Page 58 of My Cruel Billionaire

“I’m going to ask Evan to replace you.”

Chapter Twenty

Jenna

“Puppies!”

Damon squirmed in my arms as I entered the grand manor where my friend Jennifer now lived. She’d married the ultra-wealthy Marshall Lane, after some bumps along the way.

“Can I go play with the puppies, Mom?” Damon squealed. “Can I? Can I please?”

“Well, okay, but don’t hurt them. Remember they’re just babies.”

“Okay, I’ll be careful, Mom, I promise.”

I set Damon down and he raced over to a corralled-off area where a group of fluffy white puppies yipped and yapped at each other. Two of them pulled on either side of a worn-out scarf, riddled with tooth marks. Damon stepped over the barricade and bent over to pet one of the puppies. The puppy got up on its hind legs for a moment, putting its front paws on Damon’s knee.

I had to look away before my heart melted. This baby shower was invitation only. My child was probably safer here than he would have been in Fort Knox. Like I said, I was more worried about the puppies than I was about Damon.

It did give me a chance to sort of absorb the ambiance on my own. Jennifer had done well for herself. Originally she had worked as a dishwasher until Marshall bought the restaurant she worked at.

Then, through a series of convoluted events, they made a wager. She would take over managership of one of the startups Marshall owed. He wagered she would fail because she didn’t have what it took, while she wagered it would be easy because she thought the boss just sat around on his butt yelling at people.

They met somewhere in the middle. I’m not sure who won the wager if anyone. Things got super complicated like they almost always do.

At the end of the day, Jennifer decided that she didn’t want to manage a company. She wanted to do something that made a difference in the world. Thus, she founded a multinational charity which sought to preserve the Amazon Rainforest. My boss got involved with the charity at some point and that’s how I met Jennifer.

I heard the sounds of laughter coming from the next room. I moved through a gallery with richly carpeted floors, the walls adorned by tasteful but chic works of watercolor art. A group of flowers sitting by a pond reminded me of a lonely woman waiting for her lover for some reason.

I stepped out of the dark gallery and into brighter light. I squinted in the sudden brightness. As my vision adjusted, I spotted Jennifer herself, standing next to her friends Ramone and Jake. Ramone was a fifty-something family man, and looked every bit of it. Jake meanwhile looked and dressed like a college kid even though he was in his thirties.

Both of them had worked with Jennifer at the restaurant. When she moved on to the charity she brought the two of them with her.

“Hey, girlfriend,” Jennifer said.

I hugged her, being careful because of her baby bump.

“Hey yourself,” I said. “How’s the baby?”

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“I cannot wait to get this parasite out of me. I want to drink a margarita so fucking bad right now.”

We all laughed, and she rubbed her hands on her stomach. I helped myself to a crab cake because Ramone insisted they were absolutely to die for.

Marshall approached us, stowing his phone in his back pocket as he drew near. His wife gave him a long glare.

“Don’t even pretend like you weren’t networking at our baby shower,” she said admonishingly.

Marshall laughed and took her in his arms.

“I’m all yours for the rest of the evening, I promise.”

“You’d better be. Otherwise, I’ll do what I did at our engagement party.”

I looked over at Ramone.

“I must have missed that moment. What happened at the engagement party?”

---