The Risk: A Billionaire Romance (Wagered Hearts Series, Book 2) (5 page)

At first, I had wondered why she was with me—I didn’t come from the right family, didn’t have any money of my own and had only been able to afford university through a generous scholarship. She herself came from a well-to-do family that was rather prominent in the Northeast, her father being a member of congress. But I was so blinded by love; I stupidly believed that she loved me too and that she didn’t care about those things.

I was wrong and it was a lesson I’d never forget. After almost a year of dating, I finally saw her true colors. One day I came to her dorm room to visit her spontaneously. I was so busy with school and work that I felt like I had been neglecting her.

It turned out I had nothing to worry about. She had kept herself well occupied all those nights I’d been slaving away at the computer. I’ll never forget the contemptuousness in her voice or her mocking stare as I stood there, stunned and completely heartbroken, watching as she lay in bed with another man, casually stroking his chest.

The man in her bed, Marty Cranston, at least had the decency to get up and leave the room, but not before dropping a kiss on her head and promising to call her later that night. I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to keep a tight rein on my anger. I wanted nothing better than to punch something, or better yet somebody, but I knew that wouldn’t do me any favors.

“You didn’t think I really loved you, did you?” she laughed, once Marty had left. “Don’t get me wrong, you were always good for a nice fuck, but that’s about it.”

“Why?” I managed to ask, hating the way my voice broke.

“Because, Ryan, you’re a nobody. I can’t go around introducing you to my family. They expect better of me and I expect better for myself. I mean the only reason I agreed to go out with you was because you were friends with Roman, but since he won’t even look twice at me while I’m with you, what’s the point?”

“That’s it? That’s the only reason? You never loved me?” I asked wretchedly.

“Oh Ryan, you’re not going to cry on me are you,” she asked heartlessly. “If it makes you feel any better, we can still screw around from time to time. Like I said, you were always a good—”

“Don’t,” I said cutting her off. “I don’t want to hear any more. You’re going to regret this one day.”

The last thing I heard as I walked out her door was her chuckling behind my back. I swore from then on that she would regret it. I’d do something with my life and make a name for myself.

Years later, after I had sold my first company for over $2 billion, I ran into her at a charity gala. She had walked right up to me and shamelessly flirted with me the whole night. I should have pushed her away or ignored her completely, but a part of me wanted her to realize what she’d so carelessly thrown away. So I let her flirt with me and I let her introduce me to her parents. Later, I let her take me back to her place where I proceeded to screw her brains out. A soon as I was done, I got off the bed and started to get dressed.

“Where are you going?” she asked, still breathless from her orgasm.

“Home.”

“Why don’t you stay the night?”

“No, but thanks for the good fuck,” I said before turning away and walking out of her room.

I thought that was the last I’d see of her but she wasn’t one to be put off. She had no shame and I got a perverse satisfaction using her body, knowing full well that was all I wanted from her. Our “relationship” started off hot and heavy, but fizzled out after a few months when I began to get bored and started to hate the way I felt afterwards.

The next time she called me, I didn’t bother picking up. All her messages were left unreturned and eventually after a few weeks, she finally got the message. I thought it was a fitting way to end things with her. She didn’t deserve my consideration.

“With all the women you’ve been with, I’m surprised one of them hasn’t claimed you’re the father of her love child,” Natasha joked.

“Ha-ha real funny. Don’t even go there Tasha,” I said. “Let’s not ruin lunch with talk of exes.”

“That’s easy for you to say. I’m the one who deals with the fall out,” she complained.

“Oh, my poor Natasha. Do you need a raise?”

“You can make light of this all you want, but one day karma will come knocking and I’ll be the one sitting back and enjoying the show.”

“Are you just mad because you have to help plan the bachelor and bachelorette party now?” I asked.

“You’re really asking me to do that?” Natasha asked looking astonished and a little offended.

“You heard me tell her so, didn’t you?”

“Oh my God, Ryan. I didn’t go to college to be your party planner.”

