Page 14 of Dirty Filthy Billionaire: Part 1

“No. Not at all,” I say. “I just think it’s best if we stop.”

I reach into my pocket and take out some money. I peel off a hundred dollar bill. I take Mia’s hand, still warm from holding on to me, and press it in her palm.

“Can you get yourself home?” I ask her.

She nods yes, crossing her arms over her stomach like she’s cold, or maybe feeling sick. I can’t look at her anymore. I’ll break if I do.

“Okay,” I say, turning to walk away. “Take care.”

When I step to the curb my car magically appears. I hop in the back and I make the driver wait to be sure she gets in a cab and drives safely away. Only then will I finally relax.

She had my head spinning, and not just there in the alley. Having a drink with her at the bar was an exercise in keeping focus. Hell, even this morning in my office I couldn’t help but banter with her, push her buttons and tease her.

But the last thing I need, or can handle, is some innocent girl new to the city and worse, a virgin. Someone so inexperienced—in life and in bed—could only mean trouble for me. I can’t get involved. Complicating things further, I had planned on hiring her. Sure, she was a bit freaked out by the club but someone that unfamiliar with a subject is the kind of person who is going to ask all the right questions, the ones that readers really want to know. She’ll assume nothing, which is the only way to report.

Sleeping with Mia could only lead to disaster on so many different levels.

* * *

Later that night,once I’ve showered and gotten in bed, the old memories from my past try to flood my mind, those memories I have spent years pushing down.

The fire, my family, and losing everything.

Losing her….

My mind drifts to that sweet girl I called my own when I was a naïve kid in high school. Losing her set me on track that I intend to stay on—one in which I don’t get involved in any romantic relationship. And sure, the alley outside a BDSM club isn’t exactly romantic, but I know enough about myself to know that there’s something about Mia Cassidy that is pulling me toward her, and I have to fight my instinct and keep my distance. It’s the only way I’ll keep my sanity.

After all, I just bought a billion-dollar company. I have more important things to worry about than the new junior reporter for Blushmagazine.

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