The Merger: A Billionaire Fake Marriage Romance (Playboys of New York Book 3)

by JA Low

  The private jet is a significant plus.

  “Vegas, baby.” Saluting to the sun, we step off the plane.

  “I’ve never been to Vegas before,” Lenna, the latest addition to our little squad states. She works with Chloe at The Stone Group.

  “You shouldn’t have said that,” Chloe whispers to her friend.

  Funny story, Chloe finally got an interview for a job she been trying for months, but her jerk-off of an ex had been making her life hell since they broke up. Finally, she finds a company Walker couldn’t mess with. Chloe walks into the interview and boom! The guy she hooked up with on her honeymoon is her new boss, Noah Stone. I mean, of all the companies in New York, she walked into his.

  Fate. What are you up to?

  “We are going to have so much fun,” I tell Lenna, who’s looking a little unsure. We need to clean out those cobwebs and loosen her up a little.

  “Vegas is Emma’s town, and she loves showing it off,” Chloe warns Lenna.

  “I’ll look after you, Leelee, don’t you worry.” Giving her a reassuring wink, we jump into the limousine waiting for us on the tarmac.

  We run into Stella when we arrive at the hotel. She tells Chloe her brother is being a dick, and she needs her help, so they head on over to the restaurant to help talk EJ off the ledge. Lenna and I head up to our rooms to get ready as I am going to show Lenna my town.

  “Hello,” Lenna’s voice echoes through my room.

  “Hey, boo, you ready for me to pop your cherry?” Wiggling my brows at her, I have a big grin on my face.

  “Not really.” She looks scared, which only makes me laugh.

  Lenna’s a gorgeous girl, but she doesn’t dress to impress. She has a banging body underneath her stuffy suits, which I wish she would show off a little more. Not in a pick-up-men kind of way, but more like in an I’m-a-hot-bitch-you-wish-you-could-do-me kind of way. I think her ex cheating her has knocked her self-confidence, and so she’s thrown herself into work even more. Chloe’s the same way, and it’s my duty as a woman to fix my friend’s crown when it slips a little.

  “I promise you’re going to have so much fun.” Lenna still doesn’t look convinced. “You trust me?” She nods. “Okay, then, let’s go and have some,” I state, then make her get changed into something more Vegas appropriate.

  13

  Anderson

  We are late arriving into Vegas for our friend’s restaurant launch, so by the time we get down to it, it’s a complete media frenzy with paparazzi and screaming groupies hanging around out the front.

  “Is there another entry,” Noah groans.

  “I don’t think so. Suck it up, princess.” Teasing him, he ignores my jab as we walk the red carpet, have our names marked off the list, then enter the restaurant.

  Wow! EJ has done a phenomenal job.

  Looking around the exposed brick walls, the industrial pipe lining the ceiling is like steampunk meets New York loft. It’s incredible.

  “There’s EJ.” Logan points out through the crowd of people.

  “EJ,” I bellow at him.

  He turns, smiles, and heads on over to where we’re standing.

  “You made it,” EJ greets us all.

  “Man, this is fucking awesome,” Logan tells him.

  “Congrats,” Noah adds.

  “Thanks, guys. And thanks, so much for coming” He is beaming with excitement as he should be. This place is killer. “Come, let me introduce you to some important people.”

  Walking back through the crowd to where EJ was standing with some women, the blonde looks awfully familiar. Where have I seen her before?

  “Boys, let me introduce you to my sister, Chloe.”

  The woman in red turns around and, fuck me dead, that’s the chick from the resort, the one the guys hired to be their Marketing Director. Hang on, she’s EJ’s sister. Oh shit! EJ will cut Noah’s dick off if he finds out Noah’s gone there with his sister. Sisters are off-limits.

  Noah and Chloe will freak out over another random coincidence, which is weird that they have never run into each other before. Maybe now is the time, I mean the universe keeps throwing them together. Look at me being all philosophical and shit.

  Lenna? Lost in my magnificent mind, Logan’s comment catches me off guard. Did he just say, Lenna?