“You work for me. You do what I tell you to,” I said.

“Fuck you,” she bit back.

I swallowed the retort that was on my lips.

“I’m not asking you to take care of everything yourself. Ok, maybe I am,” I amended after she shot me a skeptical look. “It’s just for a short while.”

“Why are you so gung ho about this party? Last I heard, you hated weddings and couldn’t imagine Roman actually agreeing to get married.”

“Maybe I’ve had a change of heart,” I said.

“Is it because of her?” Natasha asked, jutting her chin in Mel’s direction. “Are you really that interested in her?”

“Maybe. That’s what I’m trying to find out. You’ll have everything you need at your disposal. Hire anyone you like to help you,” I said.

“And free reign with the company credit card?” she asked, perking up.

“Yes, do what you must,” I sighed.

“Good, because if you want me to put this together, I’m letting you know right now it won’t come cheap.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” I said, giving her one of my boyish grins.

She rolled her eyes at me before her expression turned serious. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Ryan. She’s not just any woman. Not only is she Cora Abelgard’s daughter, but she’s best friends with Roman’s fiancé. If you mess with her, even I can’t keep you from the fall out.”

I hadn’t considered that and sat back thoughtfully. I was being honest when I said I had no intention of hurting Mel. There was just something about her that made it hard for me to stay away. But I knew there was no doubt Roman would be pissed if I hurt her. He’d probably try to deck me, but as for Cora Abelgard—I wasn’t worried about her. One had to care in order to be scared. Other people could dance to her tune and try to curry favor with her so as not to be excluded and blacklisted, but I couldn’t care less. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

I stared at my watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, my foot tapping against the wall I was leaning on. Mel was supposed to meet me for dinner twenty minutes ago. She said she’d catch up with me at the restaurant. I looked at my watch again. Twenty two minutes late. I ran my hand through my hair and looked up at the sky sighing. Could she have stood me up? “There’s always a first time for everything,” I muttered under my breath.

“Sorry I’m late,” I finally heard her say as she walked up to me. I turned around to face her and saw her cheeks were flushed with exertion, and she was out of breath as if she’s just jogged the whole way here. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long.”

“Not at all,” I said, giving her a wide smile.

She looked quite adorable with her hands fisted against her hips, slightly bent over as if she’d just run a marathon. Strands of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and framed her face. My fingers tingled, wanting to tuck a stray strand behind her ear, but I held back. Instead I took in her clothes—not exactly formal dress, but she still looked well put together in a long flowing skirt, black shirt and a leather jacket. It wasn’t the sort of look that normally appealed to me, but on her it worked. She looked innocent and edgy all rolled into one.

I opened the door for her and followed her inside the restaurant, admiring the sway of her hips as she walked in front of me.

“So, how was your day?” I asked once we were seated.

“Do you really want to know?” she asked. She sounded weary and tired.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t,” I said.

“Ok then. My day was pretty shitty. My alarm clock decided to malfunction this morning so I had to rush around to get ready for work. I happened to spill coffee on my favorite vintage Chanel jacket, which just about broke my heart. I was then late for work, where my boss, aka my mother, flipped her shit. I just spent the past 12 hours doing mundane mind numbingly boring tasks a trained monkey could do, and now here I am.”

I remained silent for a moment, not quite sure what to say. She looked a little embarrassed by her outburst and I could tell she was about to apologize or make light of it, but I held up my hand to stop her. “You sound like you could use a nice stiff drink,” I said. I called the waiter over and ordered two martinis.

Mel gave me a weak smile and sat back and closed her eyes.

“You seem tired. Is tonight a bad night for our date? We can always reschedule,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty that I’d practically coerced her into this dinner when she was clearly worn to the bone.

“No, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. And besides, this isn’t really a date. More like a business meeting,” she said peering up at me through her long dark lashes.

“Ah yes, of course,” I said. “And since we’re not on a date, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way if I tell you how beautiful you look this evening.”

