Page 74 of Love your Billionaire Boss

“I’m going to try.”

“Good. I like Cleo,” said Nico certainly.

Kenny smiled to himself before taking another bite. He finished his bowl and placed it in the kitchen sink. He still had hours to go.

“I’m going to try and take a nap. It’s going to be a late night.”

“If you’re lucky.” Nico winked.

“Not like that.” Kenny rolled his eyes.

He walked down the hallway to his bedroom and laid down. He looked up at the ceiling, putting his hands behind his head. Kenny closed his eyes and tried to clear his thoughts, which was difficult, as he expected. After about thirty minutes of tossing and turning, he finally dozed off.

Later, he woke up with a start and grabbed his phone. He hadn’t set an alarm and was worried he had slept too long, but it was just after midnight. He breathed a sigh of relief and peeled the covers off him. When he walked out into the hallway, the rest of the condo was dark. Nico was either out or sleeping.

Kenny walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He needed something to wake him up a little. Plus, he wanted to look put together for when he saw Cleo. At least, he hoped he would see her. He didn’t know what to expect. She would probably be sad or angry to see him, and understandably so. He would take what he could get though.

He thought back to the last time he saw her. How happy she had looked. How in her element she was. How beautiful she looked in her chef’s coat, smiling at everyone who drooled over her desserts. Then he thought back even further to when he woke up next to her that morning. She was so peaceful in her sleep. It was so hard to leave her there, when all he wanted was to pull her close and feel her breathing against him.

He started to worry that he would never feel that again. Even more so, he worried that she was giving up on her dream. Even if she wanted nothing to do with him tonight, he hoped he could convince her to stay to live out her dream.

After he was done, he turned off the shower and dried off before wrapping himself in a towel. He slid some pomade through his damp hair and put on some cologne. Back in his room, he put on his usual sweats. It was after midnight, after all. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

Thirty minutes later, he pulled into her driveway. He checked the time on his dash. It was 1:30 a.m. She was still working. He could have waited longer at home, but he was so antsy that he just decided to come now. He was fine with waiting though. Just being at her house gave him comfort. Plus, he didn’t want to miss her.

He switched off the ignition and leaned back in the driver’s seat. He drummed his fingertips on the steering wheel as he looked up at her house. Even though she wasn’t due back for another hour or so, his heart was still beating faster than normal. His nerves were kicking in. He hadn’t felt this nervous in a really long time.

He hadn’t felt much at all in a while. Not since Sylvie. He had warded off relationships and anything remotely serious with women for years. After their relationship had ended, he had only wanted to protect himself. She was his first love. His high school sweetheart. It was hard to bounce back from that.

When he had made it to the big leagues a few years after their breakup, Sylvie had reached out to him, texted him out of the blue, which took him off guard. She told him she had ended things with her boss and that she had made a big mistake. Kenny had a funny feeling that her sudden change of heart was because of the big contract he had signed.

Still, he agreed to have dinner with her to catch up. He told her to pick the place. She ended up choosing one of the most popular places in the city for celebrities and athletes. When he picked her up, she was decked out to the nines. When they got out of his car at valet, the usual paparazzi must have thought they were celebrities, and she put on a show. He knew right then and there that she didn’t want him for the right reasons. They had one drink at the bar before he left her there.

Cleo was nothing like Sylvie. She was a good person with a big heart, and she had a strong work ethic, which he admired. She didn’t know much about him or baseball. He doubted she knew anything about his contract or paycheck. He knew that didn’t interest her. She was different. Not just from Sylvie, but from anyone he’d met over the years. It took him messing up to realize it. Now, all he wanted was for her to be back in his life. So there he sat, waiting anxiously to see if he could convince her to be.

Chapter 27

Cleo

The bar had been packed all night, which was surprising since there wasn’t a game on. Cleo barely had a moment to think through the whole night, which she honestly didn’t mind. Some things were better not to be thought about. At least she felt reassured that the team or anyone associated with them was not welcome for the time being. At least until she had her last shift.

When she had quit a few days ago, she had done it so abruptly. She had been rash, which really wasn’t like her. It had eaten away at her the entire next day, so she called Bridget to apologize. She also gave her a proper two weeks’ notice in order for her to find a replacement. As much as she didn’t think she’d be back in this place, the familiarity was comforting. In two weeks, she would head back home to Indiana and leave all of this behind.

“It’s finally starting to slow down.” Bridget leaned against the counter, letting out a tired sigh as they watched a large group exit the bar.

“I can’t believe how busy it was tonight,” said Cleo.

“Thank you again for being here. I know you want to get the hell out of this place, but I appreciate you sticking around until I find a replacement. Although, no one could truly replace you.”

Cleo looked around the bar forlornly. She had so many memories here. Yes, it was just a bartending job, but this place had become her second home. It had been her first job since moving to the city. Bridget and the rest of the staff had become her family. There were a lot of customers she would miss too. She felt herself getting teary-eyed, but blinked the tears back. Bridget must have seen because she put her hand gently over hers.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

Cleo shook her head quickly, swallowing her feelings down before she could change her mind. “No, I have to go.”

“I understand.” Bridget gave her hand a squeeze.

“Whatever happened with that creep?”

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