“Well, you’ll have to tell them now because I’m not coming.”
“How much do you have left to save for college? Give me the ballpark. I want to hire you as an actress. Two dates. One to come for the meal with H and Amelia, and then a further date at my club at the three month mark so I win the bet. Name your price.”
“So I go on two dates with you and then I don’t need to come to Abandon anymore and can quit my movie career?”
“That’s correct. Add in the living expenses for while you go to college. You’re a brilliant actress and worth every penny.”
“I want two hundred thousand dollars.” I goaded him, waiting for his jaw to slacken.
“Done.” He held out his hand. “I’ll get Ashley to deposit the money in your account in an hour.”
“What if I disappear with it?” I said.
“You won’t. I trust you, and if you did, well you win some you lose some.”
“Well, I guess two hundred grand is a drop in the ocean to a billionaire.” I said, trying to stop my face forming a grimace.
He smiled. “Maybe a small sailboat dropped in the ocean?”
I shook his hand. “Deal. Let me know where I need to be and when.”
Aidan looked at me with regret. “I really hope we can be friends again.” He said.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Aidan, I don’t know if that’s possible anymore.” I replied honestly.
He nodded and began to walk away. “Well, take care. I’ll text you with the date and time of the meal. In the meantime, I hope everything keeps going well with you and your new girlfriend.”
“Yeah, me too.” I told him. But, I didn’t wish him luck with Ember because I was bitter and twisted and hoped it went to shit. Instead I went inside, waited for the money to hit my bank account and then I quit both my jobs. I spent the following couple days in a heap of despair having my own pity party for one. I should have been feeling joy that I would finally be able to attend college and get the career I’d dreamed about. But I’d not earned it the way I’d wanted to, on my own terms. Also, I kept finding myself thinking about Aidan fucking Hall. He’d just paid for my services and ruined our friendship in one fell swoop, yet my mind wouldn’t quit picturing us in bed together.
And it wasn’t going to get any better seeing as I had two fake dates booked with him.
Chapter 9
Aidan
I was a fucking mess. If it wasn’t for Abandon needing me right now as the club settled into its new identity, I would have gone on vacation and left all this shit behind me. My body had decided it was in love with Lori. Either that or I had a major crush that was way out of control. It didn’t help that my cock had been buried deep inside her.
But she couldn’t ever be mine.
Is that why I wanted her so damn much?
I’d kept dates with Ember at a purely platonic level, something she was becoming impatient with. I knew that soon I was going to get an ultimatum. What would I do? I liked Ember a lot, but she wasn’t Lori. But I couldn’t have Lori, so did I keep trying with Ember?
Such a fucking mess.
And now I’d fucked up even more by pushing Lori away as a friend and then trying to apologize and instead offering to pay her for her services. With the sex and the acting I’d basically hired my own porn actress. I’d mixed my personal and professional life together which was my biggest resolution for me NOT to do and lost my friendship. Lori’s now dulled eyes clearly displayed that anything she’d admired in me as a friend was long gone. I’d used her, and friends didn’t do that.
There were two chances left. Two dates in which to get her back as a friend. Having her as a friend was better than not having her in my life at all. Eventually my brain would realize that it couldn’t be in love with her and I’d move on. I realized at that point that I was going to have to end things with Ember. If I liked her enough, surely Lori would have faded to the back of my mind? I’d take her for dinner again in the next few days and break it to her face to face. She deserved that much.
The day of the double date at H and Amelia’s came around and I went to pick up Lori from her home. She came out wearing a tight pair of black skinny jeans and a white off the shoulder sweater. Her hair was in a side ponytail. She looked stunning, and I wanted to drop to my knees and beg God to change the world and make her mine.
“Hey. You look great.” I told her.
“Thanks. Do I look the part of a girlfriend, okay?” She replied curtly.
She might as well have sliced me with a knife. It cut deep.
