Page 27 of The Billionaire's Fortunate Accident
Shrugging, he said with stark honesty, “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Well, I’m not.” I knew the type of man he was, even if he refused to see himself as such. “People who come from money aren’t often satisfied with what they possess. They always seem to be looking for what they can get next.”
“Let me clarify something for you, Jessa Moxon. I was not born wealthy. As a matter of fact, it’s only been a few years since I’ve had this kind of money. I don’t think you can call me a spoiled rich guy, so please, don’t do it again.”
“You had to come from money for you and your brothers to get into the resort business.” I wasn’t a fool, and he needed to know that.
“Our cousins inherited money, and they gave us some to start the resort. Now we’re all partners in the various businesses we all have. For your information, they didn’t grow up with money either. We’re all just regular guys who got lucky, that’s all.” He sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. “As far as my contributions go, you’re right. I haven’t done a thing to contribute or boost our company. But I’m on the verge of something. And I brought you something to try. Now, I don’t think I want you to try it.”
I couldn’t let him wear me down. No matter how firmly he believed that being wealthy did not impact one’s personality, I knew it to be otherwise. “Look, I just don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want anyone trying to take what little time I have while not interning or working. Understand it or don’t, that’s up to you. But I’ve got to do what’s best for me. You should just forget that we ever met.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He looked up at the ceiling as he took a deep breath. Then he looked at me. “The thing is that you’ve woken something inside of me, and I don’t want it to fall back to sleep. I’m different when I’m with you. And just thinking about the little moments we can share has me feeling like I’m floating on the clouds. I don’t want that to end.”
I had to look away from his blue eyes. Eyes that pulled me in like magnets. Of course, he didn’t want the euphoric feeling to end — who would? “It’s just the thrill of the chase. Catch me and watch it all fade away.”
“Why do you think so little of yourself?” he asked. “And why do you think so little of me? You don’t know me well enough to make these kinds of assumptions.”
“And you don’t know me well enough to know if you’re actually attracted to me or merely attracted to something you can’t seem to grab hold of.”
“You’re scared.” He nodded as if he knew everything. “I get it. You’re afraid of falling for anyone — not just me.”
“No, that’s not it. And I don’t really care to talk about it either. I’ve got too much on my plate to mess around with anyone right now.” He didn’t need to know about my mother’s passing and how I felt that I was the reason behind it. He didn’t need to know that I wasn’t even sure if I knew how to love a man the way one’s supposed to. But I wasn’t about to let him in on the reasons behind that either.
He sat there, staring at the little black tray he’d brought me. “Your shitty eating habits have inspired me. I’ve changed my mind; youshouldtaste what I made you. Tammy had some, and she loved it.”
I had no appetite. It wasn’t as if it was easy for me to blow him off. I’d been upset with the news of his wealth. Even if he hadn’t always had money, he had it now, and I knew he’d already fallen into the same pit that most did.
He didn’t know the things I knew about the wealthy and elite members of society. The night we met, he’d come in drunk from a night of partying at a nightclub. My bets were that he’d been all up on various hotties while in the clubs too, spending money like it was as free as air.
“Well, if Tammy loved it, then you have her feedback, don’t you? You don’t need mine. I’m not in the best mood, as you can see. My feedback might not be accurate. I don’t want to spoil this for you. And I can see that I could do that quite easily.” He had no idea what it was like to have a passion for something. “When you find your calling, you don’t need anyone’s opinion. You do it because you not only want to do it, but because you also feel that you must do it.”
“I’d like to get back to why you’re not in a good mood right now. If it all came from thinking I was some spoiled rich guy, you now know that I’m not. So, your mood should be better now.”
It would be impossible to explain why I had such a strong aversion to wealthy men without telling him that I, too, had tons of money. “Yet, it’s not. As I have pointed out, there are more things that I’m not comfortable with.”
“Yeah, the ‘what if I lose interest in you’ thing,” he said with a grin. “It would be great if you stopped asking yourself and me all these what-if questions. They don’t serve any real purpose.”
“I think they do serve a purpose,” I argued. “I think I’m being realistic.”
“Let’s see how you handle some what-if questions that I’ve come up with, shall we?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I could see that Stone had a tenacious side. “Unlike you, I’d be happy to try to answer any questions you might have.”
“Good.” He smiled even bigger. “What if our meeting was fate and we’re meant to be together?”
I didn’t believe in such silly things. “You should know that I think it takes a lot of work to get the things you want. Fate stepping in might seem like a real thing to some, but not to me.”
If I believed in these things, then it would mean that all things happened due to fate. If love could occur through fate, then sadness and even death could too. I didn’t like to think like that.
“Let me rephrase that question,” he said, reaffirming my notion about his stubborn side. “What if, while we’re collaborating on my menu project, we fall hopelessly in love and have a happily ever after ending?”
“You should know that I don’t believe in happily ever afters. Those are just fictional stories, not real life.” I knew about the heartbreak of losing a mother before I even got a chance to know her.
“What if I said that I’d like the chance to make you change your mind?” A low chuckle told me he thought himself clever. “You also didn’t respond to part of my question. The one about collaborating with me to come up with a menu. I understand that you think a person doesn’t need anyone else to fuel their passion. But you’re not being fair about that. Your passion is for medicine. So, what if there were no sick people that you could help, would you still call what you have a passion?”
“There will always be sick people,” I countered.
Nodding, he said, “And there will always be hungry people.”
