The Billionaire’s Pretend Girlfriend (The Billionaires Club Book 2)

by Leslie North

  Daniel narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Oh, really?”

  “With my wedding next week, I don’t want your son to show up alone to the biggest day of my life,” Grayson said, the start of a shit-eating grin on his face as he looked up at Mr. Trent. “I think he should try to make something work with his latest girlfriend for once.”

  “She’s not a—” Daniel said.

  “You’re seeing someone?” his dad demanded.

  “He is, but I’m not sure it’ll last without a little incentive. Therefore, I wager that Daniel can’t keep that girlfriend for the entire length of my wedding festivities,” Grayson finished proudly, looking at each of them in turn. “Let’s bet on it.”

  Daniel’s knee began bouncing. It would have been embarrassing enough to explain to his friends about the house-sitting mix-up, but now that his dad had been brought into the misunderstanding, untangling it would be ten times worse. His father always seemed to take his lack of serious romantic relationships as a sign of Daniel’s immaturity rather than an indicator that he had no damn time for a girlfriend, given the pace at which he worked.

  “You boys and your bets,” his dad chuckled before jerking his head to the side. “Daniel, will you join me for a minute? I wanted to go over something about the Korea contract.”

  “Sure, Dad.” Daniel cleared his throat, sending an apologetic look to his two friends over business intruding on their lunch—yet again. Grayson and Blake, used to Daniel’s father, just nodded sympathetically as he stood and left the table. His father led him over to an ornate gazebo on the far side of the patio.

  Overlooking the sprawling, immaculately tended green lawns, his father said, “Now tell me why you’re back here in California. Since you finished up in Seoul early, you could get a head start on the Bangladesh project. There’s no need for you to be in California—and why do you have next week marked off for no work at all?”

  “It’s Grayson’s wedding next week.”

  Confusion creased his dad’s sun-weathered face. If the man wasn’t in a boardroom, he was on the golf course, schmoozing with business contacts. “And you’ll be gone for a week?”

  Of course his work-hungry dad wouldn’t understand. In their family, things were only considered of value if they padded your bank account or padded your social status. Supporting a friend during an important life event didn’t count. “I might be closing a deal there,” Daniel lied. It was the only way his father wouldn’t give him endless shit about being there for his best friend during the biggest time of his life. Until the baby came, of course.

  Still, his father frowned, looking out over the golf course as he jingled the keys in his pockets. “And you’re doing him such a favor by jumping when he says jump. But what is this about a girlfriend? Is she another fling? That seems like something they would love to bet on. Were you even planning on bringing this girl with you to the wedding?”

  “No, I wasn’t,” Daniel admitted, a headache building around his temples. “Because we’re not—”

  “So it is another dalliance,” his father cut in with a disappointed frown as if Daniel had, once again, failed to live up to expectations. “You won’t be young forever, you know. When are you going to settle down, take your responsibilities seriously?”

  His father thought he wasn’t serious enough? Despite all the hours he put in, all the business deals he closed? All the work, all the dedication, all the effort he put into chasing the gold ring of his father’s approval, and still he had to deal with this bullshit?

  “You know I’ve never approved of your silly bets,” his father continued. “But this bet…I want you to win it. Show your little nouveau riche friend that he can’t get the better of you—not this time, at least.”

  Daniel couldn’t quite hold in a bitter laugh at that. How like his father to insult him and Grayson all in one breath. Grayson might be new money, but that was because he’d pulled himself up from poverty into a brilliant career. And while the competitive friendship between the two of them and Blake meant that Daniel didn’t always come out on top in their contests and bets, that didn’t make Daniel a loser, no matter what his father seemed to think.

  “Dad,” Daniel began, but when his rebuttal failed to appear on his lips, he realized he had no good reason for not going through with it. If he explained that he and Jackie were not—and had never been—together, his father would think he was just making up excuses.