  “Oh, hey, boss.” Her words are slurring a little. She’s drunk. I’ve never seen Lenna drunk. Never thought she’d allow herself to get drunk. She’s always so put-together, and dam Lenna, where have you been hiding that banging body? Seriously, if Logan doesn’t lock that down, then I might just have to.

  “I popped her cherry.”

  That voice. The one that has my dick standing to attention, the one I can’t seem to shake from my consciousness. I look into the jade-green eyes of the raven-haired beauty that is Emma. What the hell is she doing here? Shaking my head. Is she an apparition? What the hell is in these drinks? Strange shit is happening.

  “I looove Vegas,” Lenna declares. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Shh…” She places a finger to her lips, and I love drunk Lenna.

  “What exactly has been happening?” Logan glares at her.

  Chill, bro.

  “Oh, pretty boy… wouldn’t you like to know?” Lenna presses a finger into Logan’s chest and stumbles a little into him. I need some popcorn because shit is about to go down, and I have front-row seats. Logan’s body is rigid. He’s seconds away from probably kidnapping Lenna and getting her the hell out of there. Hopefully, to fuck, because the chemistry between them is too much—they need to bang it out.

  “Ohh… you’re hard,” Lenna coos, licking her lips. She wants him, and the alcohol is making it pretty obvious.

  “Okay, maybe that’s enough drinks for tonight. Come,” Chloe tells her before glaring at Emma, who just grins. Someone’s been a naughty girl.

  “I’ll take her,” Logan interrupts. Oh, this is gonna get interesting. “I’m getting a drink, anyway,” he adds.

  Bullshit!

  “It’s your brother’s night. Enjoy,” he tells Chloe.

  You are not fooling anyone, dude.

  “You better not fire her over this.” Emma points her finger at Noah, who looks a little shocked by her comment.

  “Of course, not,” he argues.

  “Good.” Giving him the once-over again makes me smile. I like her feistiness.

  “You’re looking good, Emma,” I purposely change the subject.

  “I know.” She smiles, giving me a wink, the temptress. She’s wearing a black leather dress that has a deep V nearly to her navel. She looks like a slutty dominatrix, and I like it.

  “You’d look better spread out—”

  “Okay. Well, that’s me done,” Noah cuts me off. “I’m heading to the bar.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Chloe adds.

  Good.

  “You sure know how to clear a room,” Emma jokes, taking a sip of her champagne.

  “They’re a bunch of prudes, anyway.” Moving closer to her, I say, “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “That’s good. Business going well?” I ask while sipping my beer.

  “It has actually.” Her eyes narrow on me. “Some new designers have inquired about my services… a friend told them about my business. You wouldn’t happen to know about that, would you?”

  Of course, I do, I sent them her way.

  “No.” Shaking my head, Emma’s head tilts hers to the side as she looks me over, a tiny smirk falls across her lips. The next thing I know, her hand is wrapped around my neck with her lips being pressed against mine. The first swipe of her tongue surprises me as her grip becomes tighter and our tongues duel with each other.

  Emma is the first to break the kiss. Moving her head away, she licks her lips seductively. “Thanks for that.” She turns and tries to disappear into the crowd, but I reach out, stopping her.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Emma
seems surprised by my question. “To the bar.” Holding up her empty glass, I pull her back to me, her chest hitting mine.

  “You’re coming home with me tonight. You know that, right?”

  Those jade eyes narrow. “Unless I get a better offer,” she teases.

  “We both know you’re not going anywhere.”

  She raises a brow at me. “We also know you’re not going anywhere either,” Emma counters.

  “Wasn’t planning on it.”

  “Fine,” she eventually agrees.

  My hands let go of her, she kisses my cheek, and heads to the bar.

  I haven’t seen Emma in a while, which has me worried. I’m ready to go and want to have my way with her. I know I’ve stuck around long enough in support of my friend. Looking around the busy restaurant, I haven’t seen any of my friends for a while, either. Where the hell have they all gone?