The journey to H’s passed in relative silence, something I was unaccustomed to with Lori. Yet the minute the door opened, she was all smiles, like the car journey had never happened. Tactile, leaning over to keep giving me little kisses. She was determined to earn her acting money. It looked completely legitimate to me. And that made me feel even worse. Now I was lying to my friends too. The only reason I didn’t call quits on the whole thing was because Eli needed to fucking well ask that woman out and if I had to cheat to get it to happen, I would because the guy was amazing and deserved his own happiness. Plus there was no way I was taking out that bitch of a daughter of his. I’d never be rid of the money-hungry leech (her own father’s name for her).
“Come in and take a seat,” Amelia beckoned us through to the living room where we sat on the couch. A baby wailed and Amelia sighed heavily. “Thank God for Mary cooking and babysitting because otherwise we’d having nothing to eat because I don’t get a minute with that demanding child.”
“And what about Lewis?” I quipped.
“I’d like to meet him.” Said Lori. “If that’s okay?”
“Sure.” Amelia beamed. She’d obviously been dying to show off her son, but not known whether Lori would be into babies or not. She brought him in. He had blond hair just like his mom and dad and was a cute little thing. Amelia passed him straight over to Lori and Lori stared, cooing at him.
“Hey little guy. You’re heavier than you look, dude. But that’s okay. It’s worth it to see that little smile. Yes, are you smiling at me again?”
“He just cut his first two teeth.” Amelia said.
“Oooh, I can see that. I can see those two cute little tiny teeth. You’re going to be a heartbreaker aren’t you, Lewis.”
At that point H walked in and introductions were made again.
“Okay, Lew, it’s time to go back to Mary because dinner is served.” He proceeded to make cooing baby noises to his son.
The meal was beautiful and general chatter passed between us all. As the wine flowed, Amelia took her opportunity to ask questions.
“So, how did you two meet?”
“It was back in October. Aidan had come to Abandon to do a run through ready for opening and I was a new member of staff. We just hit it off. He didn’t want to date a staff member, one of his new rules, so we met for coffee as friends. But things just developed from there, really. I guess when chemistry hits it’s difficult to fight it.” She leaned over and took my hand and squeezed it.
“Absolutely.” I said truthfully. “The last thing I expected was this girl to come along and knock me sideways. My rule about dating staff went straight out of the window. Lori just is that special. I can’t explain it.”
“Sounds like love to me.” Said Amelia smiling widely. H elbowed her.
“Jesus, Amelia, you can’t say that to them.”
Amelia bit her lip. “Ooh, sorry guys if I made you feel a little uncomfortable. I just kinda love fairy tales and happy ever afters. I can get a little carried away.”
“Oh I like fairy tales too.” Said Lori. “Especially Cinderella. My absolute favorite.”
The women, though they looked like adults to me, proceeded to talk about fairy tales and Disney movies while H and I chatted sports.
The wine flowed, and I decided I’d get a driver to pick us up and leave the car behind. I told Lori this. “If you’re sure. You going to get wasted then? Will I need to carry you to b
ed?”
I thought of the last time I’d been drinking. “Maybe, or there’s always the couch again?” I winked.
“Ssh, you’re embarrassing me.” She replied. If I hadn’t paid her, I would believe every word that came out of her mouth. As an actress she was completely faultless.
“Babe, I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” I told her as Amelia and H looked on. “Because I think Amelia might be right. I think I am falling in love with you.”
Lori gasped, and I wondered if I’d gone too far with the charade.
“Oooh, this is amazing. We need champagne.” Amelia clapped her hands. “Go get some, Henry.”
Lori leaned over and kissed me, her mouth hard against my own. I wanted nothing more than to take her back to my home and make love to her over and over again. But this was all a lie.
Everything I’d said I’d meant, yet it could never be.
Lori
The evening was heartbreaking. Everything I said I’d meant, yet it could never be.
