Page 65 of The Billionaire Babe

“Getting rid of this fucking thing.” I open the French doors that lead to her balcony.

“AJ?” She steps toward me in her sexy-as-sin underwear, looking like all my fantasies rolled into one.

“Gimme me a second,” I tell her as I hoist the material high and throw it over, watching it fall to the ground, settling on the street below.

“AJ!” she gasps with a surprised smile, running to where I am. We both peer over the ledge in time to see a cab run straight over the top, the dress now black, ripped some more, and floating down the street.

“Well, I guess we now know what will be on the news tomorrow…” She giggles as her eyes meet mine.

She looks tiny now without the monstrosity on her small frame, and I grab her around the waist, pulling her to me, her feet dangling as I walk us back inside.

“There, you look much better without that,” I say, putting her back on her feet and closing the balcony door again. The room is quiet as I look at her. My heart races as I think about the day we have had and the fight that is coming. We stand facing each other and are quiet for a moment as the impact of the day hits us both.

“I’m scared of my father… He is… so evil,” she whispers, her body starting to shiver. I rub her arms, needing to touch her and wanting to ease her at the same time.

“He won’t get to you. I’ll make sure of it,” I tell her, knowing that he will need to get through me first.

“I just can’t believe this all happened. He has completely ruined my life, and now he has me in fear for my life. Like, how could a parent do that to a child?” She looks at me for answers that I can’t give.

“Well, you may share blood, but in my mind, a parent is more than blood. He has shown his true colors, none of them a quality fit for a parent,” I tell her, watching her closely, concerned as I know she is about to break down.

“Thank you, AJ.” Her eyes start to shimmer, tears gathering but yet to fall. “Thank you for coming back for me.” I feel her body trembling, the shock now coming to life as the adrenaline officially wears off.

“I should be the one to thank you, sweetheart.” I skim my fingers down her cheek, wanting to soothe her and commit her to my memory, never wanting to forget the way she is looking at me right now. My chest feels heavy. My heart felt broken and was now patched back together, the anxiety of keeping her safe filling my bones, but I know love blooms as well and that is what scares me the most.

“I didn’t do anything,” she says, shaking her head, her eyes crinkling in confusion.

“I might have helped save you today, but Val, you have truly saved me. You walked into my life like a hurricane. From the moment those drinks spilled all over me, I could feel it. You have this presence that makes me feel completely at ease and riled up all at the same time. I had a deep desire to make my life better, but since you walked into it, I want nothing more than to make it my mission. Fuck, seeing you in that dress today…” I say, shaking my head, hating how close she got to being someone else’s.

“AJ,” she whispers, and I watch a tear fall. I run my thumb across her cheek and gather it up, wiping it from her face.

“I don’t want you to be anyone else’s. I want you to be mine,” I tell her, barely able to breathe as I say the words.

“I want to be yours too.” She nods, a sweet smile lifting her lips as her body relaxes into mine.

“Come on, sweet thing. Let me run you a bath, get you in some comfy clothes, if you even have such a thing,” I tease her, and she hiccups a laugh between the tears. “Let me take care of you.” More tears fall, and she nods, no longer able to talk without sobbing. I pick her up bridal style once more, happy now to know that I am the only man who gets to do so today.

36

VALERIE

Things are going from bad to worse. The only saving grace in any of this is AJ and the fact he came back for me. I broke down last night. Yesterday was too much, and even though I tried to be strong, when he looked at me as though he would crumble without me, I lost it. Having someone like AJ, big, burly, and tough, pick me up and run me a bath, sitting with me and washing my hair, soothed me like nothing else ever has. Now reality is back with a bang.

“You know, I think you have more media out in front of your apartment building than I saw at Harrison Rothschild’s campaign launch,” Chelsea comments, as she looks over the patio at the rows of people and cameras below.

“I gave Victor a coffee and croissant on my way up today. I felt like he needed it,” Chloe says. She wears a path in my carpet where she paces. My best friend is stressing for me.

“After all this, I think I need to give him a bonus,” I mumble as I make a note in my diary to do exactly that. AJ, Brady, and Cody have been in and out all day. They are monitoring staff, hiring new guys, and Fortress has left almost all their other jobs to look after me, a fact Simone tells me Jimmy and Club Vine are supportive of so far. I have men downstairs, in the garage, near the elevator, at my door.

“You know, there is one thing that we haven't talked about in all this…” Simone says, looking at me.

“What’s that?” I ask, frowning. We have been over and over everything. I am sure there is nothing I have missed.

“It is your birthday this week. I know being locked up here means no real fun, but we should have cake and a little party with the boys, maybe?” Simone says, always up for a party, and I give her a small smile.

“We have bigger things to worry about. We can celebrate next year,” I tell her, and my friends all look at me with concern.

“It’s your birthday this week?” Levi looks up from the sofa, where he has been perched all day, searching media articles and trying to keep us all updated on what is being said. I spent some time during the week talking to George and assembling a few team members to help in my endeavor, including a team to drip feed stories to the media. While many articles paint me in a bad light, together George and I have tackled my father head-on, his own star now falling in the eyes of the public. He is no longer considered the man of the city he once was. Without George, I have no idea what I would have done. He has supported me every step of the way, as have all my friends. I smile at Levi. He never leaves my side; he is AJ’s eyes on me when he isn’t here.

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