I glanced down at my phone, a smile touching my lips. I just hoped she couldn’t see how happy that made me.
“Your dinner,” a woman said from my left.
I turned to see the girl holding two plates. She placed the steak down in front of Adam and then gave me something that did not look like chicken param. It had chicken, but it was clearly coated in a spinach and cheese sauce.
“Um, excuse me … what is this?” I asked, looking at the girl. She wasn’t the one who had taken my order. I frowned.
“Creamy spinach chicken.” She sounded nervous.
I swallowed dryly. “I … I ordered the chicken param.”
“You did? Oh goodness. I’m so sorry. I’ll go get you the right dish.” The girl took the plate back and rushed away.
“Would you like a bite of my food?”
“No, thank you.” It was nice that he had offered, but I had no interest in having any of his food. More than anything, I wanted to leave, I’d thought about it, but the truth was, if I could save on a meal, that would go a long way. So I was going to let him buy me a meal.
“Um, according to the note the waitress took, you ordered the creamy spinach chicken.”
I could tell how much the girl hated saying it to me. Her cheeks were a bright shade of pink. She held the plate out to me.
“No,” Adam said, “she ordered the chicken param.”
“Maybe if she hadn’t been batting her eyelashes at my dining partner the entire time, she could have heard me right.” I gave the waitress a smile as I took the plate. It wasn’t her fault her co-worker had gotten it wrong. “But I’m never against trying something new. Thank you.”
The girl looked relieved as I took the plate from her.
“Thank you … so, so much.”
I gave her a soft smile as she walked away.
“That was nice of you. I wouldn’t have been as nice.”
I glanced up at him. “Yea, somehow I’m not surprised about that. It wasn’t her fault that I got the wrong dish, and I didn’t feel like waiting long for something else.”
“I can tip badly if you like.”
“Tip however you want. I’m sure you’ll end out getting her number anyways.”
“I’d really rather not,” he admitted as he took a bite of his steak.
“She wasn’t your type?”
“Not at all. A woman who so blatantly flirts with a man when he’s on a date is … trashy, to say the least.”
A date?
Is that what he was calling this? No, this isn’t a date. I’m only here because we were supposed to meet up with Josh, and Josh bailed. This is me helping him out, not a date. A date would imply that we liked each other.
The thought made my heart skip a beat. Me and him like each other? That was crazy, right? I mean. How could we like each other? I thought I could a couple days ago … Okay, I guess it wasn’t as crazy as I wanted to make it out to be, but still. I knew now that he would never be my friend. He never wanted a friend. He just wanted someone who would play her part.
I cut into my meal and took a huge bite so I wouldn’t have to say anything in reply to his comment. When I looked up, I thought for a split second that he looked sad, but a grin spread over his face as his eyes locked on mine.
My heart jumped as I stared at the man in front of me. His bright blue eyes sparkled, and as the grin grew wider, I could tell why the girl would have tried to flirt with him. I mean, it’s not like he was ugly. In fact, he’s… very far from it.
I forced myself to look away from him, staring back down at my meal. It doesn’t matter if he’s cute or not. I took a deep breath.
Honestly, it kind of hurt to know he was just hanging out with me because he wanted his family to think I was his girlfriend. I still don’t get why it’s me. I bit my lip. Nothing like right now to ask.
“Why me?”
Adam looked up, his head tilting to the left. “Why you?”
“Yes. Why did you ask me? Why not someone else?”
“I always see you.”
My brow furrowed. That was his only reason for picking me?
“Anyways, you’re pretty and …”
I was pretty, that was why he picked me. “Oh, I get it. You thought I was pretty enough to pretend to be your girlfriend. Because, God fucking forbid you date an ugly girl.” It came out more bitter than I had meant it to.
“That’s not what I meant.”
I shrugged. It didn’t matter what he meant. I turned my attention back to my plate and took another forkful of my meal.
“How’s everyone enjoying their meal?”
I had to take a deep breath to control the anger that built inside me. I looked up at her. Her eyes had shifted to Adam. Again.
“I’d be enjoying it a lot more if it had been what I ordered,” I said before thinking about it. She glanced over at me for a fraction of a second, her eyes narrowing.
“Maybe you should try speaking more clearly.”
Adam did not look impressed.
I opened my mouth but didn’t have time to actually say anything.
“How are you enjoying your meal, sir?”
“It’s fine,” he said, not making eye contact with her.
“If there is anything you need—”
I cleared my throat, setting my fork down. I wasn’t one for making a scene, but I was not going to let her win this one. “I’m sorry, my boyfriend is already in a relationship, but if you’d like to keep trying to flirt with him, maybe I can get your number to give him in case we ever break up. I notice you can’t seem to take your attention away from him, which is probably why I’m sitting here eating the wrong meal, not because I didn’t speak clearly enough like you just tried to say.”
I said it just loud enough for a couple of the tables near us to overhear.
The girl’s cheeks went a dark shade of pink. For the first time, I had her full attention as she turned to me. I could see the tears well up in the corner of her eyes, and I honestly didn’t care.
I was sick of people thinking they could just shove me off and use me.
