Page 14 of Billionaire Devil

“And you’re already better at this than you think.”

I take her hand in mine, squeezing it lightly, as though to seal the deal.

Sloane is making her way back toward us and I murmur to Lila, “Let’s keep our deal under wraps for now.” Sloane will have my head on a platter if she finds out, but I’m facing bigger issues than the wrath of my assistant.

I’m relieved when the band cranks up several gears and a few more people join our circle.

It’s probably the alcohol—I’m half hoping itisthe goddamn alcohol and I’ll come to my senses any minute. I can’t take a week off. Especially for a girl I’ve known for exactly twenty minutes. Then again, Cash just took twoweeks off. And that was before we’d even fully resolved the issues we were having, which I ended up solving for him.

Ihaven’t taken any time off for over a year.

Whatever excuses I might be making or not making evaporate when Lila smiles at me. And I know for sure that I’m in deep, deep trouble. It’s the kind of trouble that somehow feels so fucking good I simply don’t care.

3

Sunday

Southampton, New York

I blinkat the harsh morning sun beaming through my window, which burns into my brain like the hot flames of blowtorches.

Ow.

Why didn’t I close the blinds last night? I always close the blinds.

It all comes flooding back to me.

Oh my god.

I went to that party with Sloane last night.

Oh no.

And proceeded to drinkwaytoo much alcohol and confesswaytoo much about my pathetic backstory not only to Sloane but also to her extremely hot boss.

You idiot.

How did I even get back to my apartment?

I vaguely remember some luxury limo-type car dropping me off. Sloane and I were crying and hugging because who knows when we’ll see each other again.

“Ugh,” I groan, patting my bedside table as I squint in its general direction, hoping that last-night-Lila might have had the foresight to put a glass of water there. She did not.

I can’t move. That’s it. I’m deceased. My head throbs with a vengeance that could only be matched by a rabid woodpecker, and my mouth is as dry as the mighty Sahara.

Note to self: the next time someone offers me tequila, run in the opposite direction as fast as my legs will carry me.

I should never have accepted Sloane’s invitation to her company’s swanky Hamptons party. The thing about Sloane is that she can be very persuasive when she puts her mind to it.

When else are you going to get a chance to hang with a bunch of billionaires,she insisted.Get your ass into a skimpy little dress that shows off that banging body and be ready for me to pick you up at six.

Or something along those lines.

And so here I am.

My stomach rolls as I suddenly panic that I’ve missed my alarm and I’m late for work.That’s what you get for pretending you belonged with those people last night, Lila.

I’m about to jump up—jump being a relative term whenyour head and stomach are both spiraling like you’ve just hit the summit of a rollercoaster and are now headed directly vertical—when I remember I have two weeks off. Which would feel like a relief if I wasn’t currently so concerned with hurling all over my clean white sheets.

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