  He just needed to make sure he could convince Jackie to go through with it, but he already had a pretty good idea of how he’d make that happen. Tossing tons of money in anyone’s face was a sure way to elicit a solid ‘yes’.

  “What? The next words out of your mouth better be ‘Dad, you’re right’, or—”

  “Dad,” Daniel interrupted, clamping a hand on his father’s shoulder. “You’re right. I’ll be collecting my money at the end of next week, don’t you worry.”

  His father seemed appeased, and he nodded brusquely, his gaze darting over Daniel’s shoulder. “Great. Go get ‘em. I’ll see you in the office later.”

  When Daniel returned to the table, their lunches were there. As soon as Daniel sat down, Blake dug into his food. “You get in trouble from Daddy Trent?”

  “No, just wrapping up some details from the business trip I went on,” Daniel said, replacing his napkin over his lap.

  “So, what’s the answer?” Grayson asked.

  Daniel sighed tersely, pushing around the fancy kale salad he had no intention of eating. “To your stupid bet?”

  “Yes. Let’s hear it. A cool mill says you won’t be able to make your romance with the Bathtub Babe last until my wedding is over and we’re en route to the honeymoon.”

  The fire flickered to life inside of him. The competitive juice that streaked through his veins was more like a drug than anything else.

  “Done. I’ll show you that my Bathtub Babe not only has a name, she has longevity. To the honeymoon and beyond,” Daniel proclaimed. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t talked it over with Jackie—he’d figure out a way to convince her. He closed business deals every day, and that was all this was. A business deal to show his friends and father and anyone else who was looking that he could hit any target he aimed at, one way or another. All that mattered was winning. “That extra million would have been nice for you guys to vacation with—hope it’s not going to ruin your plans.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Grayson said with a snarky grin before diving into his quiche.

  Their conversation finally turned to other topics, most of them involving the preparations for Grayson’s wedding and whether or not the DJ would open with the “Macarena” once the dancing began. After lunch, Daniel made a quick exit so that he could get back to the office. He had a lot on his plate for the day, but more than that, he wanted to make sure that he was home in time to catch Jackie.

  Their first two days of cohabitation had been uneventful, to say the least. She was usually getting ready for her day by the time he was leaving for work, and both nights he’d gotten home late—after she was already tucked into the guest room.

  Still, though, he could see small signs of her presence in his penthouse. Feminine toiletries in the bathroom. Grad school textbooks on the coffee table. And the presence of granola bars and three-pound bags of pistachio nuts—that was all new. And for some reason, really cute.

  He liked the idea of Jackie sitting around, studying and cracking pistachio nuts while she worked.

  Or maybe he just liked the thought of Jackie doing anything.

  He managed to leave the office by six thirty, and was hitting home by just after seven with a rumbling belly and no energy to cook. As soon as he stepped into his penthouse, Jackie’s sing-song voice carried through the foyer.

  “And I say hell-o to you, and hell-o to you…”

  As his footsteps snicked through the foyer, her singing stopped. When he saw her, she was standing guiltily next to the fish tank in his great room.

  “Hey.”
His gaze washed over her, part of him disappointed that she wasn’t dripping wet and naked again. Not that there was anything wrong with the current view. Dressed in skintight booty shorts and a tank top that showcased the line of her cleavage, Daniel had to force his eyes off her body. “What were you singing?”

  “H-hey. No, it’s just, uh…” She glanced nervously at the sprawling fish tank. “I was singing to your fish. You’re home early today. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Perfectly fine.” It was then that he caught a tantalizing whiff of garlic. “Are you cooking?”

  Her eyes rounded and she spun on her heels. “Shit! I forgot to check the garlic bread!”

  He followed her into the kitchen. She yanked open the oven and peeked inside, but all he could focus on was the apples of her ass in those tight shorts. She heaved a sigh of relief, shutting the oven. “It’s a good thing you came home. I made too much.”

  Daniel stuffed his hands into his pockets, his belly rumbling louder as he assessed the pot on the stove. “What’s cooking here? Garlic bread and…?”

