Page 3 of Billion-Dollar Dating Game

Deadly, actually. But he played up his carelessness. ‘Sure. Why not?’

If Cade and Adam thought he wasn’t all that serious, they wouldn’t take him as a serious threat. He’d lull them, then strike. ‘It’s Independence Day today. What if we meet back here on Labour Day. Winner takes all accumulated shares and has an unimpeded run at Helberg.’

That gave them a couple of months. There was no way either Adam or Cade would date only one woman for all that time. Both were allergic to relationships, both exuded intensity and drive and both did not like being told what they could and couldn’t do by anyone. Put people under pressure and they made mistakes. Meanwhile, it would give Zane room to finish his due diligence and finalise divestment plans for Helberg. Plus if they all backed off for now, it would hopefully stop the share price surge.

‘Have you completely lost your mind?’ Adam shook his head.

Zane shrugged. He enjoyed doing the absolute opposite of what anyone expected of him. It made a challenge all the sweeter when he succeeded.

‘ThisBlushbusiness is an annoyance, but I’m more interested in sorting out which of us gets Helberg. This is a good way to take you guys on and beat you both for once and all. Two birds, one stone.’

‘It’s nuts...’ Cade stared at him. ‘But it also makes sense.’

‘It’s ridiculous,’ Adam shot them down crisply. ‘Not only will it not work, it’s also immoral. And think of the unwitting women we’d be dragging into it. Where’s your integrity?’

Zane bit back a laugh. Apparently perfectly posh Englishman Adam was too straitlaced to think creatively. As far as Zane was concerned, there was no reason why the woman he chose to date for the duration should be either unwitting or indeed unwilling. Everything—indeed, everyone—had a price. All he had to do was find a woman savvy enough to take the deal he was going to discreetly offer her. But Zane was hardly about to point that option out to all-but-aristocratic Adam.

Zane had hauled his way to the top of his particular tree all by himself—he’d had no family money, no hand-outs from anyone else, least of all old man Helberg. He’d done everything on his own and he always would. Taking Helberg apart piece by tarnished piece all by himself would be particularly satisfying.

‘You got a better idea?’ He let a sprinkle of saltiness out. ‘Because the likelihood of us stepping out of each other’s way just because you asked nicely is...what?’

Cade’s rare low laugh sounded. ‘Afraid you’ll lose, Courtney?’

Adam dated the least of the three of them. Cade, on the other hand, was barely tamed, while Zane knew his own reputation was voracious, which meant—once he’d thought about it—Adam would believe he would win this thing. Easily.

Sure enough, a split second later Adam nodded. ‘Not at all... Quite the opposite...’

Yeah, it seemed Adam had mentally resolved his own integrity issue, while Cade simply looked wolfishly determined. Fortunately, Zane was heading home this afternoon and there’d be zero chance of encountering temptation there. After a courtesy drop-in to his neighbour’s Independence Day party, he’d take the rest of the weekend to consider who he was going to approach and how.

‘So just to clarify,’ Adam added stiffly. ‘We date one woman each between now and Labour Day. Anyone caught dating more than one woman in that time relinquishes their claim on Helberg.’

‘Right.’ Zane nodded. ‘I’m in.’

‘You’re on,’ Cade agreed.

Adam sighed as he rolled his eyes. ‘May the best man win...’

Zane smiled. The best man absolutely would.

CHAPTER TWO

THREEBLUE-EYEDBILLIONAIREbachelors walked into a health club...

Sounded like the start of a bad joke, right? Or a dream opportunity for someone inspired byBlushmagazine’s latest article questioning whether there was a woman alive who could secure more than one date with any of them. The One-Date Wonders themselves: Adam Courtney. Cade Landry. Zane deMarco.

For Skylar Bennet, it was neither funny nor a dream. It was a full-fledged nightmare. She froze in the cafe across the street, staring in horrified amazement as, within the space of two minutes, the three subjects of the tasteless article currently being quoted all over social media stalked in. Well, Adam and Cade stalked. Zane simply sauntered.

Typical.

Skylar drained her coffee and ordered another. She’d done her run and didn’t have to get to the office immediately, so she’d wait to see them walk out again. It wasn’t the first time she’d watched out a window hoping to see Zane deMarco, but she wasn’t some tragic teen suffering from her first crush now.

It was Saturday—the Fourth of July in fact, so it was a long weekend as well, but those guys didn’t holiday like normal people. They weren’t rolling up to a gym for fun and fitness. Setting up deals was their sport and recreation because nothing mattered more to them than making money. But as much as these three had in common, it wasn’t normal to see themtogether. They wererivals, not besties.

Maybe that article did have something to do with it. As gross as it was, it was also accurate—they were each ridiculously young to have achieved billionaire status and all those pictures proved they were unrepentantly active on the social scene. But she didn’t know much about Adam and Cade other than what else had been written—British Adam was all aristocratic old money, while Cade had built his construction company into a billionaire business. But she knew more than enough about Zane deMarco. The man was avaricious and an annihilator and he did not give a damn about what anyone thought of him. Which is why Skylar was quite sure it wasn’t that article drawing them together today—it was something far worse.

They were coming for Helberg Holdings. That company was more than her place of employment; it had changed her life. She’d been a beneficiary of the Helberg Foundation—awarded scholarships first for senior high school, then a full ride for her entire degree. She’d interned for them through her summer breaks and come to work full-time in the company headquarters here in Manhattan as soon as she’d graduated.

It was the plan her father had dreamed she’d follow—to be the first in her class, the first in his family to get a degree, to work in the city in a prestigious firm, toexcel, and to show loyalty... The Helberg scholarships had enabled her to do exactly that.

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