Page 5 of My Billionaire Neighbor's Secret

I scoffed but said nothing else. “You’re going to get yourself kicked out of this neighborhood pretty soon if you continue this,” was all I said.

Her mouth opened in disbelief. I could see how supple and moist they were, distracting me from my irritation. I began to walk away before she could think of a retort.

I heard the door bang behind me, and I couldn’t help chuckling. I had a feeling this was just the beginning of a very interesting relationship between us.

Chapter 3

LEIGH

Itwasjustmyluck that one of the department heads had just gotten engaged. During the breaks and before meetings officially started, I could hear some of them talking about which caterer to book, what motif to have, what type of hairstyle to do, and so on.

On the surface, I was all smiles. I pretended to be busy with work, but inside, I was dying. I wanted to scream and tell them all to shut up.Weddings are bullshit!

“What about you, Miss Andrews? Anyone special back in Ohio?” someone asked.

The dreaded question.

I looked up from my electronic tablet, the pretend smile on my face. “No one,” I answered. “I’m your typical workaholic.”

No one said anything after that. I guess they figured it made sense and I looked at the part. They had no inkling about what I had gone through.

A part of me wanted to break down at times throughout my first week at work. It’s been hard putting up a brave front, so I always made sure I was super busy. I had promised myself that my tears had no place in Las Vegas. I needed to leave my disintegrated heart in Ohio and start anew here.

True enough, my efforts were very noticeable. It was Rasha who gave me sincere feedback, saying that I was easily well-loved and admired by everyone in the office. I was the first one there and the last one to leave, thus setting a good standard for work ethics.

Within just a month, I was able to break sales records along with the team I was working with. It was such a huge accomplishment for me, and it certainly helped my confidence return.

The following month, I started a healthier routine by working out early morning at the nearby gym before heading off to the office.

“Leigh Andrews, CEO of Luxe Linen,” someone suddenly said behind me while I was running on the treadmill. I slowed down and glanced at the mirror reflection of the well-built man who had spoken.

I chuckled when I saw that it was Cole Miller, one of the friends I had made in the gym. He was a top sales executive and had been living in Las Vegas his whole life.

“Hey, Cole,” I greeted, eventually stopping the treadmill. I faced him, still a little out of breath.

He gazed at me with a wide smile on his face. “I know you have to get to work now, Leigh,” he said. “But how about meeting for lunch later?”

The smile on my face froze, not sure if I had heard him right. I had become allergic to men who wanted to date me. I only wanted to make new friends.

“As friends?” he added, looking confident.

I didn’t want to dampen his spirits because we had hit it off as friends from the beginning. So instead of turning him down at once, I nodded and said, “Sure, we can ask Lana and Alex to join us too.”

He looked just a bit disappointed but probably didn’t want to let on. “Sure, let’s see if they can make it.”

“Great,” I said. “I’ll ask them myself now.”

Unfortunately, our two other gym friends had lunch meetings scheduled for that day. Hence, I just suggested that we do it another time.

“I’m so sorry, Cole,” I said. “I just remembered I also need to meet with one of our clients over lunch. Let’s do it another time, okay? When Lana and Alex are available too.”

“Sure,” he said. But he certainly didn’t look too happy about it.

A few hours later, I found myself chatting with an attractive older man who was apparently the owner of a famous hotel in the city. He suddenly launched into the story of his recent divorce and was already hinting at hanging out with me outside our job duties.

“Uh…” I was hesitant to turn him down since he was one of our loyal clients. I had to weigh the situation carefully and choose my words well.

“I’m glad it’s you who took Andie’s position,” he said. “She was a good friend of mine.”

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