Escorting the Billionaire by Leigh James
Audrey
I steeredJenny past the ladies’ room, down the hall to the empty coat check. I looked around carefully, making sure that no one from James’s family was nearby or could see us. “Jenny,” I said gently. “Cole hired you through AccommoDating, right?”
“Of course,” she said.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“He’s awesome, Dre. We’ve been having so much fun.” She beamed at me and grabbed my hands. “Thank you for doing this for me. Elena’s so happy that James sent her a referral. I told her I was going to rock Cole’s world and make him a regular.”
“Okay,” I said. “I just want to make sure, though…”
“What?”
“That you don’t think he’s gonna buy you, or anything,” I said miserably. “The way you were looking at him out there—”
“Aw, Dre, c’mon!” She said. She was laughing at me. “This isn’t my first date. You don’t think I have an actual crush on Cole Bryson, do you?”
“Don’t you?” I asked, dumbfounded.
Jenny shrugged. She looked exasperated. “I like his wallet. I like his thick cock. I like his box seats. I like batting him around like a cat toy.”
“You don’t like him?”
“Oh yeah—I like him, all right. Who the fuck wouldn’t? He’s wicked hot, and he’s a billionaire! But he’s a John, Dre. He’s paying for me to do whatever he wants. And he wants to do lots of things, let me tell you. He’s nasty, and I like it.” She paused to fluff her hair.
“But just because I’m enjoying myself doesn’t make it any less of a job. Or any more than a job. I mean—oh, you know what I mean.”
My heart sank, and I nodded at her. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“Enough about me. I can take care of myself.” She looked at me with her big, blue eyes. “How’s it going with Mr. Sex in a Suit?”
“Great,” I said noncommittally.
“He did fuck, you, right? I saw you two out there.”
“He fucked me,” I said. “We fucked.”
“Was it that bad?” Jenny was looking at me as if I had three heads. “Dre, are you going to cry or something?”
“No,” I said, but my eyes were totally filling with tears. I blotted them carefully. “Jenny, I can’t cry. His whole family is out there. And they can’t know how we know each other, either.”
“Okay,” she said. “We can handle that. I’ve had to lie to so many wives and girlfriends that the lies just spring out, Dre. And they’re usually pretty good. Don’t worry about that part. But we do need to worry about those tears. Tell me what’s going on.”
I shook my head almost violently. “I can’t. I can’t talk about it.”
“He hit you or something? Is he some kind of freak?”
“Nope,” I said.
She played gently with my hair. “You cross some kind of line with yourself?” she asked.
I probably never gave Jenny enough credit for being smart. “Something like that.” I sniffed.
“S’okay, Dre. That happens to everybody.”
She hugged me. “The thing is, nobody knows what those lines are but you. That’s why it’s awesome that feelings and thoughts are invisible. They’re like magic. Nobody knows the truth but you, okay? You’re safe.”
“Okay.” I sniffled some more.
“So you do what you think is right. And remember, if it gets too bad, just close your eyes.”
“’Cause then it’s like it never happened,” I finished for her. “Jenny, I probably haven’t told you this lately, but you’re smart.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s my secret weapon.” She gave me a long look. “And Dre—just because it’s not gonna happen for me, doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen for you.”
“What?” I asked.
“You know.”
I shrugged. I knew exactly what she meant. “Jenny, it’s not gonna happen for me.”
She shook her head and pointed at herself. “No billionaire’s gonna buy me. ’Cause I’m a whore, Dre, and I don't even feel bad about it. But you’re different. You're doing this to take care of your brother. You’re actually a good girl. Mr. Suit knows that. I can tell.”
“He’s not going to buy me,” I said miserably.
“He might.” She grinned at me and shrugged. “Crazier shit’s happened, that’s for sure.”
“What about you and Cole?”
“I am going to suck him as dry as I can—him and his wallet.”
I finished drying my eyes, and she linked her arm through mine. “You ready?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Then let’s go bat some billionaires around like cat toys,” she said and gave me a wicked grin.
Our little groupwas quite popular that evening. Everyone wanted to have a drink with the two gorgeous billionaires and their super-hot, mysterious dates. Even Evie seemed impressed. “You own part of the Thunder?” Evie asked, her flat chest pressed out toward Cole. She was looking at him as if he was some sort of rock-star, farm-team-owning Greek god.
“Yeah, he does,” Jenny said, stepping forward in front of Cole. She thrust out her much more formidable chest, as if daring Evie to come closer.
Evie was about to say something back when Todd interrupted. “Are you flirting with the best man’s best friend?” he asked his fiancée. They were both slurring their words a little; the cocktail ‘hour’ had been going for three hours straight.
