My Billionaire Fling by Maci Dillon
GABE
After I attend to some early morning work calls, I leave Sophia’s place to return to my suite and prepare for the day ahead. First up, I have a meeting with Kassidy about the next steps in our hotel design project. Hiring her is the best thing I’ve ever done despite the tension it has caused between Jarett and myself.
Unfortunately, the tension only grew when he found out I was sleeping with his sister. Though it wasn’t my intention to keep it a secret from him, it was also not my place to announce it. That was Sophia’s call, and as much as her opposing to do so drove me wild, I had to respect it.
Especially since I never exactly divulged I knew Jarett.
Following the meeting with Kassidy, we’re both due to meet with Markus Walton, the owner of the new hotel chain. It’s an informal meet and greet as we haven’t fully commenced work on the project, but while he’s visiting for other reasons and I’m also in town, inevitably, it’s a great opportunity for him and Kassidy to meet face to face.
Once all the meetings and work commitments are out of the way, I focus on the real reason I’m in London and prepare to make a home I am happy to spend my time in away from the office.
With Sophia.
“Gail, Gabe Lugreno. You can expect to receive an offer any minute from my lawyer for the Sky suite my fiancé and I viewed yesterday.”
“Yes, Mr. Lugreno. I have your offer in front of me. It’s above the asking price, you realize?”
“I’m aware, yes. You said it was move-in ready. I can transfer the funds immediately and pick up the key this afternoon if possible?”
“Oh, umm, these transactions don’t usually move ahead this quickly, sir, although the seller has agreed to the terms and price in your paperwork.”
Of course, they have. And I knew she’d have sent them the offer already. My team emailed and called her office an hour ago after already discussing with the owner.
I have an appointment with an interior designer in two hours and furniture due to be delivered in less than an hour. I’m not one to fuck around when I know what I want. Sophia will forgive me when I explain the plans for her apartment in Shoreditch.
“I’ll have my attorney transfer the funds immediately, and I’ll be right over to sign the final paperwork and accept my keys. Thank you, Gail. It’s been a pleasure.”
Without waiting for her answer, I hang up the phone and transfer the funds. I don’t actually need my attorney, Brad, to take care of this part of the transaction for me.
SOPHIA
The best start to the day is reading the retraction in today’s news, together with the public apology slandering my name. Well, except for hot and sweaty morning sex with the man who’s committed to taking over my life.
With all the team back on board after their early send-off yesterday, we gather in the boardroom to celebrate the news and rehash the policies surrounding staff relationships with clients, just in case there’s any question of where I stand on this.
We still haven’t uncovered the source of the misinformation or the reason behind it, but we will. I have sources I’m hoping will talk more freely now the retraction has been printed.
While my staff is aware Gabe has never been a client of Incontro, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. The staff from our New York agency are also present via video conference, so I take this opportunity to address the introduction to the elite membership side of our international counterpart. Bree and I have already discussed this and agree now’s the time to put our best foot forward and start to turn the tide on that extension of our business.
“As you all know, during my regular trips to New York over the past year, I have been training consultants in the management of our elite membership base and services. While our sister agency to date has remained focused on their original matchmaking services alone, we feel now is the best time to move forward with the introduction of our high-end escort services.”
A round of applause fills the room. It’s a big step for all involved. I’ve assigned my top London consultants to partner with my pick of those in New York to mentor and assist with providing the best support in this area. Our clientele pays us a huge sum to vet their potential dates for suitability and trust their role isn’t to be taken lightly.
“We’ll be rolling this out with the help of our media and web development team over the weekend. Media coverage commences tomorrow with the exclusive membership portal launching on Saturday. This won’t affect most of you, but for our senior consultants assigned to a member of our team in New York, please be prepared to assist where needed. You’ll be required to be on call over this weekend to answer any questions as previously discussed.”
It’s been almost a year since we purchased the international agency, and slowly we’ve been changing the brand and reconditioning the expectations of the current clientele. Also, a great deal of time has been spent engaging potential new client interest to assist with the success of this launch. New York is highly competitive regarding their elite services for high-rollers and secret society members, so it’s definitely not without its challenges, though each challenge is worth tackling head- on.
“Did you and Gabe pick a new place to call home last night?” Kelli whispers as we leave the conference room after a brief Q and A.
“Not exactly. I’m still not convinced me uprooting my apartment to move in with him for show is worth it.” Plus, we didn’t discuss it any further after we returned to my place, but I wasn’t about to tell her the reason for that.
“You won’t know until you try.” Kelli’s cheery positivity about my current situation both irritates me and puts a smile on my face at the same time.
Part of me believes there’s nothing to lose. The other churns in contempt at having to share a space with another human. I’m forty, for fuck’s sake, and have been living alone for half of my life. I love my privacy and not having to answer to anyone.
And I know Gabe is unprepared for the hundreds of pairs of shoes I own.
To my knowledge, he’s never had a relationship serious enough to share a home with a woman before me, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
“I’ll be heading out by five this afternoon. I think Mr. Lugreno and I have some serious discussing to do.”
“Would you like me to type out your pros and cons list to take with you?” she asks, grinning from ear to ear.
“What list?” I snap, forgetting she knows me better than I know myself most of the time.
“The one in the top drawer of your desk…” she laughs, “… where you keep all your lists for the important stuff.”
I march off to my office, leaving her in a fit of giggles.
Bitch.
When I finish up a few hours later after an in-office meeting with yet another unsuitable applicant, I pull my hardcover notebook from my drawer and open to my current list of pros and cons. Yes, Kelli was right. What she doesn’t know is there’s only one entry on the pros side of the list.
Hot sex on tap.
Although we planned to meet for dinner at eight, I decide to head home early to recharge, change, and study the apartment I love so dearly. It’s a chance to reflect and try to imagine my life and home being uprooted and moved to the Sky suite, my favorite choice from the two suites we viewed last night.
Entering my building, Ray greets me with a confused look from the reception desk. “Hello, Miss Evans, did you forget something?”
“I’m sorry?” I ask, unsure why he’d assume I’d forgotten something as it has been ten hours since I left for work this morning.
Ray’s smile broadens, “Don’t tell me Mr. Lugreno failed to deliver part of your monstrous shoe collection.”
Frowning, I walk to the desk where Ray sits. He’s worked here for several years now. The day the laborers arrived to remodel part of my closet to make room for my collection, he was new to the position.
“What was Mr. Lugreno doing with my shoes, Ray?”
Horror fills his eyes, his smile drops, and he begins to stammer. “You… you don’t know?” he finally whispers.
Dread wafts over me, and my body stiffens. My throat seizes as if I’ve scooped a little too much Chunky Monkey ice cream into my mouth and tried to swallow it without chewing.
“Know what?”
“Perhaps you should call Mr. Lugreno yourself.” His beady little eyes dance around, avoiding direct contact with mine.
Pulling my phone from my bag, I powerwalk to the elevator and swipe my access card. The call goes straight to voicemail, and I let out an exasperated huff as I punch the keys to my floor in the elevator.
Now, my blood is coursing angrily through my veins, and I see red. Eager to get into my apartment, I trip over the lip of the elevator, my heel getting stuck in the gap.
“Fuck,” I curse loudly as I fall forward, dropping my briefcase and… snap.
There goes the heel on my favorite Friday Louis Vuittons.
Picking myself up off the floor, I step out of my shoes so I don’t go ass up again and eventually make my way into my apartment.
“The fuck?” I yell, spinning around my once vibrantly decorated apartment, finding nothing but open space.
Everything is gone.
