he gasped and panted, struggling to keep his rhythm.

  She managed to gasp “Everett--” before she came, suddenly, forcefully, stiffening against him, and the sound of her cries seemed to push him over the edge. He pulled away just in time, and Olympia felt the brief heat of his come, painting her ass, before it was washed away by the stream of warm water.

  He pressed against her, letting both their breathing return to normal, before pulling her up and away from the glass and embracing her, kissing her again.

  “Mm…” she said, her eyes still shut, as felt him pull away. “Thank you.”

  “Good way to start the day, huh.”

  “Definitely.” She smiled, opening her eyes and allowing herself to admire his body, glistening with water and slightly flushed.

  He squeezed soap from one of the numerous bottles into the palm of his hand. “Now,” he said, “to get clean.”

  Olympia chuckled.

  *****

  After breakfast, Olympia sat on the sofa, sipping her second cup of coffee and flipping through her song writing notebook. Everett had disappeared into his office, saying he had a few calls to make.