Page 5 of The Billionaire Babe

“Stop parading around like a little slut. You are nothing.” Simone reads the message out loud, and I clear my throat and grab my cell phone back.

“You know what? Tonight is about shaking off the bad vibes and having fun, so let’s forget about this stupid thing and enjoy ourselves,” I say, throwing my phone back into my bag and sitting forward with my glass raised high. “To a fun girls’ night.” I say, waiting for the girls to clink glasses.

“To a fun girls’ night,” they all say in unison, and we down our champagne and move on.

“You need to find a man…” Simone gives me a mischievous look.

“What are you talking about?” I frown at her, questioning what she is getting at.

“Well, if you do go through with your father’s request, then you need to have one last hurrah,” she says with a grin.

“I do not.” I laugh, swatting her idea away with my hand. I had a bit of fun in college and have been on a few dates, but my love life is nonexistent. It just doesn’t seem to click for me.

“It has been a long time since you went on a date, so we are all wondering what is going on. If you appease your father, you need to get a few more notches on your bedpost before you have no more choice in life.” Chelsea stares at me accusingly, and I ignore the fear churning in my stomach.

“I went on a date a few weeks ago,” I tell them, and they all look at me as though I am crazy.

“It was months ago. That guy from the bank,” Simone says.

“Wasn’t he a lawyer?” Chloe asks, confused.

“No, it was the doctor, wasn’t it?” Chelsea says, all three of them glancing at each other, then at me, for clarification.

“It was Charles, the accountant,” I tell them, taking another sip of champagne. My dating history is so bland, I am in jeopardy of becoming stale. Maybe an arranged marriage is a good thing, after all.

“The accountant…” Chloe says, smiling and nodding before all three of my best friends crack up laughing at me.

“Clearly, I am just not a good catch!” I say with a groan, thinking back to that disaster of a date, where Charles didn’t realize that the sauce on his steak had seafood in it and his face blew up like a balloon due to an allergic reaction.

“Not a catch of the day on that date anyway!” Simone jokes, and all four of us need to hold our stomachs, laughing at her poor attempt at a joke. At least my friends help me laugh at myself.

“Oh no…” Simone says, looking at her cell.

“What?” all three of us ask.

“Society News. Someone has told them you are here. Now you are trending on social media and so is this club,” she says, and I sigh. I can’t say I am surprised that Baltimore's society gossip website has news on my whereabouts. They often run an article about the who’s who and where everyone is on the weekend. But I didn’t think they would find me here. And I didn’t think they would have something up so soon. We literally only arrived an hour or so ago, so I know a member of the public is no doubt being their source for their story.

“I am seriously not that interesting. I don’t know why they would put me in a story.” I cringe on the inside. My father isn’t going to be happy to see that spread all over the gossip news.

“But you are a Van Cleef!” Chloe says proudly.

“I am beginning to see that name as more of a curse the older I get.”

“Ladies… Good evening. Welcome to Club Vine,” a man greets, walking up to us wearing a suit, his hair slicked back, full of confidence.

“Thank you,” Simone speaks up for us all, and I see his smile widen when looking at her. Interesting.

“My name is Jimmy. I own Club Vine, and I wanted to say hello and welcome you all tonight,” he says, his smile wide, eyes flicking over us before settling back on Simone.

“I’m Simone,” my friend almost purrs, and my eyes widen. Are they eye fucking each other at the table? She extends her hand, and he shakes it.

“Chloe,” Chloe says swiftly, extending her hand as well.

“I’m Chelsea.” She follows the others, then his eyes land on me.

“Thank you, I’m—” I start, but he cuts me off.

“Valerie Van Cleef. Everyone knows who you are. Thank you for the article in Society News tonight; it has made a huge difference to our attendance already.” His appreciation takes me by surprise, and I look over the edge of the top floor onto the dance floor below and see that it is now packed, with bodies everywhere.

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