  “My world-famous spaghetti and meatballs,” she said, heading to the sauté pan to stir the sauce.

  Now he was extra glad he’d come home early. “Oh? Family recipe?”

  She sent him a shrouded look. “No. Just my own. You’ll love it. Unless you already ate?”

  “No, I haven’t. I was going to order in, but this smells far better.” He paused. “If you want company, that is.”

  “More than you know!” She laughed, turning off the stovetop. “After the day I had, I would love some company that isn’t a textbook.”

  “Ah, well, I can’t promise anything then,” Daniel cracked, heading for the cupboard to pull out dishes. “They’ve called me the textbook of international banking before, so…”

  “But your insides aren’t filled with paper,” Jackie said, holding the wooden stirring spoon in the air for emphasis, “and though I haven’t checked yet, I’m pretty sure your spine isn’t made of cardboard.”

  “Fair enough,” Daniel said, laying out a dish at the head of his long dining room table, and the second one at the corner. So they could chat better. “Though I will neither confirm nor deny the spine thing. You’ll just have to figure that out for yourself.”

  Jackie snickered as she grabbed oven mitts and brought out the tray of garlic bread. She hissed as she set it down. “Damn that thing’s hot.”

  Like your ass, he added in his head, but no. Far too soon for that sort of talk. Probably better filed in the never category. Especially if she agreed to the bet. He wouldn’t want her to think he was pressuring her into anything that might make her uncomfortable. This was strictly a business deal. One that he needed to sell her on ASAP.

  “Do you need any help?” he called out, coming over to her as she attempted to transfer the bread to a plate.

  “Just find me a serving bowl for the noodles.”

  Daniel did as he was told, and grabbed the pot to strain the spaghetti while she transferred the sauce to its own bowl. Daniel grabbed the trivets for the table, and soon they were seated and smiling at each other in front of the steaming, home-cooked meal.

  “Dig in!” she said, clapping her hands. Daniel prompted her to serve herself first.

  “Chef gets the first pick.”

  “Good. Then I get all the meatballs,” she teased.

  Daniel laughed, finding his gaze drawn back to her. There was something so familiar about her…something so easy. Like they’d already been roommates for years. He supposed it was just luck of the draw that she’d been assigned to his house, but part of him wondered if there wasn’t more to that algorithm in the SitMyHouse app. He made a mental note to ask Grayson about it—maybe he’d have some developer insight.

  “What are you thinking about?” Jackie asked suddenly, which made him realize he’d been staring.

  “Uh…just thinking about that song you were singing to my fish. I sing to them too.”

  She snickered, heaping a final spoonful of sauce onto the pile of spaghetti on her plate. “You do? What do you sing?”

  “Oh, whatever’s in my head. Sometimes Taylor Swift, depending on how bad the music selection is at the gym that day.”

  “I like Taylor Swift!” Jackie said.

  “Nothing wrong with her,” Daniel said, fighting a grin as he dished out his own pile of noodles topped with meatballs. “Though I’m surprised you’re a fan.”

  “She’s always focused on positivity,” Jackie said. “I know firsthand how important that is.”

  Her offhanded comment inspired about a thousand additional questions inside him, but he needed to stay focused here. This wasn’t a pleasure mission. This was business.

  “Well, I appreciate you taking care of Yucca, Luca, Pooka and Henry.”

  Jackie blinked. “That’s what you named your exotic fish?”

  “Yeah.” Daniel grinned at her before swirling up a forkful of spaghetti.

  “Well, I named them, too, since you never included their names in your profile.”

  He snorted. “What did you name them?”

  “Ian, Freddy, Sarah, and Henry.”

  They shared a bewildered grin. “Are you serious?” Daniel asked. “We both named one Henry?”

  “It’s probably not the same one.”

  “We’ll check later. After I’m done inhaling your incredible meal.” He slurped up some noodles, some sauce flicking onto her arm. She looked at it and laughed while he reached out to swipe it up with his napkin.