She turned on her heel just as the first teardrop fell. Everyone stared as she walked out of the room as fast as she could without running.
“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” Adam said, his eyes sparkling as he took a bite of his dinner.
I shrugged. I’d made my scene, and it was done and over now. Guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach. I turned my attention to my meal, and that was that.
I wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. Because there wasn’t anything to say.
I could have been a little nicer. I didn’t have to say it loud enough for people to hear. Had I been that bad a person? I didn’t want her to lose her job if she was struggling to pay rent. Well, I should have thought of that sooner.
But it was too late. I’d decided to make a scene, and the girl had deserved it. I just … wasn’t sure it had been the right move on my behalf. Even though she was acting like a tramp.
“Oh come on, I’m sure it feels great to have told her off like that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I just wish people handled themselves with respect. It’s pretty rude to hit on a man you think is otherwise engaged in front of the girl. It just shows that she has absolutely no respect for those people, their relationship, or relationships overall.”
“That’s a pretty harsh view of her, considering you hardly know her … but I do agree with what you’re saying. I didn’t realize you could be so … assertive.”
“I hope it doesn’t intimidate you,” I shot back without even thinking.
Adam laughed softly. “Quite the opposite.”
58. Chapter Eleven
I ended out getting my meal for free, plus a little slice of cake for free because of all the issues the waitress had caused. Which made it more than worth it to me.
Adam and I made our way out to his car. Today it wasn’t a BMW. It was a blue Audi. I slipped into the passenger seat. W
e’d stayed longer than I expected, considering that Josh hadn’t shown up.
“You know … we’ll have to do this somewhat often. I … don’t have any pictures of us, and in this day and age, that will need to change. Everyone takes pictures to put online.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really?”
“What? All my family uses social media. Do you want them to ask questions?”
“Well, wouldn’t you have to change your relationship status for that?”
“I could just tell them that it slipped my mind, or that you didn’t want to. But if I don’t at least have a couple pictures …”
“Fine, can’t we take them now?”
“No, that won’t do.”
“Why?”
Adam didn’t say anything as he shifted the car into drive and speed off. My brow furrowed. It was almost like … he had something planned. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.
We made our way back to the house in silence, and neither of us said a word as he came to a stop outside of my apartment. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, around noon.”
“Alright.”
I shrugged. If it were just a couple pictures, it wouldn’t take all that long. I could fit that into my weekend, right? Anyways, it might be good for me to have a reason to get dressed after all. I blew out a deep breath as I made my way up to my apartment. Josh was there, which had kinda become the norm for him.
“You’re not out?”
“Nope. But you were. Are you seeing someone or something?”
My cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. “No,” I said quickly. I was just helping a friend out. I’d told him that I had a friend who needed me, but even then he hadn’t believed me, so why bother trying to fight with him about it?
“You know, if you are seeing someone and you want to bring him over … that’s fine with me.”
My brow furrowed. “Dude, Kenny? Do you not remember that?”
Josh grinned. Clearly he did remember the first boyfriend I ever brought home. I’d been 14, and Josh had sat himself down in the middle of us before he started going on about what a good shot he was, and then of course offered to show Kenny his extensive weapons collection. Needless to say, the whole school had known about my brother’s weapons collection by Monday. At 14 years old, I had thought my life would be over.
Of course, now that we’d moved, it’s not that I was actually in contact with any of them. Speaking of contact …
“Have you heard from Mom or Dad recently?”
“Last I heard they were in Egypt. And that’s just from something I saw on their profile,” Josh said coldly.
I could understand why he was so hard on our parents; I just wished he wouldn’t be. But it had been harder on him than it was on me. He’d felt like he had to take care of me, even though I quickly learnt how to take care of myself.
“That must be nice!” I tried to ignore how cold he sounded.
We didn’t talk much after that. Josh excused himself to go watch TV, and I headed for my bedroom to get some rest. After all, I had to get up at a reasonable time tomorrow if Adam was going to come pick me up.
My bedroom was the smaller of the two, but that didn’t bother me. I just slept in here, and all my clothes managed to fit in the dresser and a suitcase. All that mattered was that I was able to keep things looking clean and that I had a small desk to put my computer on while I wasn’t using it. I bit my lip, changing into my pajamas. Maybe I should email them.
It was something I did often. Most of the time they would reply to me, but sometimes they were too busy traveling.
My parents were the kind that never really grew up. They didn’t know how to be supportive adults, and they always had their own things going on. They didn’t have much time to pay attention to what was going on in someone else’s life, but they tried to be supportive. I gave them credit for trying, Josh didn’t.
I slipped into bed, deciding that I might email them tomorrow, but right now I needed sleep. Suddenly I was beyond tired. Reaching for the small lamp beside the table, I turned it off and lay there in the dark.
I can’t believe I went to a five-star restaurant. Looking at the menu I’d tried to decide if I was going to get something cheap or not, but everything was expensive. So I decided to just get what I wanted. After all, it’s not like Adam couldn’t pay for it.
What was his deal anyways? Isn’t it a little thorough to get pictures of us? I mean, sure his family had social media accounts. So? It’s not like they were really going to question if we were really together based on pictures. Right?
