Page 31 of The Billionaire Player

“Makes perfect sense to me,” she said.

I looked at her thinking she was teasing me, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t. She understood where I was coming from, which was great as I wasn’t sure how to explain it.

“It does, does it?”

“I remember seeing my parents and how much work they put into their restaurant and sometimes they would just sit back and stare at the guests, the employees, even the plates as they went by, taking it all in. Did you get to?”

“That would have been nice, but I didn’t have time to eat much less do anything else.”

“What’s the saying, never trust a skinny chef?”

“I’m not the chef and are you calling me skinny?” I lifted up my arms and flexed my biceps. I meant it in jest but I had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes get big as she looked at my muscles. It wasn’t what I had been going for, but it certainly helped to stroke my ego a bit.

“Something tells me there’s nothing skinny about you.”

“Nope,” I said and held her gaze for a moment and let the full impact of what I was saying sink in. When she blushed slightly, I gave her a slow smile and changed the subject “How do you think the evening went? You’ve worked in a restaurant; do you have any critiques for me?”

“You did well. Very well. I have to say, I was impressed. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you. I thought you were doing this to have some fun, to be able to have a place to sit and hang out with your friends. Initially, there was no doubt in my mind that you were going to leave all the work to the chef and your staff.”

“Hopefully, you see that isn’t the case.”

“Definitely not. You’re as involved in this more than anyone on your staff. You’re committed to making your restaurant a success and I agree with the consensus of the guests that it will be a success.”

“My family isn't going to give you a biased opinion,” I said.

“I wasn’t talking about your family, though they’re probably your biggest supporters and your biggest asset for success. I meant some of the people I talked to including the mayor. Who is a really funny woman-”

“Right? You never would know that by watching her on TV,” I replied.

“She was saying how you have a winner and that she would be coming back soon. She wasn’t the only one. I do think you have a success on your hands,” Lexi said.

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

“As a person who used to work in a restaurant? As the woman who is tasked with doing a story on you? Or as the woman you are pretending to date?”

I had thought she had come to see me to talk about the article and we should but when she gave me an opening to talk about us, I wouldn’t let it go.

“All three, though I have been thinking we need to revise the last part.”

“Really? Do you think that’s wise? Lizbeth may be gone but she could still come back, especially if she thinks you’re single again.”

“I didn’t mean that we should stop dating, I meant we should stop the pretending part. You like me, I know you do,” I said with a playful smile.

“At times. Other times, like this, I think you’re a cocky man who thinks that if he smiles, he’ll get anything he wants,” she said.

“It isn’t working?” I teased.

She laughed. “I do like you, even when you are being cocky.”

“And I like you, even if you aren’t cocky.”

“I’m not?” she asked and I laughed.

“It was nice being with you for the opening, even though I didn’t get to spend any time with you. The more I’m around you, the more I want to know you and spend more time with you.”

“Isn’t that how it normally works with people?” she asked.

“Not with me. I’ve found that the more I’m around people, the less I want to be around them. You’re an exception,”

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