Page 55 of The Billionaire and I

James was hurtingfrom a nasty hangover. A faint odor of bourbon wafted from his pores. Still, he seemed more like himself than he had the night before. He had dark circles under his eyes but was definitely more at ease. Maybe because he had managed to get Audrey on the flight, and she couldn’t run away from him so easily.

He didn’t reveal much as the plane took off and headed toward the Caribbean. However, one piece of crucial information did escape his lips. “I had to drag her back,” he admitted, “and I don’t even care. It’s like I have no fucking pride anymore.”

“I think that’s what happens when an emotional boner takes on a life of its own,” I said.

“Thanks a lot, Cole.”

“My pleasure.”

James glanced over at Jenny and Audrey, who were deep in conversation. “Enough about me,” he said, his voice weary. “What’s going on with you two?”

I shrugged. “You know…hot sex, handholding, escorting. The usual.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“Nope,” I admitted. I took the opportunity to hit the call button, and a flight attendant materialized, seemingly out of thin air. “Alcohol, please,” I ordered. “Lots of it.”

James shook his head as she left to get us our drinks. “We can both close multi-million dollar deals without blinking an eye. But when it comes to relationships, we’re lost. You might be even worse off than me, and that’s saying something.”

I leaned back in the comfortable seat. James was insulting me, but he wasn’t wrong, and I wasn’t upset. But what was I going to do—cry about it?

I vowed then and there to enjoy every second of my vacation. I would ignore my emotional ineptitude, my father, and the chattering voice in my head that wanted to discuss, at length, my intentions and feelings toward my escort.

“Maybe you can level up with your emotional boner, and then you can teach me a thing or two,” I suggested. “Until then, we drink.”

He scrubbed a hand across his face. “That’s going to be a lot of drinking.”

“I’ll drink to that,” I said and grinned.

As we landedon the island and cell service was available again, my phone lit up with messages. With extreme displeasure, I read several texts from Kevin, my father’s assistant.

Mr. Bryson wasn’t happy when he saw pictures from the wedding yesterday.

He wants you to call him immediately.

Also, Ramos canceled a meeting with him.

He’s going code red, I’m afraid.

Fuck.To say that my father’s temper tantrum was happening at a terrible time was an understatement. I was out of the country, most likely with spotty Wi-Fi, and I was on vacation, dammit. I had zero desire to deal with his bad behavior. He’d already threatened me with the loss of my family fortune. What did he want from me—to dump Jenny in a foreign country, swear off escorts for good, and bully Ramos into giving him the approvals?

Taking a deep breath, I texted Kevin back.

I’ll deal with him.

On vacation at the moment. Crappy service.

I’ll call him as soon as I’m back in town.

Kevin didn’t text me back. I knew what his silence meant. In the short term, he was screwed. My father would undoubtedly unleash his ire on the messenger. But in the long term, I was only screwing myself. If there was one thing my father hated, it was being put on the back burner.

“You workin’?” Jenny asked, nodding toward my phone.

I slid it into my pocket. “I’m telling my associates that everything’s on hold till we get back. This week’s just for you and me.” I grabbed her hand, and she entwined her fingers with mine.

“That’s nice, baby,” she cooed. She looked so cute in her fedora.

I didn’t want to think about my father’s temper escalating. It was only going to get worse. I longed to forget about him and justbe with Jenny, strip her out of those clothes, and leave nothing but the hat on. A zap of electricity crackled between us. As if she could read my thoughts, Jenny gave me a knowing smile. “I can’t wait to see our suite,” she said suggestively.

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