It was silly. Wasn’t it?
And why couldn’t he just find a reason that we didn’t have any pictures of us together?
Whatever.
I’d agreed to help him out, and I was going to see it through to the end. I needed to do that. I’m not the kind of girl who goes back on her word.
Taking a deep breath, my mind drifted over the events of the day as I fell asleep. That night was filled with dreams of him. And I liked those dreams way too much.
59. Chapter Twelve
I dressed quickly, making sure it was something that he had bought me last weekend; otherwise, his family might ask questions about why I was wearing something cheap. And God forbid that happen.
I didn’t bother doing anything fancy with my hair. I just tied it back in a bun and slipped into the black flats that I’d gotten.
I looked myself over in the mirror. It was probably something I’d never wear. Not because I didn’t look nice, but because I didn’t have anywhere to wear it. And it’s not like I was ever going to have somewhere to wear it. Except out on pretend dates with my pretend boyfriend. The thought felt so stupid. No, it made me feel stupid.
My cheeks flushed as I glanced over at the clock. It didn’t really matter. I didn’t have time to worry about it. Adam would be here to pick me up soon, and I didn’t want to keep him waiting. Since Josh was here, I had kinda been hoping to be outside before he got here so he wouldn’t have to come up, and Josh didn’t have a chance to see that I was going out with a guy. Not that he was my boyfriend.
I grabbed my purse and headed for the door, slipping out before Josh had a chance to see me and hurrying for the stairs.
On the second landing, I came to a stop as I saw him. He eyed me up and down. Today he wore a pair of jeans and a black muscle shirt. My heart skipped a beat taking in every inch of his muscular arms. Damn.
I swallowed hard, licking my lips to try and restore some moisture to them.
“Oh, hey. You’re ready.”
“Yea. I thought I would head downstairs to meet you.” I forced myself to speak, my mouth still dry as fuck.
I stepped off the second story landing and closed the distance between us. When I got to his stair, we fell into pace together. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. But he didn’t say anything.
My phone buzzed, letting me know I had a text.
Hey. Long time no talk.
I stared down at the text from Matt. He was right; it had been a while. Since he was fired, we hadn’t had a chance to talk much. We were supposed to hang out on the weekend, but I’d had to cancel so I could help Adam out.
Yea. How’s it going?
I hit reply as we made our way down the last few stairs and towards the door. Adam pulled the door open for me. “Thanks,” I said as I ducked through.
Today I didn’t see the BMW or the Audi. I saw a Mustang.
“Is that yours?” I asked, pointing towards it.
His brow furrowed. “No.” He almost sounded offended that I had asked if it was his.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“I don’t buy cars like that. They’re a dime a dozen.” He motioned towards my left. My jaw dropped. How had I not seen that? I didn’t know much about cars, but even I recognized the horse on it. It wasn’t a mustang, that’s for sure.
Damn.
“Is it yours?”
“No, my father let me borrow it a couple
weeks ago. He wanted it back, so I figured I could drop it off today.”
My heart did a back flip. Was he going to make me go with him? No, he won’t take me if he doesn’t have to. He will probably just drop me off at home and then take it; he’ll probably want to get this all done as fast as he can so he doesn’t have to be around me. I took a deep breath, looking the car up and down.
Wow. I slid into the passenger’s seat as Adam climbed into the driver’s seat and gunned the engine. He shifted into drive as my phone buzzed.
Was wondering if you wanted to hang out today, actually.
My heart skipped a beat. Matt wanted to hang out with me? I wish I could … but I’d already promised Adam that I would help him out. Guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach.
Sorry. Don’t think today will work :/ I’ve got some stuff going on and … well, yea. Another time, though. And drinks will be on me.
I knew I was going to have to make it up for bailing on him twice now.
As we headed down to the waterfront, I sighed.
“Something come up?” Adam asked.
“What?”
“You keep checking your phone.”
My cheeks flushed. “Oh no, it’s nothing important.”
“Boy?”
I swallowed, and I was pretty sure my silence was enough of an answer. Finally, I nodded. “Yes. He … was a work friend.” Until he got fired.
“Hmm. Do you need me to drop you off somewhere? I wouldn’t want to get in the way of a booty call.”
“It’s not a booty call,” I said firmly.
I can’t put into words how happy it made me to hear her say that it wasn’t a booty call. I grinned, looking back at the road as I slowed down, finding a place for us to park.
She raised an eyebrow. “A fair?”
“You don’t like fairs?”
We could do something else to kill time, but we had to be there for a late lunch.
“No, no, I do.”
“Alright, good.” My eyes shone as I stepped out of the car, and she joined me. I circled around to the sidewalk, and we headed for the fair.
I knew it wasn’t anything crazy, but I thought she might get a kick out of it. I also thought she might like something that wasn’t super expensive for a change. The dinner last night had been pricy, and I’d blamed Josh for that. I just have to hope she never mentions it to him if she sees him again. Otherwise, he’d have some explaining to do, and he had no interest in that—or his family knowing he had done that.
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 38