The Billionaire’s Crush

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The Billionaire’s Crush Page 13

by Tineka Brown


  He hung up the phone and returned it to Olympia. “He suspects I have a lady friend over,” he said.

  “And, do you?”

  “I like to think so,” said Everett playfully.

  Olympia pushed him lightly and he collapsed back onto the sofa. She snuggled up beside him, enjoying the press of their bodies together, in a way that was less urgently sexual, though no less delightful.

  He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “You know, you’re right,” he said. “I feel pretty exhausted too. Thanks for this.”

  “Thanking me? Thank your restaurant friend.”

  The food arrived with incredibly swiftness, and was, naturally, the best Thai food Olympia had ever had. Everett got into the spirit of things, changing out of his business suit and into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that showed off his arms rather handsomely. He propped up his feet on the massive leather ottoman that sat between the sofa and the wall-mounted TV, holding the Styrofoam container up close to his mouth and shoveling in bites.

  Even casual dinner in front of the TV was a good look on this man, thought Olympia, trying to be slightly daintier herself.

  She had managed only a few bites when her phone buzzed. She checked the screen idly, not really inclined to pick it, but as she saw the name on the caller I.D. her stomach dropped.

  “I have to answer this,” she said to Everett, who had raised his eyebrows at her moan of obvious displeasure.

  She spoke into the receiver. “Hello.”

  “Hey Olympia. It’s me. I’m out.”

  Olympia grimaced. Everett was suddenly sitting up, placing his container of food on the ottoman, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head as if to comfort him and mouthed, Valentine.

  He nodded but didn’t look any less concerned.

  “You there?”

  “Uh, yeah,” she replied. “So, you’re out?”

  “Yeah. They released me an hour ago. I guess your boyfriend canceled the hotel, so I don’t have anywhere to go.”

  “Well I…”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re busy. I booked a redeye home. I just wanted to let you know that my trial is set for January 18th.”

  Olympia did the math quickly. “Six months?”

  “Yeah. You’ll probably get a letter asking you to testify. Probably Everett as well.”

  “Okay.” Olympia chewed her lip, wondering if Valentine was about to ask her a favor, for her to testify inaccurately just to make him look better.

  The air hung between them, and a crackle of static sounded over the receiver as Valentine cleared his throat. “How are you, Olympia?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, her tone vaguely defensive.

  “That’s good.” Another pause. “Well… I guess I should get going. But look out for that court letter, okay?”

  “I will.”

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  “Goodbye, Valentine.”

  Olympia hung up the phone. It seemed to weigh ten pounds, in her hand. She tossed it onto the sofa.

  “You alright?” Asked Everett.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She nodded, and swallowed, pushing her food around with her fork to avoid looking at him. “Valentine’s got a court date in January. We’ll probably be asked to testify.”

  Everett nodded. “Well, we knew this was coming.”

  “Yeah.” She looked up at him. Concern was written on his features. “I just wanted one nice evening without having to think about it.”

  “Hey,” said Everett, squeezing her hand. “We’ll have plenty of those. I promise, okay?”

  They looked at each other for a moment, and Everett continued. “Hey, I mean it. You’ve turned me on to this whole ‘relax and get takeout’ thing. I think I’d rather like to try out the life of a broke lounge singer.”

  Olympia laughed. “Just don’t get too used to it,” she said. “I much prefer the life of a billionaire casino owner.”

  *****

  “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

  Everett passed Olympia her carry-on bag. They were standing at the entrance to the airport — Olympia had picked up her ticket and was now waiting to go through baggage check and security.

  “Only for a couple of weeks, I hope.”

  “Of course!” Everett smiled, and grabbed her by the waist suddenly, pulling her in for the type of kiss that would have made Olympia blush if she’d seen another couple so engaged in public. But it was early in the morning, and there weren’t very many people around, and she allowed herself to melt into it, knowing it was the last time she’d be able to touch Everett for 14 whole days.

  Fourteen days. It stretched before them like an eternity — Olympia had never really been away from a partner for so long. When she and Valentine were dating, he’d made sure to keep her within arm’s reach at all times.

  Given that, the rational part of her supposed that learning to be apart would be good. Healthy. Still, right now she half felt like crying. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the knowledge that she’d soon be back home, and she’d be able to see her cat, and her friends, and her mom.

