Page 1 of Billionaire's Frenemy

Prologue

Jameson Cassel

“What are you doing here?” Willow Tate hissed, narrowing her gaze at me.

“Apparently, playing wingman to my older brothers,” I told her, motioning around the private room ofBradford’s, the bar my brothers and I had come to for a few drinks to celebrate closing a huge deal for our company.

The four other Cassel men seemed to have paired off with Willow’s friends, leaving me with Willow. That was my brother Fraser’s fault since he’d zeroed in on one of the women. The rest of the guys followed his lead. Luke, the oldest of us, seemed equally set on the woman beside him.

“Hmm,” Willow said, taking a sip of her champagne and following my stare. “I thought my friends had better taste.”

“Not if they hang around with you,” I sniped.

She snorted, unoffended by my standard remark. We’d been taking digs at each other for as long as I could remember.

Her chin lifted. “You’re a dick.”

“You’re a brat,” I shot back. I reached out and twirled a piece of her hair between my fingers, tugging it gently. “A pretty one, though.”

“Don’t touch me.” She rolled her eyes and knocked away my hand.

“That’s not what you said three months ago.” I stepped closer and wrapped my arm around her waist so I could whisper in her ear. “I believe your exact words were ‘God, Jamie, more’.”

“Well, that’s a mistake that won’t be repeated,” she assured me, pushing me away. “Hey, ladies, we need to get going. The limo should be waiting for us.”

Each of them extricated themselves from whichever of my brothers held their attention, and the women left in a beautiful parade while the five of us doofuses stared after them like lovesick puppies.

“Well, I gotta get back to the office,” Luke said. “Bennett, don’t you dare fucking expense this room.”

“Hey!” Bennett yelled. “Fray told me to get it.”

“And Fray will pay for it,” Fray said, clapping Bennett on the back. “Damn, did you see Emerson?”

“Who?” Luke asked.

“The hot one,” Fray continued as we headed toward the door.

“I had the hot one,” Tatum argued.

“Piss off,” Bennett said. “Penny was drop-dead gorgeous. Y’all are crazy.”

I hung back, letting my brothers argue their way through the crowd on their way out. There was no way I’d get involved in that conversation. My history with Willow was…tumultuous, to say the least. I wasn’t about to admit to my brothers I thought she was the most beautiful creature on the face of the planet.

Somehow, she and I had hated each other since our first day of kindergarten. That discontent had lasted through elementary school, middle school and most of high school. Our senior year, though…things between us had started to change. We’d still fought like cats and dogs, but there was a heat to it we didn’t quite understand.

If I were being honest, I still didn’t really understand it. Some days, I still wanted to push her off a swing set. And other days… Other days were different.

My driver had just dropped me at my building, when my phone buzzed with a text. Thinking it was one of my brothers, I paused to check it, in case I needed to head back to the office, no matter that it was after midnight.

It wasn’t one of my siblings.

Willow:Can you come get me?

Me:Where are you?

I waited with bated breath until she sent me her location, not too far from my building.

Me:Sit tight, I’ll be right there.

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