Page 69 of BillionHeir
“Maxwell Banks!” he exclaims, gesturing wildly with his hands.
I cock my head to the side. “How do you know about him?”
“That is not important. What is important is what you have been doing with him. I know what heartbreak looks like when I see it. It doesn’t take a mathematician to put two and two together.”
“It is nothing,” I say, feeling the embarrassment creep up my face.
“Oh, no,” Colin says, unwilling to let me off the hook. “I know better than that.”
“Okay, fine. I was his nurse after a horrific accident. Satisfied?”
“Alright, now we are getting somewhere. His ‘nurse’, huh? Did you give him a sponge bath?”
Memories of the night that I gave him a shower flash through my head, and I feel my cheeks heat even more.
“You dirty girl!” Colin nearly shrieks in reaction to whatever he sees on my face.
“No! It is not like that! Stop perverting my career!”
“Then what is it like?”
I am just about to give him the CliffsNotes version of what happened between us when the door to the pub jingles open. Our eyes follow the sound, and I don’t know who looks more shocked when we recognize the man entering the pub.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Collin says.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.
How did he find me?
Chapter 25
_______________________
Maxwell
Well, well, well. What do we have here?
Admittedly, I am navigating uncharted waters right now considering my feelings for Chloe. But I did not expect to walk into this pub in the middle of London and find her sitting in the back corner talking intimately with an attractive man. They are not touching, but it is obvious in their body language that they are comfortable with each other.
There is no information in her file about siblings, so I know he is not her brother. Could he be an ex-boyfriend shecontacted when she got back to town? An old high school crush that never really got off the ground?
Damn.
I don’t know the situation, but if my years in business have taught me anything, it is that how I react in this moment could mean life or death for this little relationship Chloe and I have been dancing around. I can’t let her see just how green with jealousy I really am.
I learned many things about the woman while we were living together for the last two months. For one, I learned that Chloe values the simple things. She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever met, but she is not the kind of girl who wants to be wined and dined or gifted fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. She could be at all manner of high-class establishments tonight, but instead I find her at the back of a dingy pub sharing a pint while engrossed in the story she appears to be telling. I honestly think that is part of why I am so attracted to her.
I have become far too accustomed to women who want all the finer things in life. As a man who has access to those things, I have always felt like it was my duty to give them whatever their heart desired. But those kinds of relationships have never worked out for me. They were always so shallow, and honestly, I didn’t care enough to dig deeper.
But Chloe is a millionaire now and the most expensive thing I have seen her buy was her plane ticket here. She is still dressedin what looks like the same clothes she has always worn. Not that there is anything wrong with what she is wearing, but her outfit is certainly not new. She hasn’t bought anything extravagant or showy. I don’t know what I expected when I decided to bestow such an astronomical salary on her, but it certainly wasn’t this.
I walk to the bar and take a seat by myself to wait on an old classmate from college who I am meeting here tonight. It is merely a coincidence that the woman who ran out on me at lunch today is here in the same pub, but I am not fool enough to think it means nothing.
I order a pint and try not to stare at Chloe from across the room while I wait. When my phone vibrates, I pull it out to see a picture of Liam’s face on the screen.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“I heard you were meeting up with Henry. I want to tag along.”