  The kiss ended, too soon, and Olympia gazed into Everett’s eyes. “I’ll miss you,” she said.

  “I’ll miss you too, Olympia. I promise to call as often as I can.”

  “Me too,” she said.

  He nodded and gave her one more peck on the forehead. “Well, I should get back. Have a safe trip, okay? Let me know as soon as you get home.”

  She nodded, and he was gone.

  Baggage claim and security went by in a haze. Olympia couldn’t take her mind off how surreal the past few days had felt. Everything since the opening concert had seemed like a dream.

  The flight seemed even longer than it had on the way out, and though Everett had purchased a first-class ticket for her, without him she just felt out of place. Try as she might to take a nap, she couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually she settled for shutting her eyes and listening to music through her headphones.

  This will be me, soon, she reminded herself. I’ll release an album, and people just like me will be able to listen to my voice in their headphones.

  The idea sent a thrill of excitement through her. At that moment she resolved to focus as much as possible on her music for the next two weeks. It was the only thing that would keep her mind off Everett, anyway, and why not get some practice in?

  Alex and Olympia’s mother were there to pick her up at the airport.

  “Baby!” Said Mrs. Jackson as Olympia emerged from the corridor near baggage claim. She ran forward and surrounded her daughter in a tight embrace.

  “Hey mom,” said Olympia, squeezing back. It felt like forever since she’d seen these people, this airport, this city.

  “So, how was your trip? How was the gig?”

  “Oh, mom. Alex… I have so much to tell you.”

  *****

  The next two weeks were some of the most productive of Olympia’s life. Both Alex and Mrs. Jackson seemed almost too pleased about Valentine’s arrest, and Olympia used it as further encouragement to forget about the man for the time being.

  Everett didn’t disappoint and called her almost daily. After a few days, she found herself getting used to his calls, which he tried to time for when she was just getting up, or when she was headed to bed. It was actually rather nice, to be able to see him in those quiet, solitary moments, and then have the rest of the day to focus on her own work. She made a mental note to try and find some sort of similar routine once they were together in L.A.

  Instead of pining, she focused on her song writing. And her singing. On her second day back, she went to the lounge and told the owner all about what had happened. To her surprise, he seemed as excited as she was.

  “Aren’t you disappointed that you’re going to be losing your star singer?” She asked candidly, wondering at the hubris of calling herself the “star.”

  “I mean… don’t get me wrong Olympia, it’ll be sad to see you go. But I’m g
oing to make so much money off this!”

  “Money?”

  “When you get big and famous, I’ll be the owner of the lounge where you got your start. Trust me, your fans are going to flock here from miles around just to see the stage where you started singing. To sit at these tables where you and Valentine first met.”

  Olympia grimaced. “Oh.”

  “Sorry about Valentine, too.”

  “Hey, it’s not your fault.”

  “Who do you think will play him when they make the movie about you?”

  Olympia rolled her eyes and laughed.

  *****

  In the space of a week she was able to fill up her entire song writing notebook and start a new one. With the help of the lounge band, she was even able to get some sheet music drafted to go along with her new lyrics.

  By the time she was packed and ready to head to L.A., she had almost two albums worth of material ready for recording. Now all she needed was those musicians that Terrence had been talking about.

  She almost contemplated trying to get some of her old band members on board. The idea of flying them all to L.A. and having them record along with her was terribly romantic, but, as she soon realized, not terribly practical. The band members were mostly older — some of them had put out their own records, almost all of them had families and kids in town. A passing mention of the idea garnered little support.

  “No offense, but it sounds way too stressful,” said Jerry, the trumpet player.

  Steve on drums nodded his agreement. “I like this little lounge. And my wife loves being able to come here and see me play. I wouldn’t give that up. It’s good for my marriage.”

  A statement which was met with a round of rowdy laughter from the rest of the musicians.

  Still, the entire band was at the airport on the day that Olympia left, there to wish her well along with Alex and Mrs. Jackson.

  “Don’t you forget about us,” said Steve, clapping her on the shoulder. “We’re like, 90 percent of the reason why you got picked up.” He winked, then burst into laughter. “I’m kidding, of course. It’s more like 75 percent.”