  “Sorry. I need a bib.”

  “I thought you were Mr. Fancy Pants who knows how to eat spaghetti?” she teased.

  “Nobody knows how to eat spaghetti.” He cut into a meatball and popped the delicious half into his mouth. “But you know how to make spaghetti and meatballs.”

  “All told, it’s not that hard,” she said with a laugh.

  “You know, this reminds me…” Daniel wiped at his mouth, seeing his window to the potentially uncomfortable conversation awaiting them. “I’ve been thinking about how you’ll be hanging around here over the next month. And I wondered if you wouldn’t mind a slight change of plans.”

  Her eyebrow shot up as she twirled noodles around her fork. “How so?”

  “I think I mentioned before that next week, I’m leaving for a full week to attend my best friend’s wedding. I was having lunch with him today, along with another friend of ours and…well…”

  He thought about trying to paper over it, claim that he just wanted company or that he thought she might have a good time. But no, that wouldn’t be fair to her. She deserved to know what she’d be getting into. He needed to lay it all out. “My best friends made me a bet that I couldn’t last the week with the girlfriend I brought. The girlfriend they think is you, by the way, after Grayson caught us in the tub. Well, I want to prove them wrong. If you can help me win this bet by going to the wedding with me and posing as my girlfriend, I’ll give you half the payout.”

  Her eyes were green saucers. “How much money are we talking?”

  “Your cut would be five hundred thousand.”

  Jackie choked suddenly, her hand launching toward a glass of water. She chugged half of it before slamming the glass down.

  “Are you fucking serious?” she squeaked again.

  “Completely.”

  “That would pay off my entire school debt and then some!” she shouted.

  A slow smile began creeping across his face. “So it’s a deal?”

  “You bet your ass it is!” She lifted her water glass, inviting him to do the same. “Hello, new boyfriend! We’re gonna have a great time in Napa.”

  Their water glasses clinked, and as Daniel locked eyes with Jackie, he realized that with her at his side, he might be in for a lot more than a great time.

  4

  “Jackie, I promise you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Daniel’s rough baritone sent a shiver through her. They hadn’t even officially be
gun their fake relationship and already she was turned on beyond belief. And they weren’t even in the same room.

  “I don’t know if I can go by myself,” she insisted, gnawing on her bottom lip. The plan had been that she and Daniel would head to Napa Valley together around four, so that they would arrive in time to join the group dinner to kick off the week’s festivities.

  But now Daniel couldn’t come in the car with her because of some emergency meeting. And she was ready to pull the plug on the whole thing.

  “You can head over, meet everyone, get dinner and get settled in. I promise I’ll only be delayed by an hour.”

  “Then why don’t I just wait an hour for you?” she asked, anxiety already making slick trails through her. Showing up to new places alone was already nerve-wracking. Going solo to Daniel’s fancy pants best friend’s wedding? She would rather die. “I don’t know anyone. Like, at all. It’s going to be so weird if I show up alone.”

  “I hear you. But honestly, if one of us isn’t there when the festivities start, I’m going to get so much shit for it. If you show up, you’re my messenger. Nobody can say we’re not part of this, then. Do you understand?”

  Even though he was still approachable, there was an authority in his tone that made her belly tingle. One week of living with this man and she’d had enough fantasies of him to last a lifetime. How many times had she slept naked in his guest room, just wishing he’d stumble in and find her spread eagle on the bed, wanting him?

  Too many to count, that was how many.

  She sighed, allowing herself to relish this absurd situation for what it was: a temporary insanity that would soon pass and be relegated to her memories, where Daniel and his gilded life would haunt her for eternity. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll go.”

  “You don’t have to worry about a thing. My friend Blake already knows you’ll be coming on your own, so he’ll be there to greet you, and show you off to everyone else.”

  Show you off. Like she was anyone worth getting excited over. Still, she wondered if that’s how Daniel saw her. As exotic a species as she saw him. “Great.”