Page 30 of Billion Dollar Mistake

“You do?” Bentley asks, shocked.

“When something is important to me like this, yes,” I say. My eyes flick to Nova, and I see she is watching me with her sweet mouth parted. She looks surprised. I wonder what she’s thinking.

“All right. I’ll have to get someone to schedule that with you,” Bentley replies.

I nod. “Sure.” Looking at my watch I check the time. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?” No matter how much I want to continue sitting here with Nova, I’d prefer it if Bentley wasn’t here. If I leave now, hopefully, I can grab her for a quick chat.

Bentley shakes his head and stands. He rounds his desk and holds out his hand. I shake his hand firmly. “Nice doing business with you.”

“I’ll see you soon,” Bentley adds.

I turn, exiting his office, and stroll to the elevator, seeing myself out. Glad to be leaving. However, I do wish she was following. I pull out my phone and send a text to my driver to expect me down in a couple of minutes. He responds to tell me he left the package at reception.

“Mr. Lincoln,” Nova’s buttery voice calls. I pause immediately, turning slowly on my heel to face her.

Chapter 10

Nova

His eyes hold mine. Dark, deep, and thoughtful. I suddenly can’t find my words. But I called out for him. Why?

When he left the room, Bentley dismissed me, and I knew it was a sign to speak to Jeremy. But now that he’s here in the flesh, a few steps away, wearing an impeccable designer suit and a wicked smirk, I’m wordless.

“Nova?” he pushes.

It helps. The fog in my brain lifts, and I manage to stammer, “I-I wanted to talk to you again.”

He raises an eyebrow, a silent challenge in his gaze. “You did? So the broken phone wasn’t on purpose?” he probes, his smirk taking on a more curious tilt.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I enjoyed our conversations,” I assure him.

For a moment, he remains silent, his expression shifting. Panic swirls in my chest, wondering if I said something wrong until his words silence it.

“So did I.”

Relief washes over me, but the words still hang in the air. We both have admitted we like to talk to each other.

Is that all it is?

It’s all that it should be…

I won’t be buying a new phone for a while, so keeping our chats going is impossible. He’s too busy to exchange emails with me so I won’t even bother mentioning it. The reality of the situation settles in, and I reluctantly have to accept that it's over.

“Are you headed down?” I ask in a weak voice. Unable to hold back the disappointment seeping out of my words.

“Yeah, but hang on,” he says as he walks past me. I don’t move, just twist to watch him stride across the floor, eating up the space in the room so easily with his long legs. He stops by reception where she hands over a bag. I frown. And I can’t lie, a rush of jealousy mixed with curiosity strikes me. What’s in the bag?

He turns around and walks back until he’s standing in front of me.

He gestures forward. “Let’s go.”

I should tell him not to order me around, but his tone is surprisingly gentle.

I still don’t know what’s in the bag and it’s twisting me up, but it’s not my business. I force myself to move forward and forget about it.

We’re silent as we wait by the elevator, which isn’t a long wait. Inside the elevator, his rich woodsy scent surrounds me. I lick my lips and try to taste it. It’s intoxicating just like him. Seeing him online made my heart flutter. In real life, my entire body is fluttering.

“You’re headed home now?” I ask, and I wish I didn’t because it sounds so pathetic, even to my own ears. Like where else would he be going at 6 p.m.

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