Though there was nothing stopping me from telling him I wasn’t gay, I couldn’t allow myself to go into a relationship with someone who paid for my services like I was a commodity not a person.
Knowing all the words he said were completely fake and his acting a role crushed me inside. The worst thing was I’d hit it off with Amelia, and Henry was a great guy. I could really have seen myself being friends with them for life and yet in another couple of week’s time I’d never see them again. Soon, I was moving on. I’d decided to study in New Jersey, to get away from here. A fresh start was needed. Somewhere I wasn’t likely to bump into Aidan or any of his friends.
I thanked the couple for a lovely evening and then Aidan had his driver pick us up and drop me home. I wanted so desperately to invite him in, to wrap myself around him and lose myself in his touch, but instead I put my walls up around myself. With my expression as cold as I could get it, I turned to him and said. “One date down, one to go. I think I fooled them.”
He didn’t reply with anything other than a goodnight.
Chapter 10
Aidan
The three months were up. It was my thirtieth birthday and Abandon was having a party in my honor. Eli, H and Amelia were coming along to the first part of the evening to meet me and Lori, and have a few drinks to celebrate. Then the charade would all be over. To say it was my birthday a low mood had descended over me. I’d sat in my bed staring around me and focusing on the fact that I was all alone as my thirties appeared. A few months ago this hadn’t bothered me at all. Why was it bothering me now? My mind flashed to Lori holding Lewis, her making cooing noises, and my heart thudded a little. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Now I wanted children? I needed to change the coffee I was drinking as it was obviously laced with something that altered brain chemicals.
Ridiculous presents had arrived from friends and relatives - new cars, designer watches and none of it meant anything. I found myself going to the gym to pump weights and take my mind off it all. I’d arranged to meet Ember tomorrow night, making out that I would be busy with my male friends at the club tonight having a guy’s night, but that I would see her tomorrow for dinner. To be honest, I wasn’t sure she bought what I was saying but neither did I particularly care.
So it was with a resigned and heavy heart that I arrived at the club. My assistant, Ashley, had refused to tell me the theme, and I arrived to find everyone decorated like The Moulin Rouge with cancan girls and people walking around on stilts, etc. It looked amazing, and I was truly touched by the efforts my assistant had gone to. There was a huge Moulin Rouge cake in the corner of the room. Because my birthday was near Christmas, I’d been worried that it would just end up a Christmas party. I’d underestimated Ashley, and I realized I took my assistant a little for granted. I’d need to change that in the new year.
Lori had insisted on meeting me here. When she walked in, she took my breath away. She wore a white dress with glittering jewels around the neckline and a matching headband. Her long legs were on show and her calves emphasized by the white high heeled shoes she wore. They had a staggeringly high heel, and I really did question how women walked around in such things. Her long, brown hair hung curly and loose. She looked at me and smiled. It was at that point I realized for real that tonight was goodbye, so I vowed to have the best time I could.
I walked over to her and leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You look exquisite.”
“Happy birthday, Aidan.” She said to me. “Your present is coming later.”
“You didn’t need to do that.” I told her. “Listen, I know I made things awkward for us but I’m aware that this is our last date and I’m not sure where we go from here.”
“I’m going to New Jersey, to study.” She told me.
“Right.” I replied. My heart had dropped through to my shoes. “Well, I hope that tonight we can enjoy ourselves as friends and make it a fantastic goodbye.” I said, a question in my voice.
“I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time surrounded by your friends.” She said. “Now what does the birthday boy want to drink?”
Henry and Amelia arrived, and they were closely followed by Eli, who sat at the side of Lori and ask a million questions, all of which she answered without hesitation. She really had got to know me. Then she leaned over and whispered something in Eli’s ear and he guffawed with laughter.
“Okay, I admit I’m beaten, Aidan.” He yelled after me. “Looks like I will have to ask my assistant if she’ll accompany me to the dragon’s wedding.”
Lori laughed. “So you have fond memories of your ex then?”
