Page 49 of Billionaire Daddies Next Door

“I don’t know. I just know that those people wouldn’t have come here without you pushing me to expand.” I saw Bear and Smith walk up behind Chase and shook my head. “I lived a perfectly fine life before you three came in and shook everything up. How can everything go from feeling so good this morning to feeling like this now?”

Bear’s eyebrows furrowed. “Joanie, this wasn’t on purpose. It happened but we’ll take care of you.”

“You can’t take care of me! You didn’t even know if you wanted me until yesterday! I can’t do this. I can’t be whatever it is you three need me to be.” I pulled my arms free and ran my hands through my hair. “I’m done. I went through this once. I watched everyone around me start to believe the worst of me and those people didn’t even matter. These people do. I can’t watch them turn against me.”

Smith moved closer. “No one’s turning against you, baby. Everyone in the diner is worried about you. They all want to chase those assholes down and beat the shit out of them. This is your town, Joanie. These people love you.”

“Joanie, stop this.” Bear growled at me. “You know I want you and you know why it was hard for me. This doesn’t change a fucking thing.”

“Yes, it does!” I felt tears coming and bit my tongue to stop them. “It changes everything. You guys are responsible for my most shameful secrets getting out. Being ridiculed in there by those girls was nothing compared to what I’ll face when they tell their friends about what they saw here. It’ll happen all over again. Why couldn’t you just leave it alone? My diner was good enough like it was!”

Chase threw his hands up. “No! It wasn’t, Joanie! I didn’t just supply the original investment. I made sure the things you wanted done to the diner would be done at dirt cheap prices. I helped from the beginning so you had every chance at succeeding. And it’s great. I don’t mean to imply that it isn’t, Joanie. God knows you worked your ass off for this place. But you’re always a couple of bad months away from it going downhill really fast.”

The tears came back hot and fast. “How? How did you make sure I got things done so cheap?”

“I paid the contractors up front and had them bill you a small percentage. I saw your vision for this place and I believed in you. It was just money and I have it, so why not? I wanted to help. I still just want to help, Joanie. If we get The One and Only in a bigger market, it’s going to blow up. This retro style is amazing and it’s never been done well on a national level.”

I fumbled through my purse, not listening to the rest of what he had to say. When I finally found my keys, I grabbed the key to the dinner and started yanking it off the ring. “So, you’ve been behind the scenes the whole time? It’s like this place isn’t mine at all. Fine. Take it and make it huge, Chase. I don’t care. I’m done. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Chase gaped at me when I threw the key at his chest. “What the fuck, Joanie?”

Bear moved closer. “You’re just going to run away? That’s bullshit. Take the time you need to deal with this but running scared isn’t the answer. Not from us and not from the diner.”

“You’re one to talk about running scared, Bear.” I saw the hurt on his face as my words landed but I was in such a state of panic that I couldn’t care. “I don’t want any of this. I never asked for you three to come in and make me feel things. You just made it fucking worse. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Smith held up his hands. “Stop, Joanie. You’re freaked out and you’re making a lot of big statements right now.”

“In the entire time I lived here before you guys showed up, I never felt anything bad. Things were easy. I just wanted to be left alone. You guys pushed and you pushed and I hate it. I hate you for making me feel like this.”

“Jesus, Joanie.” Chase was quiet. “You’re killing me. Please, just take a minute and think about—”

A flash cut him off and I snapped my head towards it and saw Hillary and her group of minions laughing. She lowered her camera and smirked. “Same old Joanie. Messy and sleazy all the same.”

I turned around and started running. When I felt Smith following me, I spun around and screamed at him. “This isn’t one of your games! If you chase me this time, I’m going to fight you.”

He stopped short and tugged at his hair. “Joanie…”

I turned back around and ran. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew I had to get away from the guys and my past. I wasn’t a runner so it wasn’t long before I had side stitches and felt my lungs squeezing painfully. I saw that I’d run in the direction of Violet’s house so I finished the trip and hoped she wasn’t busy.

Ben opened the door when I knocked on it and his eyes went wide. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I shook my head and burst into tears. He pulled me into the house and called out for Violet while leading me to the couch. I tried to stop crying but it was useless. The dam had broken and I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop.

Violet came rushing into the living room and gasped when she saw me. She pushed Ben out of the way and pulled me into her arms. “Oh, Joanie. What’s wrong? What happened?”

I tried to spit it out but it came out so garbled I might as well have not said anything. A box of tissues and a glass of water were shoved under my nose and I took both gratefully. After sipping at the water and blowing my nose a few times, I tried again. “I had a fight with the guys. I’ve been seeing them, I guess. But today, people from my past showed up and they were so mean. They took pictures of us and I know they’re going to send them to the tabloids and it’s all going to start all over again. It’s all their fault. I hate them for this. I hate them, Violet.”

She held me tighter. “Okay, we’re going to start this from the beginning. Okay?”

I blew my nose again and sat up. Ben was still standing next to us and Mason had come into the room, as well. It didn’t matter if I told my story in front of them, though, because everyone in town was going to know what a bad person I’d been soon enough. Justin strolled in from the kitchen and seemed shocked to see me. I held up my hands and choked back a sob. “I’m a mess.”

Justin shook his head. “No. I’m just… I’ve never seen you look anything but happy or stern while telling people off in the diner. This… This is new.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. “I never used to feel like this. They came along and ruined everything. I don’t want to feel like this. It’s miserable. My chest hurts and my eyes hurt. I can’t stop blowing my nose. How do people cry all the time?”

Violet cupped my cheek. “Let’s start at the beginning. Who are these people from your past? I can have the guys handle them if you need me to.”

Mason looked up from his phone. “Too late.”

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