Page 3 of Love your Billionaire Boss

“Well, I had better get back to work. I’ll have that whiskey right out.” She stood and nodded at the players, being careful not to glance at Kenny, although she could feel his eyes on her.

She backed away from the booth and walked swiftly behind the bar where she took a deep breath. What was happening to her? One look at a guy and she’d lost her wits. She shook her head at herself and began pulling shot glasses from the shelf. She found the high-end whiskey on the top shelf, and began pouring generously. She heard the players laughing loudly, so she quickly snuck a glance in their direction.

They were all immersed in a conversation, except for one who was looking up at her from under his ball cap. Kenny. They locked eyes for a moment before she realized she had poured too much and the whiskey was running onto the tray.

“Oh shoot,” Cleo said, breaking eye contact.

“You okay, Cleo?” asked Sarah, another bartender.

“Yeah, yeah. Just making a mess over here.” Cleo grabbed a rag and began wiping at the tray.

“You usually have a steady hand,” said Sarah curiously, looking from Cleo to the booth of players.

“Was one of the players out of line? I saw you over there.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“No, no. They were all fine,” Cleo assured her.

“Okay, you let me know. Bridget has a no-harassment policy, no matter who it is.”

“Thanks, Sarah. But I’m fine. Promise.”

Sarah nodded and began mixing a drink in a metal shaker.

Cleo picked up the tray of shots carefully and made her way back to the booth slowly. She didn’t trust herself, especially being this close to the stranger that she hadn’t spoken one word to.

“Here you go, boys. Top shelf.” She set the tray down and the players all reached in to grab their shots.

“Thank you!” they said in almost perfect unison. They took their shots and then whooped and hollered, except for Kenny. He seemed more reserved. More serious. He looked down at the table as if deep in thought. She watched him a little longer, until it was no longer safe and someone would catch her.

“Well, let me know if you need anything else.” Cleo nodded and walked away, curious about the silent type at the table.

Chapter 2

Kenny

Kenny sipped slowly on the shot of whiskey, even though the rest of his team was already thinking about their next drink. He wasn’t in the partying mood tonight, even though they’d won the big game. It was a close one that had them all on edge until the tenth inning when Nico hit the game-winning ball.

It was Nico who had convinced Kenny to come out tonight. Nico was one of Kenny’s best friends and roommates. He was definitely a playboy, and Kenny could be, too, since Sylvie broke up with him two years ago. The breakup still left a bitter taste in Kenny’s mouth and a hole in his heart that he couldn’t fill, despite the one-night-stands he’d tried.

He hadn’t seen it coming. They were high school sweethearts. They went to the same college, and she was at all his home games cheering him on. Everyone said they were going to get married. They even talked about it. He had watched her talk enthusiastically about who her bridesmaids would be and what flowers she would want in her bouquet. He wanted whatever she wanted.

“Where would we go on our honeymoon?” she asked with her head in his lap, looking up at him expectantly.

He looked down at her and brushed a strand of blonde hair from her forehead. “Wherever you want. Europe. The Caribbean. Bali. The options are endless.”

She leaned up toward him and kissed him before nestling back onto his lap. He watched her blue eyes close, but he knew her mind was fluttering with ideas. She had no idea he had picked a ring out, but was waiting until graduation to propose.

“We’ll make it, right?” she asked, her eyes slowly opening and meeting his.

“That’s a silly question,” he said.

“It’s just with my summer internship being across the country…”

“People make long distance work all the time. And those people aren’t us. They’re normal people. We are Kenny and Sylvie. Inseparable since fifteen.” Kenny lowered his forehead to hers.

Sylvie nodded and smiled. “You’re right.”

And he had been, for the first month of summer when she started her internship on the west coast. They talked every day on the phone and she flew in for his birthday. He missed her, but he threw himself into baseball as a distraction. He was in the gym every day and stayed late after practice. After the second month, the phone calls became less frequent. His calls would often go to voicemail and his texts wouldn’t receive responses for hours.

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