  “I won’t forget, Steve. You just make sure you keep the rest of the band in line, okay?”

  “Hey, you know it. That’s what a drummer’s for. Got to keep the rhythm.”

  “That’s right.” Olympia nodded.

  Alex stepped forward and gave Olympia a hug. “Call us, okay?”

  “You know it.”

  “Oh, and girl? Get yourself a manager. Do not get comfy with Everett being your manager, that’s just a recipe for relationship disaster.”

  Olympia smiled. “Oh, I know. I’m going to talk to him about it as soon as I get over there.”

  *****

  Everett’s smile was a sight for sore eyes when Olympia disembarked at LAX. She ran up to him and kissed him, as he picked her up and turned, spinning her slightly in the air.

  She gasped as he let her down. “Hey,” was all she could manage.

  “Hey yourself. How was home?”

  “It was great. I got so much done.” They made their way over to baggage claim, and Olympia talked quickly as she watched the bags turn around and round on the carousel. She informed Everett of all her song writing progress, and the new music she’d be presenting to Terrence.

  “No calls from Valentine?”

  “Nope. I haven’t heard from him.” Her bags appeared, and she stepped forward, hefting them onto the trolley that Everett was pushing. He started pushing and she walked next to him, toward the parking garage.

  Everett had been in town for a week already. During one of their phone calls, Olympia had asked what hotel he was staying at and he’d chuckled and informed her that no, he had a house in Los Angeles. Right in the heart of Beverly Hills. Olympia had gaped for a few moments, wondering what celebrities he was neighbors with.

  Of course, when they finally arrived at the house it became clear that “neighbors” had a very different meaning in this town. You could spend days walking around your own acreage, around the streets outside, and never run into another soul. Everett’s house was a modest mansion, encased in thick hedges and set back several hundred feet from the road behind a massive, wrought iron gate.

  The weather was blistering hot, as it had been in Vegas, but here there was more of a wind, and Everett looked the picture of California charm in sunglasses and his white, short-sleeved button up t-shirt. They rolled down the roof of his car, and Olympia watched as the wind tousled his hair.

  Now this, she thought, I can get used to.

  They stopped briefly at the front gate to allow Everett to punch in a security code on a small panel next to the driver’s side window. The driveway continued for another few hundred feet after that, winding its way through an expansive lawn dotted with flower beds and exotic-looking trees. Many of them were fruit trees, Olympia noted as she watched the scenery slowly pass them by. Pears, bananas, and tangerines.

  “Do you have your own orchard?”

  “I wouldn’t call it an orchard. But I certainly have fresh fruit.”

  And then the house was rising out of the scenery as they mounted a small hill. It was absolutely massive. Olympia gasped audibly as she watched more and more of it come into view.

  “This is probably my biggest property,” said Everett. “There’s more space to build around here.”

  “It’s incredible.”

  They parked outside a two-door garage, on neatly cobbled and immaculately clean bricks. Everett led Olympia up a short path through lush greenery to the front door, four bricked steps up from the ground. He opened the large double doors and Olympia gasped again as she was met with a massive, two-sided curving staircase, beautiful white marble floors that led off into hardwood down two visible corridors.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she said.

  “I’ll show you the bedroom and you can put your stuff in there. Then I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  Olympia was so enthralled with the view that she barely registered that Everett assumed she would be sleeping in his room.

  Of course, if the bed in Everett’s penthouse was big, this one was even bigger. He placed her suitcase gently in a corner, as Olympia sat down on the edge of the mattress.

  “Getting comfy?” Asked Everett, sitting down next to her. He paused for a moment, as if something had just occurred to him. “Oh. I guess I should have asked if you’re okay with sleeping in here. I just… I guess the last time we were together we shared a bed but… you certainly don’t have to. There’s plenty of other options.”

  Olympia looked at him and planted a kiss on his cheek. She pulled away, then returned, this time on the lips, and Everett slowly responded, pushing into her mouth with his tongue. Olympia’s hands roamed his seated body, finding their way to the nape of his neck and into his hair.

  When he pulled back, finally, they were both gasping.

  “So, I take it this is fine,” said Everett.

 

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