Evie tossed her hair and narrowed her eyes at him. “Sorry, baby,” she said in what sounded like her version of a sexy voice. “Old habits die hard.”
“You mean once a slutty sorority girl, always a slutty sorority girl?” Todd asked, grinning at her.
“That’s exactly what I mean.” She grabbed his tie and pulled him in for a quick, hot kiss. Todd lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him. They headed to a dark corner for some serious making out and grinding.
“They’re drunk,” Cole said and laughed.
“They’re happy,” I said, surprised. I turned to James. “They’re actually good together.”
James stood up taller and watched them making out in the corner, a bemused look on his face. “He likes her slutty sorority girl act. You just might be right,” he said.
Meanwhile, sparks were still flying in our little circle. “You are so hot when you fight for me,” Cole said to Jenny. He took another sip of his martini and looked at her with hooded eyes.
“That wasn’t even a fight,” Jenny said. She tossed her hair. “If you want to see me throw down, just bring that bitch back here.”
Cole looked impressed. “That’s so hot—that’s the bride, Jenny. You gonna fight the bride for me?”
“I would, baby,” she cooed, pressing herself against him. They started seriously making out then, with Cole’s hands all over Jenny’s ass. James and I just looked at each other, somewhere between mortified and amused.
Celia Preston was not impressed, however. She motioned for us to come over. We both took large swigs of our drinks before we went. “Who is that girl with Cole Bryson tonight?” she asked, watching them dry-hump next to the bar.
“That’s Jenny,” James said matter-of-factly. “They’re dating.”
“If that’s what you want to call it.” Celia turned to me. “Do you know this Jenny? She seemed excited to see you.”
“I met her last night. We went out for after-dinner drinks,” I said, watching James out of the corner of my eye.
“We met them,” James said, nodding. “For drinks after dinner.”
“Is he bringing her to the wedding?” Celia asked, scowling at them as they became more entangled.
“I hope so,” James said. “Otherwise, Todd and Evie will be the only ones having inappropriate physical displays in public.” James pointed them out in the far corner, still playing Slutty Sorority Girl and Her Jealous Boyfriend.
Celia frowned. “I think I should have had more substantial food served at this thing,” she said mostly to herself.
“Live and learn, Mother,” James said. “Live and learn.”
We snuckout after Celia was interrupted by one of her friends, asking about which red wine on the list had the most antioxidants.
I winked at Jenny on the way out, and she gave me a thumbs-up. Cole still had his hands on her ass.
“I think he really likes her,” James said as we slid into the car. “I don’t think he’s pretending.”
“What’s not to like?” I asked. “She’s gorgeous, she’s young, and she’s smart.” He looked at me skeptically. “No, James—she’s actually really smart. One of her many talents is hiding it.”
“My brother and Evie were also entertaining tonight,” James said.
“You know what? I think they’re actually in love,” I said. “Todd seems really excited about getting married. And Evie definitely seemed into him tonight… if he can live with what happened and accept her for who she is, maybe you can, too.”
James snorted.
“I’m just pointing that out to you,” I said in a know-it-all voice.
“We’ll see,” he said. At least it was something.
I sighed. “I have to deal with my mother.” I gave Kai my mother's address in East Boston, and he sped silently through the night. “I wish we could just go home,” I said. “I mean—your home.”
James put his arm around me. “Do you want to tell me what’s happening?”
“Nope,” I said. Because then you’d try to fix it, and it’s my cross to bear.
James sighed and sat back. “What do I have to do to get you to trust me? This is safe,” he said, pointing between us. “You can tell me anything. It’s not like we have to hide anything from each other.”
“I’ll trust you when you trust me,” I said. “I seem to remember you have some things you’re keeping to yourself.” I thought he would move away from me then, but instead, he pulled me closer.
“The things I’m keeping from you I’ve kept from everybody,” he said. “You shouldn’t take it personally.”
“Same for me,” I said. “There’s just some stuff that no one else needs to know.”
“But what if I want to know?” James asked. He tucked my hair behind my ear. “What if I want to know who you are?”
“So you can fire me again?” I asked. He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m kidding—relax,” I said.
“And I feel the same way about you... but James, don’t you kind of wonder what the point is? We’re only going to know each other for another week.”The thought made my heart lurch.
James looked down at our entwined hands. “Maybe the point is that we care about each other, even if it’s just right for now. I don’t care about too many people, Audrey. It’s a very short list.”
My heart lurched again, and I grimaced. Don’t tell me things like that, I thought.
“I care about you, too,” I said.
Stupid, stupid, stupid,I fumed at myself.
