Romance: The Billionaire's Proposal

Romance: The Billionaire’s Proposal

Emily Cooper

Romance: The Billionaire’s Proposal

Emily Cooper

Copyright © 2015

Published by Run Free Publishing

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

For my family and friends – thank you for your endless love and support.

Also by Emily Cooper:

Romance: Seduced by the Billionaire’s Lust

Romance: The Billionaire’s Assistant

Romance: Bought for the Billionaire’s Pleasure

Romance: Alpha Stepbrother

Romance: The Billionaire’s Proposal

Emily Cooper

Chapter One

Alexander

Taking a long sip of expensive whiskey, I gaze across to the clock with weary eyes.

It is past nine o’clock and I am still sitting behind a desk, analyzing important work documents. I rub my eyes and sigh, deciding it is time to head to the nearest bar.

This work can wait until tomorrow; I need to relax, get out a little, and have some fun. As I collect my coat, I notice that the elevator is on its way up. I wait until the doors open and immediately my heart falls to my feet. Standing there is one of the girls I used to mess with, although I really can’t recall her name.

“Alexander! I’ve been trying to reach you. Why haven’t you been returning any of my calls?” she asks brashly.

I stare at the very attractive brunette, trying to keep my eyes from staring at her large rack, but I still can’t place her name. “I’m a busy person and if I haven’t been returning your calls then there is a reason for that.”

She pouts, “You promised me that we’d go to dinner sometime.”

I bite back a laugh—I know that is a lie. I never,
ever
promise to take women out to dinner. It is against my rules. I am much too busy to bother with dinner.

“I think you have me confused with someone else.”

Angry grows over her face. “No I’m not! After we slept together, I said we should do dinner sometime and you said that you’d think about it.”

“You do know that saying I’ll think about it doesn’t mean yes?”

“It’s close enough!”

“No, it’s not. I didn’t promise you anything. You’re just looking for something that I’m not willing to give. I’m not the take-a-woman-out-to-dinner type of guy. I’m the take-a-woman-and-have-your-way-with-her-in-bed type of guy. Believe me, there is a huge difference.”

“I just don’t understand Alexander. I thought we had an amazing time together.”

I laugh. “I’m sure that we did sweetheart, but like I said: I’m not looking for anything more than a good time in bed.”

She huffs. “But you can have so much more than that with me.”

“But I don’t want much more than that with you. I’m sure that I’ve already gotten everything that I wanted from you,” I say, getting slightly aggravated.

Tears start to well up in her eyes as she repeatedly pushes the button for the elevator, looking for an escape.

“You know, Alexander, you’re nothing but a jerk. People said you were a jerk but I defended you. I said you were nice. It appears I am wrong.”

“It appears so.”

“You’re going to regret not giving this a chance and when you come crawling back, I’m sure that I’ll just look at you and laugh. You missed your chance with something big.”

The elevator dings, and after the doors close behind her, a smile grows across my face. Things like this happen to me on a regular basis—some women just can’t take a hint.

When my dear mother died suddenly twenty years ago, I had just celebrated my tenth birthday. From that day on, I vowed never to let another woman replace her in my life. Many have tried, but the memory of my mother sits too close to my heart.

I love women but I’m not interested in them except for one thing; and when I get it, they are no longer of use to me. There isn’t a woman around that can change my mind. Love ’em and leave ’em is my motto.

I opt to take the stairs just in case the crazy brunette decides to come back and give me another piece of her mind. The bar was starting to sound better and better and I could use several drinks… and possibly a new companion after this incident.

Who knows what the night will hold?

Chapter Two

Tara

“I think I’ll have another drink, or maybe two,” I say to the bartender, showing him my empty glass.

He raises his brow to me and smiles. “Are you sure, Tara? I think you’re teetering on the edge of being drunk. And as lovely as that would be to see, I know that you don’t have a designated driver.”

“I’m just having a little fun, that’s all. Besides, I’m not driving tonight, Ray. And I’m still paying,” I smiled my sweetest smile.

I actually took a cab here and that’s the same way I was getting home.

Ray and I went to high school together. Things were rough back then.

Thanks to my drug addict parents, I was passed through many different foster homes. I never really found my feet at any of the schools I attended but Ray helped me settle down. Once I was settled, I went from strength to strength and now at twenty-five years old, I run my own property development firm.

In school, almost every girl wanted to date Ray. He was the perfect athlete, the perfect student, the perfect everything. He used to date my best friend, and fellow foster homer, Amber, for a while, so we became great friends.

