Page 106 of Arrogant Playboy

“Don’t let the private planes be the reason to deny yourself love. At least we know you’re not a gold digger. You’re pushing him away because he’s too rich and you want to earn your own money,” Lauren teases.

“Take everything out of it. What do you truly feel for Daniel?” Olivia asks.

“I’ve never been happier.” The confession hitches in my throat as if the realization hits me suddenly. I’m madly in love with this man, and there’s a chance I’ve lost him forever. A sob falls from my lips and the girls all comfort me. “What have I done?” I ask them.

“You protected yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong. Daniel ran first, and he hurt you. You didn’t want to hurt like that ever again and thought you were doing the right thing,” Ivy says. I nod because that is exactly it. “If you don’t want tomove to Dubai and you want to stay in London and give you and Daniel a go, I understand,” Ivy says.

I shake my head. “I want Dubai. You have made my dreams come true with this promotion.”

Ivy’s eyes glisten. “Urgh, I love you, girl,” she says hugging me tightly. “We will sort this Daniel thing out, okay.” I nod.

We land in Dubai six hours later after many tears and many more bottles of champagne. We are whisked off to a luxury hotel on an island designed like a palm. My face is glued to the window of the limousine as we drive through the streets. Seeing the towering buildings and desert is mind-blowing. We head out of the main area and over the bridge to the palms area. I can’t believe this was all manmade, it is incredible and the fact that they can create whatever they desire is so exciting for me as a designer. We pass this huge, towering, iconic pink building before moving onto a more modern luxurious building next door. On one side it’s towering buildings, and on the other side is nothing but ocean and blue skies, there isn’t even one cloud in the sky.

We arrive at a building that looks like blocks put together and are driven through to a private entrance. The staff are there waiting for us, it seems like a lot for how many of us there are.

“Welcome, Ms. Starr. Let us take you up to the royal penthouse,” the manager explains. My eyes widen at that news. We take the private elevator all the way up to the top. “We have the royal suite. You have your own butler, use of the royal lounge where you have complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, drinks, or of course, we can set things up for you in your suite.” He walks us in and we all gasp. This is beyond anything I have ever seen before. How is this my life? The foyer into the penthouse is made with white and gold-hued marble, there are two one-hundred-year-old olive trees on either side of the entrance. The ceilings are as tall as the sky, and there are windows everywhere, lettingsunlight into the room. The manager explains to Ivy about all the inclusions in more depth, someone is waiting for us with fresh, cool towels and glasses of champagne and juices. There is a welcome platter on one of the tables. I am so blown away by the sheer size of the hotel room that I don’t notice the view until the girls gasp and rush toward the balcony, which has an infinity-style pool that looks out over the ocean and back toward the center of Dubai. This is beyond luxury. There is a large dining table beside the pool that looks like it could seat twelve people, perfect for dinner and drinks at nighttime. We are then taken back into the living room with its large cream lounges, glossy gold coffee tables, plush carpet, and white marble on the walls with wooden accents. There is a large chandelier, larger than a car tire, with circular lights in all different sizes. The wall is glass sliding doors all the way to the ceiling and overlooks the pool and out to the city. There’s an indoor dining room set for twelve with again white and gold marble with wood accents. There is another chandelier, and it looks like icicles hanging above us. The penthouse is two levels with the bedrooms upstairs and the living and entertainment downstairs.

“Olivia and I will be sharing a room, and Cam and Kim will be sharing a room. Lauren and Eloise, your room has two queen beds and, Rosie, you have your own king bed,” Ivy explains.

“I don’t need my own room, I’m happy to share,” I say.

Ivy smirks. “The beds are huge, and the rooms are larger, we are certainly not inconvenienced by sharing the room, so don’t stress.” I nod, but I still feel bad.

One of the staff takes me up to my room to show me around and I die. The entire bedroom is double the size of my flat at home. The king bed is huge, it’s like a supersized king bed. I have a sofa and television, a desk, my own private balcony with views back over the palm. Then I move into my bathroom, and I have the largest egg-shaped bath I’ve ever seen which overlooks thepalm and the city. The entire bathroom is again white marble, with luxury designer beauty products. There’s a shower that could fit all of us in, and then I notice a walk in wardrobe off the bathroom. I didn’t bring enough clothes for this.

“Miss, would you like me to unpack for you?” the staff member asks. Huh? They unpack for me? “I can hang and steam your clothes for you.”

“Um, sure just um … not my, you know …” She smiles, acknowledging that she won’t touch my underwear because that is weird. Is this how the other half travels? This is kind of insane. I get my phone out and quickly snap pictures and send them off to the group chat.

Emily: OMG

Ava: Fuck me

Georgia: Are you staying in a palace?

I quickly find the link to the hotel and send it to the girls.

Ava: You are living every influencer’s dream right now at that hotel.

Georgia: It’s $100k a night.

What the hell? Who the hell has that kind of money?Ivy and her friends it would seem. Don’t forget this is the level of rich Daniel is.

Shit.

Then those intrusive thoughts hit, and I wonder what he sees in me. I’m not sophisticated enough for all this.

“Do you like your room?” Ivy asks, making me jump as I’m lost in my thoughts.

“How could I not, this is insane.”

“What are your thoughts so far on Dubai?”

“It’s not at all what I thought it would be, but it looks spectacular from the tiny slither I’ve seen.” I smile at her.

Ivy indicates for me to take a seat in my sitting area. “Do you mind if we have a quick chat?” she asks. I shake my head. “I wanted to check in on you, make sure we weren’t pressuring you about Daniel. We all love him, but we only know him as a friend and not as a partner. Also, I know you were worried that I would be upset that something happened between the two of you, and I wanted to reassure you that if you are not giving him a chance because of me, please don’t. I think you are perfect for him. I would have set you up earlier, but honestly, selfishly, I didn’t want to because if he broke your heart, you might leave the company, and I honestly don’t want to lose you. You’re so freakin good at your job,” she confesses.

Oh.

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