Page 29 of The Billionaire Player

I could see the pride they all took in JD and how well his restaurant was running. He looked to be in his element, checking in on his staff, moving in and out of the kitchen, talking to the guests about the dishes, and giving suggestions on the best wine to pair with the meal. I could tell that there was a lot going on in his mind and he was a bit stressed, but he didn’t show it. He truly looked like a man who belonged and should be running a restaurant, and it kind of annoyed me that he did.

From the moment I had met him, he continued to defy every notion I had about him. I thought he was a bored billionaire who was only opening up a restaurant to have something to do and to drink for free, but I could see that wasn’t the case. I thought he was a playboy who was more than happy to sleep with everything he could and would do that with all his staff, but he had treated everyone who worked with him with the utmost respect and I could see that his staff respected him just as much.

I thought he wouldn’t put in the hard work and hours that were needed to make the restaurant a success, but I had seen him work as hard as any restaurant owner I had ever seen. As I came to the restaurant tonight, I wasn’t sure how good the food would be or how he would stand out from all the other hundreds of restaurants in the city. But, I could see he had a unique vision and one that would and could succeed in the city.

He could have picked some random woman to be on his arm to get Lizbeth to leave him alone, but he picked me. It showed that he wanted to change the perception that people had of him, not only in who he dated but who he was. Another part of him that I never thought I would see.

“I hope all this talk of family and raccoons as pets hasn’t scared you off,” Bailey said as we waited for our next course.

“No. Not in the least, I don’t scare that easily,” I replied.

Bailey had insisted on sitting next to me but with all the other conversations going on and random people coming by and saying hi, we hadn’t had much of a chance to talk.

“Good. I think JD likes you and I would hate for your first date with him to scare you off because it’s with his family.”

“This isn’t a date,” I said, looking around the room to make sure no one could overhear us.

“It might not be your typical date, but JD isn’t your typical guy,” she said.

“He isn’t? What makes you say that?”

I told myself I was asking as a reporter. Bailey was giving me the perfect opportunity to ask her about JD, about their relationship, and anything else she was willing to tell me. I did want to know all of that for the story, but I wanted to know for very personal reasons.

“He has a kind heart. He may look like everything is a party to him, and he wants to be the center of attention, but he really doesn’t. He’s a gentle soul and the most generous man I’ve ever met,” she said.

“I can see that about him. I only knew of the young man who was all over social media when I was in college, but I’m enjoying getting to know the man who came back from Italy with you. Tell me, why did you both go?” I asked.

Bailey opened her mouth as if she would answer me but at the last second thought better of it. “That was smooth, I almost told you. You must be really good at your job if you can get me to open up that easily.”

“I hope I am, or at least I want to be. Don’t we all strive to do our best? I’m sure you only want to do exceptional work at your family’s company.”

“Yes. I’ve wanted to work for Bennett Liquor probably since I knew what it was. I’m happy and proud to be carrying on my family’s legacy.”

“But JD didn’t feel that same need or obligation?”

Bailey pointed her finger at me and sat back in her chair. “Nice try. That’s a question you are going to have to ask JD.”

“Okay, I can respect that. But answer me this, do you all support him and his decision to run a restaurant?”

“Naturally,” Bailey said as if it was.

“Not for everyone. There are many people who have stopped contact with a family member simply because they didn’t follow the roles that the parents or grandparents wanted them to have.”

“Did that happen to you? JD said something about your family owning a restaurant. Did you not want to do the same?” Bailey asked.

“Now who's fishing?” I asked. “My parents actually did everything they could to make sure my sister and I didn’t get into the restaurant business. Did your parents not want JD to be a part of the family business or a lawyer like your mother?”

“JD, like the rest of us, can do whatever we want to do. As long as it’s within reason, the family will support them.”

“I take it that if JD wanted to stay in Italy and continue his playboy ways, he wouldn’t have gotten the family's seal of approval?”

“JD wasn’t a player when he was in Italy. He hardly dated, if ever, unlike me.”

“Why?”

“That’s another story for JD to tell you, if he wants to. For me? It was my first time away from home and being out from under my family’s thumb and protection. I might have gone a little crazy with it, but in a good, productive, mature way,” Bailey said.

“I’m sure. Because every person who moves to Italy for graduate school and goes a little crazy does it in a good, mature, productive way,” I countered.

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