She looked surprised by my compliment, and was about to say something but thought better of it. Instead she lifted her chin and smiled sweetly. “Thank you very much. Now tell me about your day.”

“It’s much better now that you’re here,” I said.

She laughed, a sweet musical sound that I found enchanting. I had the sudden urge to kiss her curved lips.

“Does that line ever work for you?” she asked.

“I’ve never gotten any complaints,” I said waggling my brows at her.

“You’re something else,” she said. “Now if you’ll be serious, we should discuss the party.”

“What party?”

“The—you’re messing with me aren’t you?” she said half exasperated.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be serious. But let’s hold off on the party talk for now. I’d like to get to know you better. After all, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future,” I said.

Her wineglass nearly slipped from her fingers as she looked at me wide eyed. Her sweet kissable mouth was slightly parted and I couldn’t help the grin that broke free. It was much too easy and fun to unsettle her.

“What do you mean?” she finally asked.

“Well, you are Lily’s best friend and I’m sure we’ll be in each other’s company once she marries Roman,” I said innocently. “What did you think I meant?”

“Nothing. I didn’t mean anything at all,” she stuttered. I had to laugh at the way her face reddened as if I’d caught her in a lie. “So uh…how did you and Roman meet?” she asked. She was clearly trying to change the subject and rather than embarrass her further, I let her off the hook.

“We met in college,” I said. “He was in the same fraternity as me.”

“I didn’t take you for a frat boy.”

“Sigma Chi,” I said proudly. “I take it you weren’t in a sorority? No slumber parties or mixers?”

“When did you go to college again?” she laughed. “I think those went out with the sixties.”

“I’m only thirty six,” I said rather defensively.

“I see.”

“You make me feel old.”

“You are old.”

“You’re cruel,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “You’re just being so silly.”

“I have never been accused of being silly in my whole life,” I said severely.

She burst out laughing and I couldn’t help but laugh with her. It was all too ridiculous. There was something about her that brought out that side of me. I thought I was past all that, but I guessed not.

“Ok ok,” she said, holding up her hands. “Let’s really try to be serious now.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Behave,” she said.

“I can’t make any promises”

“You’re nothing like I imagined you’d be,” she said.

“How did you imagine I was?”

“Oh, you know. Your typical male—conceited, arrogant, thinks he is God’s gift to women.”

I lifted a brow, clearly amused by her assumptions. “You don’t think too highly of men.”

“Most men haven’t proven me wrong.”

“I’m glad you think more highly of me than that,” I said.

“I didn’t say that now,” she teased. “I mean, you do have a cockiness about you. And there’s just a certain amount of ass in your personality that slips out from time to time.”

“About that,” I began. I knew she was referring to the engagement party and my stupid verbal diarrhea. Even though Cora Abelgard wasn’t on my list of favorite people, that didn’t excuse my rude comment about her daughter. A daughter I was finding was the total opposite of her in every way. Mel was the least arrogant, conniving woman I’d met, and I’d met a few.

“Don’t bother to apologize,” she said holding up her hand to cut me off. “I know what my mother is like and quite honestly, I’d like to strangle her sometimes too. Today for example. If she’s ever done or said anything to put you off of her, I’d understand.”

“That’s very kind of you, but that still doesn’t excuse my rude remarks about you. I had no right to say it since I’d never met you before. And now that I have, I feel even more foolish for uttering those words.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I accept your apology.” She held out her hand across the table and smiled at me in that guileless way she had. “Friends?”

I reached over and took her small slender hand in mine. “Friends.”

I held her hand in mine for longer than was probably necessary. Her touch ignited something in me. I couldn’t explain it or understand it. I just knew I didn’t want to let go.

She finally pulled back, a strange expression on her face. She fumbled with the table linen before taking a sip of water, her eyes looking anywhere but at me. I knew she felt that connection or spark or whatever it was when we touched.

“So, tell me about yourself, Ryan?” she asked a bit unsteadily.