He kissed my forehead. “Then that’s reason enough.”
Kai pulled up outside my mother’s building. “Saved by the bell. I guess we can’t talk anymore—we’re here,” I said, relieved.
“I’m going in with you,” James said.
“I need you to stay here. I have to do this by myself.” I looked at my watch: it was nine o’clock. My mother was definitely drunk and most likely belligerent at this hour. It was nothing I wanted James to see. “Please.”
“Is it safe?” he asked, nodding toward her run-down apartment complex.
“This is where I grew up. It’s my mother. I’ll be fine—and I’ll be right back.” Kai opened the door for me, and I got out.
“Audrey.” I leaned back down to look at him. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
I sighed and quickly headed up the stairs to my mother’s entrance, not looking back at the car. I didn’t want him to be here, near the ugliness my mother always caused. I knocked on her door but there was no answer; the lights were on, though, so I tried the door. It opened, and I took one last deep breath of clean air before I went inside.
There she was at the kitchen table, next to an overflowing ashtray, smoking as if she were going to the electric chair. “Hey, Ma,” I said through the haze of smoke.
“Well, if it isn’t Little Miss High and Mighty. You’re looking fancy,” she said. “Nice of you to finally show up.” Her hair was long and thin, with bleached ends and long, oily-looking roots. She’d been pretty once. Now her skin was red and mottled from too many Boston winters and too many Marlboro Lights.
“You were waiting for me?” I asked.
“You know I got into an accident today. You know they towed my car and that I don’t have any money.”
I would have felt bad for her then, had I not known any better. She didn’t want my sympathy. She wanted my money.
“No offense, Ma—but how is that my problem exactly?” It wasn’t what I should have said. But the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the table and the fact that she’d tried to take money from New Horizons today pushed me over the edge.
“I don’t know why a hooker thinks she’s better than her own mother. At least I worked an honest job,” she said. She had that nasty tone in her voice, the one that said she was just itching for a fight.
“You haven’t had an honest job in a long time,” I reminded her. “Last time I checked, your job was drinking, smoking, and trying to get by on other people’s money.”
She looked up at me, a triumphant smile on her face. “At least I’m not gettin’ by on other people’s dicks.”
“Yes, you are,” I said. It was sad, but her words didn’t even faze me anymore. “You have one nasty man after another up here, and that’s how you pay your rent and buy your cigarettes.”
“What do you know about it?” she snapped.
“I know all about it. I’m a whore, too,” I said flatly. “It takes one to know one.”
She stood up, her hands curled into fists, ready to come after me. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, but I didn’t want to get into it with her tonight. I wanted to defuse her and put her on the back burner of my life, where she would stay out of trouble for the imminent future, maybe forever.
As usual, I was doing a crap job of that.
“How much do you need,” I said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Two thousand dollars,” she said. She uncurled her fists, but she didn’t bother looking like she was sorry.
“I can give it to you, but there are conditions,” I said, pacing around the grimy kitchen. “First, do not ever go and try to get money from New Horizons again. That money is for Tommy. Your son. He needs it more than you and me put together. That’s why I’m working so much. Please don’t ever do that again. Promise me.”
She nodded. I wasn’t sure if I could believe her, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that right now.
“Second, you can’t ever go to my office again. My boss would have fired me today, except I’m on a job.”
She snorted and lit another cigarette. “That boss of yours thinks her shit doesn’t stink. I had a mind today to tell that beaver chomper—”
“Please don’t call her a beaver chomper,” I interrupted, “and just don’t ever go there again. She said she’d fire me if you do. She meant it. If you want to keep crashing your cars up, getting bailed out of jail, and borrowing money for the rest of your life, I sort of need a job, okay? So lay off.”
“Fine.” She blew out a cloud of smoke in my direction.
I didn’t know what I’d ever done to her to make her hate me, but she did. She didn’t hate Tommy—she didn’t take good care of him, but she at least ruffled his hair occasionally. But not me. Maybe it was just a complete and utter lack of love that I felt from her.
She was like the sun on a sub-zero day: she was there, but she gave no warmth. It was as if I’d come along and ruined her party just by being born, and now I had to pay. And pay. And pay. I took out my wallet and handed her the cash. It was the only money I’d kept from the advance. It was supposed to go toward rent, but there was nothing I could do about that right now.
Except go back to work.
“Bye, Ma,” I said.
She stuffed the money into her pocket and nodded at me. “See ya. Have fun in that fancy outfit.” The way she said it made me feel dirty.
I couldn’t wait to flee the smoke and everything else. I threw the door open, eager to breathe in the fresh air.
And there stood James Preston on the landing, just standing there, waiting for me.
