Page 22 of Adonis: The Cost of a Billionaire's Heart
Nauseous is what I wanted to say, but I shook my head instead. “I don’t know. I thought this was just fancy shit rich folk did to entertain themselves. Not so much business.”
“Everything is business these days, Sim.”
Maybe in his world they were, but not in mine. Still, it was exciting to watch him work. I dared to say I was even turned-on. If power had a face, it would look like Adonis Holland.
An hour later, a roar of applause erupted inside the theater as the opera concluded. Ellis turned to Adonis and me with a warm smile. “How’d you enjoy it?”
“It was great.”
“First time?” he inquired.
I nodded. “How can you tell?”
“You barely tore your eyes away from the stage all night, except to look at him,” he stated, pointing his index finger at Adonis.
“You noticed that?”
“I notice everything, Ms. Campbell.”
The way he said my name made me feel insecure, like he could see straight through me and our fake ass arrangement. As soon as I parted my lips to respond, the alarm on my phone sounded off inside my clutch.
“I’m so sorry. It’s the reminder alarm for my son’s asthma medication,” I explained while fumbling with my bag to silence the alarm that had already become borderline annoying.
“You have a son?” Ellis inquired, eyeing me closely.
I nodded hesitantly out of fear I’d said too much. “Y-yes, I do. He’s four.”
“You know something? I knew I had a feeling about you the minute I saw you. I had asthma as a kid myself. My mother would always try these different natural remedies to ease my symptoms,” he explained casually before swallowing the last of the champagne in his glass.
“Really? Like what? I keep plants around the house that naturally purify the air, like snake and spider plants, but I’m always looking for new remedies.”
“We didn’t have much growing up, so my mother would always grow and cook with turmeric and garlic, which are said to have anti-inflammatory properties. She’d also use a teaspoon of honey to coat my throat whenever I’d have a coughing spell.”
I nodded graciously. “Thank you for sharing that.”
“Anytime. It helped a lot back then and still does today. I’m sure it will help your boy too.”
Adonis joined in our conversation with a light chuckle. “Wait until you get home and tell him he’s going to get a teaspoon of honey whenever he coughs.”
I laughed back. “Right. He’ll probably start pretending to cough just for a chance at getting something sweet.”
“Kids.” Ellis chuckled. “I don’t even know your son, but I remember the tricks I pulled back in my day.”
“He’s so sweet but can be more than a handful sometimes.”
“He sounds like most boys his age to me. I’d like to meet the young champ one day. I’m sure he’d give me a run for my money.”
“He’d sure try,” Adonis added.
“You golf, right, Holland?” Ellis inquired, switching his attention away from me.
Adonis smirked while slightly leaning back in his seat. “Only when I’m looking to seal a business deal.”
Ellis chortled again, recognizing the playfulness in Adonis’s honest remark. “Good. I want to put together a small game tomorrow morning around eight o’clock at Greystone Country Club. We’ll have a private course for just a few of us,” he informed Adonis before turning to me. “Might be a good place to bring your son. I think he’ll enjoy riding around on the golf cart.”
Adonis nodded, visibly satisfied, before he looked my way. “Are you okay with that? We’ll have Maya come along, too, to help with Mason.”
I flashed him a kind smile before hesitantly shrugging my shoulders. I was so overwhelmed getting into the theater with all those strangers sticking their cameras in my face and yelling at me. I felt like a fish in a bowl and didn’t want the same for Mason. Still, I didn’t want to be the Debbie Downer of the evening.
