Page 19 of Love your Billionaire Boss

A blonde in a hot pink dress put her arm around Kenny’s neck. “Can I sit with you?” she asked with a confident smile.

Feeling like he had to prove himself to his team, he nodded and leaned back into the booth to allow her to sit.

“Drinks! We need drinks!” shouted Chad, pounding his fists playfully on the table. He looked around for Bridget, most likely, but frowned when he didn’t see her. His eyes wandered to the bar where Cleo was handing a customer a drink.

“Cleo! We need you!” Chad waved at her.

Kenny felt himself sink a little into the booth. As much as he didn’t want the team on his case about his little crush or whatever it was, he also didn’t want Cleo to see this blonde on his lap.

“What can I get you?” Cleo asked as she walked up to the table, meeting everyone’s eyes but Kenny’s. He wondered if it was intentional.

“What do you ladies want?” asked Nico.

“Blow job shots!” the girls said in unison.

Cleo snorted under her breath. No one noticed but Kenny.

“Those will be right out.” Cleo turned and avoided Kenny with her gaze.

Definitely intentional. He wondered for a moment if she was jealous, but laughed it off. She had no interest in him. She wasn’t like the other girls.

At closing time, everyone paid their bills and began walking toward the door.

“Better go say goodbye to your girlfriend.” Kev sneered at Kenny before nodding toward the bar. The rest of the team laughed cautiously.

Kenny put his arm around the blonde girl who nuzzled up to him. “Nah. I’m good.”

Chapter 7

Cleo

Cleo’s alarm clock blared loudly and she groaned, rolling over to turn it off. She slammed her hand on the button and lay her face down into her pillow. She desperately wanted to fall back asleep, but she knew she couldn’t. No, she had to plan a menu of desserts for her biggest client ever. She groaned again.

Why had she agreed to this? She was an amateur. Clearly. The cafés didn’t want her, and now some professional baseball player wanted her to cater his fancy party? This was ridiculous. She was playing pretend with the big shots. She felt her confidence dwindling as she lay in bed, exhausted from the night before.

She hadn’t left the bar until after three a.m. The players had all stayed until close, which meant the rest of the patrons at the bar stayed late, too. After she was offered the catering job, her brain was being pulled in a million directions. It was a battle between cookie recipes and drink orders and willing herself not to look at that cute baseball player.

Why had he put her on the spot like that? Obviously, she was grateful for the opportunity, but he had barely spoken two words to her. When he had waved her over last night, she had felt an explosion of nervous butterflies that made her want to throw up. She had no idea what he wanted, and then he basically offered her a job. A small, stupid part of her thought maybe he was interested in her, but then she saw him leave with that pretty blonde girl.

As she closed up the bar, she was internally kicking herself for even thinking he saw her as anything more than someone who occasionally served him drinks. He probably referred her as a baker because he felt sorry for her after what he witnessed in the café.

She shut her eyes tight and shook her head into the pillow.

“You are an idiot,” she whispered before pushing the covers off. She slowly climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen, where she put on a large pot of coffee. She poured a steaming cup and sat at the kitchen counter with a notebook. For the next hour, she wrote down a few different menu options featuring her most-loved recipes. When she was satisfied with what she came up with, she went to get ready. She took a hot shower and wandered into her closet to pick an outfit. She picked out a pair of light-washed skinny jeans and a white linen button-down, and applied a little makeup, mostly sticking to the basics of concealer, mascara, and gloss. There wasn’t time to dry her hair, so she pulled it into a low bun. Cleo shrugged at herself in the mirror. Good enough.

When she got in her car, she typed the name of the condos into her maps app. It was a twenty-minute drive. She was thankful for the drive ahead so she could calm her nerves with the windows down and some good music. She started feeling more herself until she pulled up the condo building. It was an all-glass high-rise with a large, flowing fountain in front and valet service. She pulled up slowly to the valet, who handed her a ticket and took her keys.

The confidence she was building on the way here had begun to slowly diminish. She looked down at her outfit and wondered if she should have dressed up more. She entered the large glass doors and walked toward the black marble front desk counter.

“Hello. May I help you?” asked the front desk man with a friendly smile.

“Um, yes. I’m here to see Nico Klein?”

“And what is your name?” he said as he pulled out a clipboard.

“Cleo. Cleo Aston.” She realized she had never given her last name last night, and hoped her first name would be enough. She hadn’t thought about the players and their need for security checks.

The man began running his finger down a list. He came to a stop and tapped the clipboard. “Here you are. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

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