  Hollering from the corner catches my attention. The crowd parts ever so slightly, and there I see Emma dancing on a table with another woman, hands all over each other grinding together. There’s a large group of males hovering around, salvia dripping from their desperate mouths. The blonde that’s with her flips her hair behind her shoulder, and I still.

  What in the ever-loving fuck is going on here?

  Elise.

  My fucking sister.

  Why the fuck is my sister doing grinding on my girl? They are laughing and carrying on as if they are long-time buddies. This seriously cannot be happening right now, so I storm over to where the two of them are throwing back a tequila shot.

  “Andy.” My sister spots me first. This grabs Emma’s attention, and she stills when she sees me.

  “You know him?” Emma asks.

  “Of course, I do.”

  Emma stiffens a little.

  Does she think? Ha, she does. Oh, this is good.

  “I’ve known Elise all my life,” I tell Emma. “We are really close.”

  My sister is drunk, so she doesn’t pick up on my comment’s weird undertone.

  “Hey, do you know him?” Elise turns to Emma.

  “Um, yeah, kind of?”

  “Oh no, please don’t tell me you’ve slept with him,” my sister groans. “You of all people, I thought would have some taste.” She elbows Emma.

  “Hey,” I state, trying to defend myself.

  Elise waves her hand in my face.

  “Eww, you did, didn’t you?” Elise questions Emma.

  “Yeah. Before I realized you had.”

  Elise stills, she sobers up real quick at Emma’s remark.

  “You think I’ve slept with him?” My sister is ready to throw up all over the table at Emma’s line of thought. I can’t help it, I burst out laughing at the situation unfolding in front of me.

  Emma looks confused.

  “She’s my sister,” I finally say, putting Emma out of her misery.

  “Of course, I’m your sister, what else did you think. Oh…” My sister finally catches on to Emma’s train of thought. “You thought…” She moves her hand between us. “Ewww,” she adds again, scrunching up her face. “Hang on, how the hell do you two know each other?” Elise looks between Emma and me.

  “We met on vacation,” I add.

  Elise looks back at Emma, then back to me.

  “And we might have met a couple times in New York as well.” Emma tries to shrug it off, but she has no idea what that little tidbit of information suggests to my sister. Her eyes widen in surprise, the alcohol takes her a couple of moments to compute, and then she does.

  “You double-dipped.” Elise’s mouth forms a large O-shape.

  “I’m hoping to triple-dip if I’m lucky.” I give Emma a wink.

  Elise gets down from the table and walks over to me. “You and Emma are hooking up?”

  “Yes. Is that going to be a problem?”

  My sister shakes her head, her face is beaming with a broad smile.

  Emma walks over and joins us.

  “How the hell do you two know each other?”

  Did they meet tonight?

  It would be a crazy coincidence if they did?

  “I’ve known Elise for years,” Emma adds. “Vegas is our town.” She elbows my sister.

  “Don’t think my brother needs to hear this,” Elise tells her.

  “Your sister is a ho.” Emma giggles, and Elise elbows her in the ribs hard this time, which makes her groan, and then she bursts out laughing.

  “Like you can speak… Emma is the worst. She just looks at a guy, and he will be on his knees in front of her. I mean, come on… look at her,” Elise tells me.

  “I am.” Taking Emma in, my eyes roam over her body.

  Silence falls between the three of us.

  “Wow! Okay! Now, this is awkward. Can you please not eye-fuck my friends while I’m standing right beside you. It’s disgusting, Andy.” Elise fake gags.

  “Not my fault she’s beautiful.”

  Elise’s eyes narrow at me, then she turns to Emma. “What the hell have you done to my brother?” She frowns at her friend.

  “Nothing. He didn’t want me to,” Emma adds with a wink.

  “Gag. You two are made for each other. I need a drink after all this.” Elise waves her hands between Emma and me before disappearing back to the table.

  “So, you and my sister are friends?” Moving closer to Emma, I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to me. The men in the vicinity do not look happy that I have claimed Emma for myself.

