Page 68 of Billionaire Devil

“Colton, this is so over the top. You can’t justbuyme all this stuff.”

“I can and I have. Open the last two.”

She opens the smaller one, holding up the diamond tennis bracelet with wide eyes. “Maddox.Are you kidding me?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” I almost point out myraging hard-on, but then I remember I’m supposed to be ignoring it. “Here, let me put it on you.”

“Is it…” She doesn’t finish her question. She’s too busy staring at the glimmering diamonds, set in white gold, that are now circling her slim wrist.

“Of course it’s real, Sunshine. Who do you think you’re dealing with here?”

“A crazy person? You buydiamondsfor your girls?”

I shouldn’t be offended by the question, of course, but I am anyway. “I only buy diamonds for one girl.” I don’t know why I suddenly hate the sound of it so much.Girls.“Open the last one.” It’s the biggest box.

When she realizes what it is, her eyes pool with tears. She rips off the paper. “You got me asewing machine?”

“Not just any sewing machine. They told me it was the best one on the market. It’s computerized. You can do quilting, embroidery, whatever you want. You can even sew through leather with that bad boy.”

She throws her arms around me and kisses me.

“Easy there, tiger. If I’d known a sewing machine was going to get this kind of reaction, I would have bought one days ago.”

Tears wet her cheeks. “My sewing machine is so old, I can’t even make half the things I want to make because it keeps breaking the needles.”

“Well, this one will be able to handle anything you throw at it. It’s got extra heavy-duty needles and all the latest technology. It can do anything you want it to.”

She wipes her tears. “I didn’t tell you this, Cole, but as of this morning, I have1,283new orders.”

I play along, pretending to be surprised, but the door was open. I overheard her telling Sloane about it. I also heard her tell Sloane that what we’re doing here is only about the sex. Which is the other reason I’m in a mood.

I should be fuckingglad. It’s a dream scenario. The gorgeous little virgin on the pill wanted to cash in her V-card before getting on with her life. I can get my fill of her and then I can get back to normality.

My problem is,I don’t want fucking normality if she’s not in it.“Fuck, baby. That’s impressive.”

“I have no idea how I’m going to do it.”

I push her a little further on the subject, because it’s a big deal and she’s been holding out on me. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because I’m nervous I won’t be able to do it. What if I can’t? Even if I hire people, it would take months. I just never expected it to blow up like this and I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to make it work.”

“How long does it take you to sew one piece of clothing?”

“At least two days. Sometimes more.”

“How long would it take with the new sewing machine?”

She considers this. “A day. I could do most of them in a day, if I work all night.”

“You’re going to want to get all the orders filled within a month, to keep the momentum going so they can post onInstagram or wherever, which will lead to more orders. That’s how you’ll grow the business. So, if you have 1,283 orders, that means you need 43 workers. At least. Let’s say 50. You teach them and you give them the blueprints for the designs. The machines will take the guesswork out of it. You’ll hire ten more people to package, send, track the items and deal with billing, social media and so on.”

She tilts her head. “Fiftydressmakers? And each would need their own sewing machine? Plus ten more employees?” Like I’ve just suggested she fly to the moon in her new astronaut suit.

“Good thing you know a guy who’s always looking for promising small businesses to invest in.”

A little furrow appears between her lightning-bright eyes. “Youwant to invest in my business?”

“Of course I do.” I don’t deserve her. But I want her more than I know what to do with. Suddenly everything makes sense to me. My years of operating business logistics have led me to this moment. This is something I can do for her better than anyone else can. “If you want me to.”

---