They launched into a further conversation where Eli was no doubt bringing her up to speed with his dragon ex and demon daughter. I kept watching, Lori’s face glowed under the lights, sparkles being emitted from the jewelry around her.
“You’ve got it bad, haven’t you?” Amelia whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry, I can tell she feels the same.”
I smiled at Amelia. If only she knew the truth.
“Hey, I’ve not shown you these photos of Lewis yet.” H leaned over with his phone and when he saw me reach for the phone he went. “Ha, just joking. I remembered my side of the bet. Birthdays and Christmas only, though you’ve only ten days to Christmas so be prepared.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I totally get why you are so proud, my friend, and I apologize for being an ass. Show me the photos though maybe you could trim the forty down to twenty maybe for future reference?”
I sat and looked through H’s photos, aware of Lori’s stare burning through me the whole time.
When I gave the cell back to H, I stood up. “Dance?” I addressed Lori.
“Sure.” She smiled and headed to the floor with me where we threw some shapes. Lori laughed at my style of dancing, calling it Dad Dancing and I stuck my tongue out at her and exaggerated my moves making her laugh.
“So, I meant to ask you this the other day,” she whispered in my ear. “Why do you guys call Henry, H? I’m not sure what to call him, I’ve done both.”
“It’s a long story, but he lost his wife and then introduced himself to everyone as H. Then he met Amelia again, who was his deceased wife’s younger sister, and Henry came back to life. So, call him Henry.”
She nodded but then her face looked sad. “I guess it doesn’t really matter after tonight does it?”
“So tonight we party, remember?” I told her and we carried on dancing for hours.
Lori
It was getting close to midnight, and it was time for the cake to be ceremoniously cut and for us all to wish Aidan a happy birthday. Now I truly wished I hadn’t done what he would now find out, but I’d been insulted at the time and had wanted to deliver a message to him. There was nothing I could do about it now so I went up towards the cake where Ashley handed me a microphone.
“Hey all,” I said to the assembled guests. “If you could all gather around, it’s time to raise a glass to the birthday boy.”
People gathered
around the cake and I cleared my throat.
“Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aidan for three very happy months together.” There was a round of applause. “And to show my appreciation, I have rather special gift for you. If you’d like to come forward,” I gestured to him. He moved closer and standing at my side he waited, looking genuinely excited to see what I’d bought him. I knew then as I looked at him that he was waiting for a genuine gift from me and if I’d only bought him a keyring, he would have valued it. Alas, Ashley was already handing him the photograph of his gift - a motor boat. A boat that had cost exactly two hundred thousand dollars. His drop in the ocean. Looking at his face now I guessed that money had hurt a lot more than he’d expected.
I’d got my money for college without his. My savings hadn’t been far off my total and then I’d received an amount of compensation relating to the injuries I’d sustained at the hands of my ex. I’d need to work alongside college but I was used to it. I’d decided I wasn’t going back to the movie industry. Since sleeping with Aidan I’d realized that from now on I wanted one man only to sleep with. My movie days were over. I’d never regret doing them though. It had been a short fun career and when I was old and wrinkled, I’d be able to look back on just how fantastically toned I’d been and what a great rack I’d had.
I was pulled back to the present by Aidan speaking.
“Lori, this gift conveys to me so much, how much thought you put into things. The message within this gift is humbling. I’m a very lucky man to know you and I thank you for being such a special friend.” He kissed my cheek, and I knew this was his goodbye. Then Ashley announced that Aidan was cutting the cake and everyone erupted into a round of Happy Birthday.
“Come on, we’re going to have a walk around.” Amelia pulled on my arm and dragged me towards the bar. “What was that all about? I could see the tension there and he called you his friend. I would have expected a full on smooch at the very least if not virtually you fucking on stage after that gift.”
The Billionaire and the Bartender: Aidan's story (The Billionaires Book 2) Page 7