  “We are trouble together.” Emma wraps her arms around my neck.

  “I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other before.” Running my thumb down her cheek, she slants her head.

  “I know, right? Elise and I have partied heaps in LA and Vegas over the years.”

  “Guess I’m more of a New York kind of guy.”

  Emma smiles at me. “Is it going to be weird now? Between us?” she asks.

  “Not for me. What about you?”

  “Kind of bummed that’s she’s kept you hidden all these years. We could have been having so much fun together.” She runs her well-manicured finger down my chest.

  “Guess we need to make up for all the lost time.” Leaning in and capturing her mouth with my own, I can taste the tequila on her tongue.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” my sister groans out beside us before turning around and heading back where she came from.

  We both laugh.

  14

  Emma

  What a bizarre coincidence that Elise and Anderson are brother and sister. I know I’ve been joking with Chloe about Noah—that fate and shit keep pushing them together—but now this.

  Fate—I know you think you might be doing a good thing pushing Anderson and me together, but it's only to fuck. There’s nothing more to it. You know that, right? Don’t want fate getting her hopes up or anything.

  “I’m still tripping that you know my brother.” Elise links her arm with mine as we head up to her penthouse with some friends to continue the party. It’s early by Vegas standards, plus, all my friends have fucked off somewhere. Fingers crossed they’re all getting lucky.

  Fate—come on, girl. Do them all a solid. Because we know I’m set.

  “And the fact that he’s still hanging around…” She lets the words fall away.

  “Oi.” Getting her attention, I say, “I don’t want you thinking there is anything more than you know…” It’s her brother, I can’t say ‘fucking’ to her.

  “The way he looks at you, I’ve never seen that before,” she confesses.

  “Stop it!” She has love hearts in her eyes. I can see it already.

  “You like him?” Elise questions.

  “He’s a good guy, and…” Shut your pie hole, Emma, she doesn’t need to know he has a magic dick.

  “Eww… please don’t finish that sentence.” She gives me that look, the one that tells me she is completely grossed out.

  We walk toward the elevators.

  Elise swipes her car
d to access the penthouse. “Stop!” She holds up her hand, halting the others. “You all can get the next one. Marcus, you have a key?” Her bodyguard nods. “Good.” Anderson steps toward the open door, but Elise stops him as well. “Sorry, bro. We need to talk about you.” Anderson gives his sister a look. “Sorry,” she reiterates as she presses the button to make the doors close.

  I watch Anderson throw his hands up in the hair in frustration as the doors shut.

  “I’m going to be straight with you,” Elise tells me clear as day. “I think the two of you are a good match.”

  “Elise.”

  She shakes her head. “I know the two of you, I know it’s just sex, I get it, okay?” She waves her hands wildly in the air. “Just…” she leans back against the steel of the elevator, looking over at me. “I love you, Ems,” she confesses.

  “I love you, too.” Reaching out to her, we hold hands.

  “If things work out between you two, we will be family.” She pouts, and this makes me laugh.

  “I don’t think your brother is the marrying kind.”

  “He’s not.” She shrugs. “I just…” She lets out a heavy sigh. “Seeing the two of you… I like it.”

  Pulling her into a hug, I say, “In the future if I’m not hooking up with your brother anymore, it doesn’t mean things would change between us.”

  “What happens if you let him go, and he marries some horrible bitch of a gold digger, who doesn’t like dancing on tables, doing shots of tequila, or God forbid… Vegas.”

  “Putting the bitch and gold digger things aside, if she makes him happy, then that’s all you can ask.”

  “But, you can make him happy,” she moans.

  “Elise,” I warn her.

  “I know, I know.” She waves her hands around in the air. “Work is your baby at the moment.”

  “Exactly!”

  “Still, you need a man in your life to give you some…”

  “There are plenty of them.”

  Elise’s eyes narrow at me. “Don’t you get sick of the revolving door of men,” her voice quietens as she speaks.