Ray smiles at me, walks away, and begins to fix my drink along with another customer’s as someone sits beside me. I look over and my mouth drops open.

Oh my.

My eyes catch the most perfect man I have ever seen.

My heart skips a beat as I drink his beauty in. He is purely breathtaking. 

It’s as if someone molded him out of clay; that’s how perfect he looks.

His features are very well composed, from the curve in his nose to the pout in his lips. He is straight perfection, and I know that I am not the only woman in the bar who is drinking in his good looks. His tanned skin is smooth, his height is towering, and his suit is impeccable.

Perfect.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asks, flashing a beautiful smile.

“Um… Sure, I’d like that.”

“What do you like?” he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t care…surprise me. I’ll drink it. I’m living a little on the edge tonight.”

He laughs and waves over to Ray, who places my drink down in front of me with a wink.

“Thanks,” I say as I take a sip.

“Can I get a Cosmo for the lady and a whiskey for me,” he says in a deep, silky smooth voice.

Ray nods and walks off, then the sexy stranger turns to look at me. “Did I make a good choice?”

“You did okay,” I say with a smile.

I secretly wished that he had ordered the Manhattan for me because the alcohol in it was great.

I’ve had a couple of them in the past and usually wound up really buzzed the next day, but it meant that I had a good time—which is definitely what I was having tonight now that I had this sexy guy sitting beside me.

“So what brings you to this bar this evening on your lonesome?” he asks. “A pretty woman like you should never be alone. It’s why I decided to join you before someone else decided to swoop in and take you for themselves.”

“How do you know that I’m alone?” I ask curiously.

“I saw you when you came in. You looked at your phone a dozen times and then finally sighed, sat down, and started drinking. So either you were stood up for a date—which I can’t possibly imagine—or one of your friends bailed on you, which seems like the more logical answer. But I can’t be too sure these days.”

“So you were watching me? Should I be worried?” I ask.

I also wonder why I didn’t notice him when I first entered the bar.

Probably because I was so occupied thinking about Amber and why she was running so late.

“No, you shouldn’t be worried at all. I just like to pay attention to very beautiful things, and you’re one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in quite some time. A very natural beauty,” he says.

My cheeks start to flush as I finish my drink. Ray then places another one in front of me.

“I was supposed to meet my friend Amber here tonight, but she kind of stood me up. Something came up so she couldn’t make it. And since I rarely go out, I decided to have myself a good time. I didn’t want to go back and sit in the house and be alone, you know? Who wants to do that on a Saturday night—even if I do that most of the time. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

He nods and smiles. “It’s okay, I understand. I barely have time for fun myself so I can see where you’re coming from.”

The room seems to stand still as I watch him place his lips on the glass.

I’m jealous.

All I can think of is those luscious lips wrapped around my nipples, doing the same thing.

Just the thought shoots tingles all through my body, and I shake my head to rid myself of the image.

I try to focus on what he’s saying.

“So you’re a little uptight, huh? If you are, it’s cool, because my friends think that I’m a little uptight as well. They’re a lot more free-spirited than me, though, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.”

He laughs. “No, not uptight. I just work a lot. And I do mean a lot. Tonight was one of my rare days with a free moment, and I just wanted get away from it all. I can see that I chose the best place to be.”

“Same here. I’m a whole lot of work and not a lot of play. I’ve always been like that. But I know that it will pay off big in the end, so I’m not worried about it at all.”

“Touché,” he says as he raises his glass.

Alexander

I sip from my drink and keep my eyes on the woman I am buying drinks for.

She’s beautiful.

Actually, beautiful is an understatement: she is absolutely gorgeous.

From the moment she stepped through the door, I knew I wanted to get to know her. I needed to wait and see first if she had come there with a boyfriend because I didn’t want any problems.

But when I realized she was alone, I decided to make my move.

The good thing about this was she didn’t even seem to know who I was.

Most women know who I am.

It’s a curse.

I am a magnet for gold diggers - being a billionaire does that.

After all, I’m Alexander Hudson, land development extraordinaire.

I love taking a piece of property and making it into something profitable.

I started with a five-thousand dollar investment and had more than doubled that within my first year of doing business.

No one really believed that I could do it.

Not my father, grandparents, or anyone in my family, for that matter.

Mom would have believed in me. I know that.

But she didn’t live long enough to watch me grow.

The only person who believed in me was the guy I was washing dishes for at the time, and now we both were living the high life.

He held a ten percent stake in the company and he wasn’t doing bad.

Everyone in my family now constantly have their hands out; and unfortunately, I’m not all that charitable.

Especially since they had laughed in my face when I needed the investment.