Page 42 of My Billionaire Neighbor's Secret

“Alright.”

I showed her all the amenities afterwards--- the reception area, the gym, the spaces for shops, the children’s playground, the pool area, the gardens, and many more. Then we went to the bigger villas first.

Each villa was a stand-alone structure with a Balinese-styled roof. The foliage and wall art on the facade gave it a greater authentic feeling.

We entered one of the villas where a lavish four-poster king-sized bed stood in the middle. There were huge sliding doors that led to a spacious veranda and a lounge pool.

“Wow,” Leigh whispered, taking in the entire place.

Her eyes widened as she looked and walked around. When she peeked through the curtains that led to the veranda, I followed behind her, breathing in her intoxicating scent and wanting to kiss her neck, her ear, and her lips.

She suddenly stepped back and accidentally stumbled. But I caught her just in time, my hands supporting her waist.

I heard her gasp as she turned around and faced me. I didn’t bother to think anymore. I simply followed my instinct and kissed her on the lips. To my surprise, she eagerly responded. Her hands clasped behind my neck as I pulled her closer and felt her body heat transferring to me. Through our clothes, I could sense the longing of our bodies.

The kiss deepened. There was no hesitation from her or from me. We both wanted this. We have been waiting for this.

I felt the phone in my pocket vibrating. The ringing sound was loud.

At first, we ignored it. But then, she pulled away breathlessly and told me to answer it. We both had the same thing on our minds. It could be Drake.

True enough, when I checked my phone, it showed Drake’s name. I suddenly felt guilty.

“Hey, man,” I said casually when I answered it. My body was still tingling from the sensations of being so close to Leigh. My heart was still racing.

I heard the familiar slur in his voice. Images from the past came back in an instant--- him calling me from a bar because he was too drunk to move, finding him surrounded by half-naked women at a party, catching him doing drugs with some weird-looking guys, having to pick him up at a police station because of a brawl. I had always been there for him, just as he’d always had my back. I had been so happy when he had told me that he’d finally fallen in love and that he was straightening his act. After that, we didn’t get to speak much anymore, but I was glad for him. I thought he would never go back to his old ways.

“Carter, bro…” he said. He sounded drunk. “I’m here already.”

“Where?” I asked curiously. It was too early to be drunk, but he’d probably been drinking since the previous night.

“Here!” he said loudly with a chuckle. “Outside this beautiful villa! The staff pointed it to me… Come out now, bro!”

I gave Leigh a meaningful look and then opened the villa's door.

Chapter 17

LEIGH

Ihonestlydidn’tfeelan ounce of guilt. Actually, I felt disappointed that Drake showed up and interrupted my moment with Carter.

Did this mean that I was finally and completely over Drake? Could I now put everything behind me and move on?

It was Carter who first walked out of the villa. Through the ajar door, I could see Drake being very chatty with all these hand gestures. I could hear him talking about being out with some friends the previous night.

“I’m sorry, Carter,” he was saying. “These old friends of mine… we haven’t seen each other for a long time, and I really couldn’t say no. You know Kevin and Derrick and the rest of the gang, right? They’ve been with me through thick and thin. I couldn’t say no.”

I heard Carter sigh as I approached the door. Drake hasn’t seen me yet.

“Yeah, I know,” Carter said. I could sense the irritation in his voice, but he was holding back and trying to remain calm. “But this is your job. I trusted you with this project and just found out that it’s not the first time you've done this. You have not been taking charge here. You’re always just out partying, which is really unacceptable.”

“Come on, man,” Drake said. “Just let me off the hook this time, alright? I won’t do it again. You know how hard it is for me… When you were in trouble, I was always there for you, remember?”

“Yes, Drake, I remember,” Carter answered. “And I’ll always be grateful. It’s because of those times that I have always had your back too. And now that you came back here to Las Vegas, I gave you a job and I lent you my apartment and a car too. I think that’s more than enough to show you how much I value you. If I am important to you as well, then you’ll take care of what’s been given to you.”

I stepped out on the patio just in time to see Drake growing furious while Carter remained composed.

When Drake saw me, there was a mixture of emotions on his face all at once. His expression went from angry to confused and apologetic, then to angry again.

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